Cathay Pacific to boost passenger, cargo capacity in India with bigger planes

New Delhi: Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways, under pressure from mainland Chinese carriers, plans to increase its passenger and cargo business in India where yields are holding up better than at home, a senior company executive told Reuters.

Cathay, which can only operate a limited number of flights to India due to bilateral constraints, plans to fly bigger planes between Mumbai and Hong Kong to boost its passenger and cargo capacity, Mark Sutch, regional general manager for South Asia, Middle East and Africa, said in an interview on Thursday.

“The Indian economy is pretty vibrant and the growth here is significantly higher than many countries,” said Sutch, adding India and China were two markets where Cathay saw a big future.

In recent years, Cathay has seen its market share on international routes eroded by rapidly expanding mainland Chinese and Gulf airlines. This, with poor fuel hedges and lack of a budget arm, have hurt its competitiveness.

India is among the top 10 markets for Cathay in terms of revenues. Its Indian revenues grew 5 percent in 2016 to 12.58 billion rupees ($197 million), when overall the airline reported its first full-year loss since 2008.
31/08/17 Aditi Shah/Reuters

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Direct flights to Singapore, Dubai from Vijaywada on cards; Silk Air, Emirates keen on operations

Vijayawada: If all goes well, denizens of the city can directly fly to international destinations like Singapore and Dubai without having to go to other cities like Hyderabad for a connecting flight.
Two airlines - Silk Air and Emirates are considering introduction of direct flight services from the city to Singapore and Dubai respectively. Until now, high flyers from the city are going to places like Hyderabad to take flights to these destinations. Silk Air has already conducted a preliminary survey to find out the potential in the city and held several rounds of talks with local travel agents. Emirates, the Gulf's popular airline, is said to be in talks at the Union government level on bilateral seat quota to introduce a direct flight to Dubai from Vijayawada city.
Notably, an international terminal is getting ready at Vijayawada airport to handle international flights and passengers.
Customs and immigration centres are being set up for the convenience of international passengers at Vijayawada airport.
Though Vijayawada airport was accorded internatioand other destinations in Europe, another service to Dubai that connects the US and other Western countries. The international terminal should be ready by October and from then we can allot slots," Vijayawada airport director, GMS Rao told TOI.
Emirates is also said to be keen on introducing a direct flight from Vijayawada to Dubai subject to clearance by Ministry of Civil Aviation, since, bilateral seat quota has exhausted. The additional quota is required for Emirates to introduce its flight.Air India already operates a flight to Dubai via Hyderabad thrice in a week from Vizag. The Air India's Dubai flight has an occupancy of around 70 per cent. Passengers from Vijayawada to Dubai include people who go for work and on business and pleasure trips.
31/08/17 Times of India

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Sri Lanka nabs Indian for smuggling abortion pills worth Rs 2.3 million

Colombo: Sri Lankan authorities have arrested an Indian man for allegedly smuggling highly potent abortion pills worth Rs 2.3 million, according to a media report today.
The Indian, who arrived from New Delhi on a SriLankan Airlines flight yesterday, had tried to leave without declaring the huge quantity of the pills, the Colombo Page reported.
Upon inspection, Lanka Customs officers found the illegal medicine stock in his luggage.
The suspect, who was not identified, had visited Sri Lanka on several occasions earlier. He has been buying the medicine from India for a low price and selling it in the country for a large amount of money, the report said.
30/08/17 PTI/Times of India

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SC tells Swamy to include India-UAE air service pact in Jet-Etihad plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked BJP leader Subramanian Swamy to file an amended plea, seeking to quash an alliance between Jet Airways and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, by also challenging the bilateral agreement between India and the UAE on increasing the number of flights.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was informed by Additional Solicitor General P S Narsimha, representing the Centre, that Swamy was to specifically challenge the agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on increasing the number of flights between India and the UAE.


Swamy told the bench, which also comprised Justices P C Pant and D Y Chandrachud, that he has already filed an amended plea in the matter.

"You (Swamy) have to file an application for amendment which has to be first allowed by this court," the bench said, adding, "you have to file an amended application specifically challenging it."

Swamy then sought four weeks time to file an amended plea which was allowed by the court.
29/08/17 PTI/Business STandard

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Qatar firm on India airline plan

Qatar Airways is firm on its plan to start an airline in India despite facing business challenges because of sanctions imposed on Qatar by some Gulf countries.

“India is a big market and we will definitely start operations there,” Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said after inaugurating the carrier’s direct flight from Doha to Prague in the Czech Republic.

Asked if Qatar Airways would bid for Air India, which the Centre recently decided to privatise, he said the airline was not interested in buying India’s national carrier as “we want to launch our own airline.”

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain are among countries that have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed what Mr. Al Baker described as “illegal sanctions on my country” for its alleged support to militant groups.

Qatar Airways, he said, was resilient and the trade and travel ban would not curb its drive to expand its global footprint.

Mr. Al Baker accused some carriers in India — declining to name them — of trying to block Qatar Airways from starting an airline but hoped the “Indian government will not favour them only.”

“We will overcome this opposition because travellers in India deserve more,” he said, citing the government’s business friendly policies.
28/08/17 H Khogen Singh/The Hindu

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Consolidated FDI policy may hurt Air India stake sale, Tatas likely to skip it altogether

New Delhi: If the government were to indeed bar foreign airlines’ participation in the disinvestment process for Air India, then it can immediately rule out participation of its favourite bidder, the Tatas. Sources close to developments said on Monday that unless the Tatas are allowed to partner with Singapore Airlines in any prospective bid for the ailing Air India, they may choose not to put in a bid at all. Indeed, the much-hyped disinvestment process for the ailing Air India would receive a huge setback if the government bars foreign airlines from participating in the process.

When the government publicly expressed its intent to disinvest Air India for the first time earlier this year, it had approached the Tatas before anyone else to ascertain interest – since Air India was a Tata airline in its earlier avatar and JRD Tata had helmed it to remarkable for years before the government took over. So now, if it indeed rules out foreign airline investment in Air India, the Tatas may well say bye bye.

In the consolidated FDI circular published this afternoon, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has said that foreign airlines are also allowed to invest in the capital of Indian companies, operating scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services, up to the limit of 49 percent of their paid-up capital, subject to some riders. But it has clarified that this part of the policy is not applicable to Air India. While this has been the government’s stated position all along – the FDI circular of 2016 uses the exact same words when dealing with FDI caps in the civil aviation sector – the continued emphasis on keeping Air India out of the purview of any investment by foreign airlines has surprised industry veterans.

They hope that the bar on foreign airlines investing in Air India is lifted, if and when the disinvestment process gets started. But as of now, the statement vis-à-vis Air India shows the government’s aversion to foreign airlines – it could also mean that the government may want to retain majority control even if after it puts the airline through the disinvestment process. Why else would Air India be treated any separately from other Indian airlines even after disinvestment, unless the government continues to exercise control over the airline?
28/08/17 Sindhu Bhattacharya/First Post

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Air India unlikely to be sold to foreign airlines under new consolidated FDI policy

New Delhi: Air India is unlikely to be sold to foreign carriers as the government seeks a buyer for the Maharaja. The consolidated foreign direct investment (FDI) policy released on Monday says that while foreign carriers can own up to 49% stake in Indian carriers, this is "not applicable" to AI.
Apart from AI, foreign investors or airlines will be allowed to run an airline in India only if the substantial ownership and effective control (SOEC) is with Indians. This clause could put a roadblock in Qatar Airways' plans to launch an airline in India.
Last June, the government had allowed Indian carriers to be fully owned by foreign entities. While foreign carriers still can have up to 49% stake in airlines here, they could get a foreign partner — like a sovereign wealth fund or an institutional investor — and not look for an Indian partner to put in the remaining 51%.
But the consolidated FDI policy issued on Monday by the department of industrial policy and promotion says "a scheduled operator's permit can be granted only to a company... the chairman and at least two-thirds of the directors of which are citizens of India; and the substantial ownership and effective control of which is vested in Indian nationals."
28/08/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Plane’s engine parts come off on takeoff run

New Delhi: In an unprecedented scare at the Delhi airport, engine parts of a Jumbo Jet fell off just as the plane was about to take off on Saturday. Luckily, the pilots were able to abort takeoff as they were on the airport's longest runway and stop the freighter Boeing 747-300 in time.
However, the runway had to be closed for over half an hour to check for strewn parts and reopened for operations only after removing the same.
This incident happened with the cargo aircraft of a Kabul-bound private Afghan carrier. "Around 4.30pm on Saturday, the plane was rolling for takeoff from runway 29 (the one closest to Gurgaon side). Another aircraft was on the taxiway and its crew, to their horror, saw engine parts of the Jumbo Jet fall off. It alerted the air traffic control (ATC), which in turn contacted the Afghan crew. Luckily, the four-engine B-747 was able to safely stop in time," said a senior ATC official.
An airport source said the "rear portion of an engine, called turbine, had fallen off during the takeoff." The plane was removed from the runway and the airstrip was closed for operations to look for strewn engine parts. Any metallic object lying on the runway can be dangerous for an aircraft if it hits them while they are moving at fast speed.
27/08/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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‘Lisbon-India flights to be explored’

Panaji: Indian Ambassador to Portugal Nandini Singla has said that she would initiate talks with Air India to explore the possibility of starting direct flights from Lisbon to India, subject to commercial viability.
Singla, during a recent visit, called on Tourism Minister Manohar Azgaonkar at Paryatan Bhavan and discussed a wide range of issues on promoting ties between the two regions, the tourism department said in a press release. She urged Goa Tourism to seek any assistance from the Portugal government with regards to conservation and restoration projects in a bid to preserve Goa's rich heritage.
Singla also stressed on improving tourism ties between Goa and Portugal, in addition to boosting prospects of exchange programmes in the areas of sports and literature. She urged Goa Tourism to participate at the Portugal Travel Mart as Goa has all the ingredients to attract foreign nationals from Portugal.
27/08/17 Times of India

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Oman Airways bringing back passengers stuck in Bangkok via five alternate routes

Muscat: An Oman Air flight on the Medina-Muscat-Bangkok route was cancelled on Friday due to a ‘technical glitch’ leading to the cancellation of Bangkok-Muscat flight.

The airline said on Saturday that alternative arrangements were made to bring passengers stuck in Bangkok.

“All passengers are travelling back to Muscat from Bangkok through five alternative routes,” according to Oman Air’s official twitter account. “All 215 guests who were booked on Oman Air flight WY812, August 25, from Bangkok to Muscat were accommodated in a hotel. All services to ensure their comfort were provided. Despite all airlines out of Bangkok being fully booked, Oman Air has made the following alternative arrangements to bring guests back to Muscat,” said an airline official.
“Ninety-two (92) guests will be travelling via Thai Airways on August 27th, 12 on Etihad Airways, 12 more on Jet Airways, 74 more on Thai Airways, two passengers on Qatar Airways and four passengers on Air India,” the official added. The airline has thanked passengers for their understanding and cooperation.
27/08/17 Muscat Daily

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Qatar Airways flight makes emergency landing in Hyderabad after pilot suffers heart attack

New Delhi: A Qatar Airways flight made an emergency landing at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad on the outskirts of Hyderabad in the early hours of Saturday, reported Hindustan Times. The emergency landing was made after one of its pilots suffered a heart attack.As per the report, the flight was identified as QR 964 DOH-DPS and was flying from Doha to Denspar airport in the Indonesian capital of Bali. It was carrying about 240 passengers on board.
The report added while citing airport sources that Andre Dinu (34), a Romanian national and one of the two pilots, complained of severe pain in heart and lungs. The incident took place when the flight was passing through the Indian sub-continent at midnight. The other pilot after consulting with the RGIA air traffic control for permission for emergency landing, went ahead with it. It was reported that the landing was made around 12:05 AM.
Qatar Airways made alternative arrangements for the stranded passengers to reach their destination. “The flight left for Denspar at around 03.03 hours,” an airport spokesman told HT. Meanwhile, the pilot who had suffered the heart attack was immediately taken to the Apollo Hospitals in Jubilee Hills. He reached the hospital at around 1:20 am and later was reported stable.
26/08/17 Financial Express

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Air ticket prices between India, UAE soar as festivals of Eid-Al-Adha, Onam near

Air ticket prices between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have soared as the festivals of Eid-Al-Adha (likely to fall on September 1) and Onam (September 4) near. The problem has been compounded as most of the schools in UAE are reopening from September 10.
A look at the air prices of Etihad Airways has caused many raised eyebrows - a round trip ticket from Abu Dhabi to Thiruvananthapuram booked between August 30 and September 9, will cost a family of four a whopping AED19,576 (INR3,41,340.86). The breakup is AED9,116 economy flex rate for departure and AED10,460 for arrivals.
However, despite the soaring prices, the tickets are selling fast.
The return ticket from Abu Dhabi to the capital of Kerala, which used to be AED2,000 (per person) a week earlier, has been doubled up to AED4,000 burning holes in the pockets of Indian expatriates.
Even the budget airline Air India Express fares are high. The tickets will come at a minimum price of AED1400(one way) per person. That means for a family of four, you have to fork out more than AED5000 for one way tickets.AED1400(one way) per person. That means for a family of four, you have to fork out more than AED5000 for one way tickets.
An Air India Express travel consultant said demand is high and the airline has introduced additional flights to cater to the needs of travellers.
22/08/17 Ashraf Jamal/Connected to India

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Envoy mulls Lisbon-India direct flights

Indian Ambassador to Portugal Nandini Singla said here on Tuesday that she would discuss with Air India the commercial viability of starting direct flights from Lisbon to India.

Ms. Singla, on a short visit to the State, called on Tourism Minister Manohar Azgaonkar and discussed ways of improving tourism ties between Portugal and its erstwhile colony.

“Portugal has decided to work on the promotion of tourism with Goa and boosting the prospects of exchange programmes in the areas of sports and literature,” the Tourism Department said in a press release.

Ms. Singla urged Goa to participate in the Portugal Travel Mart and seek assistance from Portugal to conserve and preserve Goa’s rich heritage.
23/08/17 The Hindu

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IBS Software Inks Multi-Year Contract With Jin Air

IBS Software (IBS) has been selected by South Korea based Jin Air, a subsidiary HanJinKal, as its Passenger Services System (PSS) provider. The seven year, multi-million dollar contract for the engagement was formally signed yesterday by Mr. Choi JungHo, CEO of Jin Air and Mr. VK Mathews, Executive Chairman - IBS Group, in Seoul. The engagement will see IBS implement its Passenger Services System (PSS), iFly Res, for integrated reservations, ticketing, and departure control operations. IBS' platform will replace the existing system of a renowned PSS provider allowing Jin Air to open up new revenue streams from both its low cost and scheduled flights business. IBS' loyalty management system, iFly Loyalty, will also be implemented along with iFly Res. This will support the diverse needs of Jin Air like FFP, coalition programs, SME and corporate programs and other various models.
The contract, awarded after more than two years of evaluation, will see IBS implement its modern PSS system by March 2018, which will also enable Jin Air open up possibilities to generate significant ancillary revenue with flexible management options. iFly Res, with native NDC integration, will empower Jin Air seamlessly integrate its PSS to third party systems, and will considerably augment the airlines interline and codeshare capabilities. Jin Air has been operating on the same system as Korean Air, and will now look to simplify its business as it transitions from the two different systems to the new-gen iFly Res platform. Established in 2008, Jin Air has a fleet strength of 24 aircrafts and flies to 37 local and international destinations including US, Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.
23/08/17 PR Newswire

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Ramco Systems expands business in Chinese market

Chennai: Amid continuing geopolitical tensions between Asia’s economic powerhouses — China and India — Chennai-based software major Ramco Systems announced it had expanded its client list in the Chinese market yet again, adding another original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the global top five.
According to a statement released by the firm’s management, it has secured an order from one of the global top five aircraft OEMs for its joint venture in China.

Ramco will help the China-based manufacturing centre to embrace latest technology offerings to automate its maintenance and engineering, supply chain, finance, HCM (human capital management) and Payroll functions on a unified platform. With in-built Mobility and Hubs for simplified user experience, the application will enable users to configure and track aircraft components, gain visibility of stock and provide advanced reporting support, in addition to addressing local statutory compliance requirements for HR, payroll and finance.

“With this win, we now have two of the top five global aircraft OEMs as our clients. Ramco’s ability to address the end-to-end needs of the aviation industry with a comprehensive offering and experience with existing customers in the Chinese region played a key role in winning this strategic deal,” said Virender Aggarwal, CEO, Ramco Systems.
23/08/17 New Indian Express

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London-bound Dreamliner springs fuel leak in engine, grounded at Mumbai

New Delhi: An Air India Dreamliner sprung a fuel leak in one of its engines while preparing to take off for London. Luckily, this rare snag was detected just as the plane was taxiing at Mumbai Airport on Monday and was immediately brought back to the terminal. Passengers were then sent to London on another aircraft and they took off after a delay of over three hours.
"Leakage from fuel tank is common but fuel leak from engine is rare. The aircraft had a ramp return and is being investigated," said an AI official.
The Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) rushed emergency vehicles to the spot where the aircraft was stopped after fuel leak in engine was detected. "It was like a shower of fuel coming from the engine," said an eyewitness.
22/08/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Iraqi student deported for misconduct with woman

Pune: An Iraqi national was deported on Tuesday by the police for allegedly blackmailing a woman from Turkmenistan and threatening to make viral some of her photos.
The deportation of Al Obaidi Muntadur Hassan Nouri, a pharmacy student from a college in the city, had to be cancelled on two previous occasions for reasons like his unwillingness to leave India and the Iraqi airlines refusing to confirm his ticket.
An Iraqi consulate official's appeal to delay Nouri's deportation for sometime was rejected by police commissioner Rashmi Shukla following which he was finally deported.
A team from Mundhwa police and foreigners' registration office handed over the suspect to the immigration authorities at the Mumbai airport. He flew to Doha by a Qatar Airways flight at 4.26am on Tuesday and onward to Baghdad, Iraq's capital city.
23/08/17 Asseem Shaikh/Times of India

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Kyrgyz woman, daughter held at Delhi airport for gold smuggling

New Delhi: A Kyrgyz woman and her daughter have been arrested by the customs department for allegedly smuggling into the country over eight kilograms of gold via the Delhi airport. The arrest came after the customs department started probing seizure of over USD 2 lakh, equivalent to Rs 1.27 crore from one of the accused, at the airport.
The passenger was apprehended by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) staff at the airport on Sunday when she was proceeding to catch a flight to Bishkek. The CISF staff handed over the woman to the customs, as per an official release issued. A detailed personal and baggage search of the passenger resulted in recovery of USD 2,01,172, it said.
“Subsequent to the investigations, the passenger (mother) admitted that the recovered amount was sale proceeds of about 4.4 kgs of gold, which she had brought illegally into India,” the release said. Following the investigation, her daughter was also apprehended from a hotel in Paharganj area later, it said.
22/08/17 PTI/Indian Express

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Qatar Airways, Vistara in interline partnership pact

Mumbai: Persian gulf carrier Qatar Airways today entered into an interline partnership with Vistara, under which customers of the two carriers will have seamless travel to and from India to over 150 destinations.

The partnership is effective from Monday, Qatar Airways said.

Qatar Airways currently operates to 13 cities in India from its doha hub while the Tata-SIA run joint venture airline Vistara operates to 18 domestic destinations.

An interline arrangement refers to a pact to issue and accept tickets for flights that are operated by the partner airline. When selling an interline ticket, the operating airline's own flight numbers are used.

Interline partnership allows Qatar Airways' passengers to travel seamlessly to and from a wide range of cities within India across Vistara's network, via Qatar Airways' existing 13 Indian gateways and under a single ticket, the Gulf carrier said in a release.

"This exciting new partnership with Vistara will bring enhanced connectivity and increased convenience to our passengers travelling within India on an expanding full-service premium carrier. The Indian market is very important to us. This new partnership expands Qatar Airways' presence in India and reinforces our commitment to this market," Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said.
22/08/17 Outlook

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Indian Origin Woman Banned from Flying British Airways for 2 years

According to British media reports, a 30-year-old Indian origin academician who was removed from a plane at Heathrow Airport in UK after she hurled abuse at the flight staff in April, was fined 4500 pounds and banned from flying British Airways for two years.  She admitted to entering the aircraft drunk. The case was heard in Isleworth Crown Court, London.
Meghna Kumar was arrested out of the British Airways aircraft before it took off on April 9.  According to the Mirror, she had downed a lot of vodka and abused flight staff when she was told by the cabin crew that she was sitting on part of her unfastened seat belt.
In a Drunken State
“The defendant was booked on a flight from London Heathrow to Montreal on the evening of April 9, 2017,” Prosecutor James O’Connell was quoted as saying to the court.
The prosecutor went on to say that she was one of the last to board and her drunken state was apparent to the flight attendant. He said: “She sat down and her seat belt was not fitted, she was asked to fit the safety belt and immediately became abusive.”
According to court proceedings, the cabin service director was so alarmed by Kumar’s behavior that in a rare decision, he decided to reverse the plane to the departure gate so she could be kicked out.
22/08/17 Little India

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Hambantota: China has seaport in Sri Lanka, India may get an airport

New Delhi: After Bhutan, Sri Lanka is hedging its bet on China by creating a situation which might enable India to expand its presence in the island nation.
The Lankan government is planning to hand over to India running of the Hambantota airport near the deep-sea port to be operated by Beijing.
The loss-making Mattala Rajapaksa Int’l Airport (MRIA) in Hambantota built by China could now be handed over to India, allowing Colombo to pay back dues to China’s EXIM Bank.
The proposal to hand over MRIA to an India firm has been submitted to the Lankan Cabinet by the country’s civil aviation ministry. If India bags the order to turn around the “world’s emptiest airport”, it would signal Colombo’s intention to have a balanced approach towards Delhi and Beijing. Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka is key to China’s One Belt One Road initiative. There are reports that India could invest $205m into MRIA for a 70% share for 40 years. Sri Lanka is understood to have received eight proposals, including one from China, but India’s proposal is being reviewed separately.
MRIA, located, 250 km south from Colombo, was built for $209 m largely with Chinese assistance ($190 m). The airport located at a half-an-hour drive from the deep-sea port figured high in Mahinda Rajapaksa’s plan to develop his constituency Hambantota with assistance from China. There were apprehensions that the key infrastructure would also be used by China for purposes detrimental to India’s security interests.
22/08/17 Dipanjan Roy Choudhury/Economic Times

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Indian Medical Student Denies Charges of Molesting Teen Girl on United Airlines Flight

An Indian medical student Aug. 4 was charged with knowingly engaging in sexual conduct with a minor on a United Airlines flight and the teenage victim has claimed that flight attendants weren't helpful.

According to a New York Daily News report, the 16-year-old victim and her mother, who declined to be identified, said the flight attendants on the United flight from Seattle to Newark, New Jersey, did not provide enough effort in moving her away from the alleged attacker, Vijakumar Krishnappa, a medical student participating in a fellowship program in the U.S.

"I just felt like he could see me. Like he could see wherever I was sitting," the teen said in a CBS News report. "There was just still so much time, like, I couldn't just leave the plane. I didn't have anyone. I didn't feel like there was anyone on the plane that could protect me."
Krishnappa, through his lawyer, has “adamantly” denied the charges, according to a Washington Post report.

The victim’s mother, who was in New Jersey, described her helpless feeling during the situation in the report.

"I'm 3,000 miles away. My child says she's been sexually assaulted and I'm asking her questions and she's like, disoriented, I'm like, 'Where is he?' Do you see him?' And she said, 'He just walked by me.' And I said, 'Get the police! Get United!'”

The victim spoke to a terminal supervisor and the mother, in the report, relayed her shock when she learned that the person had been given no indication this incident occurred.

"The supervisor told me that United did not follow their own protocols. She said, 'You are the first person telling me of your daughter's assault. I don't even have a manifest, I don't have a report. I don't even know who he is or where he is,'" the mother told CBS.

The FBI, which investigates all in-air incidents, was able to identify Krishnappa as the alleged culprit.

According to a federal complaint related to the case, Krishnappa's victim fell asleep after the plane left Seattle on July 23. She awoke to him touching her thigh, the report said.

Upon noticing that she was awake and aware of his attempt to inappropriately touch her, Krishnappa apparently removed his hand and the girl fell asleep again.
22/08/17 India-West

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Indian National Accuses Turkish Airlines of Discrimination

An Indian national travelling to Nigeria from Istanbul has accused Turkish Airlines of discriminating against him due to his nationality.

The passenger who narrated his experience on an audio recording shared on social media, claimed to have been a Business Class passenger on a Turkish Airline flight to Nigeria.

He explained that he decided to relax in the resting suites provided for business class passengers as he had an 8-hour layover at the airport.

According to him, an employee of the airline informed him that he couldn’t use the suites because he was an Indian, and he was traveling to Nigeria.

He also said the employee told him that the company has a policy that only allows passengers from Western countries or those travelling to Western countries to use the suites.

Below is the transcript of the audio:

“I’m sitting in Turkish Airline Business Class Lounge I have a layover here from 10:30 am to 6: 30 pm , that is over 8 hours. So I went to see if there is a place where I could sleep,” he said.

“I go to the desk on the wall there is a notice saying: “Only for Business Class passengers”. I said fantastic, I’m a Business Class Passenger. And it said it for people who have layover of six hours and more and I said fantastic, I satisfied that also. I have a layover of six hours and more.

“I said to the lady who is there at the desk: Please, can I sleep? Where is the suite, where can I go and have some rest? She said No sir, where are you coming from? I said Mumbai, India and I am going to Nigeria.

“She said but then you can’t sleep. I said why not? She said that’s the rule. I said what rule?

“She showed me a list of countries. You have to be coming from them or going to them only then that Turkish Airline recognise that you need sleep.,” the passenger recounted.

“So if you don’t go to those countries and you don’t come from those countries, an of course all European countries are part of that Washington, is part of that New York is part of that, and so on. Other than that if you come from India and so forth and basically a non-white country it is assumed that you don’t need sleep.

“So here I’m sitting, even though I’m a Business Class passenger on Turkish Airline, Even though I have a long layover, I’m not allowed to sleep in the sleeping suite of the business class lounge. According to me because I’m not white. According to their rules because I’m from India and I’m going to Nigeria.

“I think this is something that should be brought to the notice of the highest authorities. Including the president and including the head of the Turkish Airline to say that on what basis do you discriminate on your customers and between your Business Class passengers.

“I’m absolutely certain that if this is how the Turkish Airline treats its passengers then this is my first and last time on Turkish Airline.,” he said.
19/08/17 Bitrus Iliyasu/Olisa

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Phuket airport employee arrested for smartphone theft

Phuket: A baggage handler at Phuket International Airport was arrested at 1.50pm yesterday (August 18) over the theft of a smartphone from a passenger's luggage.
Deputy Chief of Sakoo Police Station Lt Col Padungpong Dooksukkeaw and his officers arrested 25-year-old Annop Keawduang and charged him with theft after an Indian tourist informed Airport officials that she had received an alert from her Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphone that disappeared during her flight from Phuket to Dubai by Etihad Airways (EY305) on April 24.

The smartphone had a Lookout Mobile Security application installed which notified the owner about unauthorised access and took a photo of the suspect. Having received the alert, the owner of the phone – Ms Malvica Mukherjee, 39, from India – contacted Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AoT) via Facebook. The information was then forwarded to police, who easily identified and nabbed the suspect.

“Mr Annop is a staff member of Bangkok Ground Service company. When we found and arrested him at 1.50pm he had the smartphone with him. It was definitely the phone belonging to Ms Malvica Mukherjee who had complained to AoT,” Lt Col Padungpong said
“Mr Annop was charged with theft. He confessed that he did it,” Deputy Chief of Sakoo Police added.
19/08/17 Phuket News

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Cargo Flights Resume Between Afghanistan And India

After a 17-day delay, the fifth cargo flight carrying over 80 tons of fresh fruit left Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday, bringing new hope that flights between Afghanistan and India will now take place on a regular basis.

A number of fresh fruit exporters said government should ensure that these flights are carried out as scheduled from now on. Thursday’s freight consisted of 60 tons of melon, 15 tons of grapes and 5 tons of apricots. This is the fifth cargo flight to India since the inauguration of the route in early July.

“Four cargo flights will be conducted every month, if more flights are needed, we are fully prepared for the operations,” said Younus Mohmand, deputy of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI).

Meanwhile, officials of Kam Air Aviation company, which is responsible for the aircraft used, have said that its Boeing-737 plane has the capacity to transport 100 tons of fruit at a time.
18/08/17 Haidarshah Omid/Tolo News

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After government's pressure, SpiceJet gets more slots at Dubai

New Delhi: India's insistence on better and more flight slots for its carriers in Dubai's airport for increasing the seat capacity between the Emirate and India seems to be yielding results.
SpiceJet has informed the civil aviation ministry that it got slots equalling 5,500 weekly seats at Dubai airport. This has come even before the two governments agreed to an increase in flying rights between them.
"They have informed us that they have slots. The airline, however, cannot start flights because our carriers have exhausted the current seat quota and would require an increase in bilateral seat entitlements before SpiceJet could utilise these slots," said an aviation ministry official, who did not want to be named.
"They have informed us that they have slots. The airline, however, cannot start flights because our carriers have exhausted the current seat quota and would require an increase in bilateral seat entitlements before SpiceJet could utilise these slots," said an aviation ministry official, who did not want to be named.
SpiceJet, which already operates some flights to Dubai, did not respond to an email seeking comment. Sources in the airline, however, confirmed to ET that it has written to the ministry on the allocation of extra slots in Dubai.
16/08/17 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Passengers sue Boeing for 2016 Emirates crash in Dubai

Chicago: Passengers who were aboard an Emirates plane that crash-landed in August 2016 are suing Chicago-based Boeing for an alleged malfunction of the aircraft's electronics.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court alleges the aircraft's electronics system prevented the operation of a switch at a critical moment. More than a dozen passengers involved in the lawsuit claim the system didn't provide any warning to the crew that the switch wasn't working.

The Emirates Boeing 777-300 flying from India crash-landed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

All 300 people aboard survived, scrambling down emergency slides before flames destroyed the plane. A firefighter was killed battling the blaze.

UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority earlier this month determined there were no mechanical problems leading up to the incident.

A spokesman for Boeing declined to comment on the lawsuit, noting the litigation is pending.
17/08/17 AP/New Indian Express

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All women crew flies Air India jet to Stockholm from Delhi

New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha today congratulated the government run Air India for launching direct all women crew flights from New Delhi to Stockholm. Sinha tweeted this message: “.@airindiain sets new benchmark with maiden direct flight from Delhi to Stockholm with an all women crew. Well done!” Air India yesterday operated a Dreamliner Boeing 787 to Stockholm, making the Swedish capital its tenth destination in Europe, as per PTI. The airline will be providing its service thrice-a-week with flights on every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The flight will leave Delhi at 2.50 pm (local time) and reach Stockholm at 6.40 pm, while the return flight will leave Stockholm at 8.40 pm and reach Delhi at 7.20 am next day, according to The Times of India.
In a statement, the Embassy of Sweden said, “With an increase of passenger volume between India and Sweden by 50% in three years, the direct flight is likely to further bolster the growing relationship between India and Sweden. The flying time of passengers will be reduced by at least two hours,” the report added.
17/08/17 Financial Express

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India may increase Dubai seat entitlements by 6,000 seats a week

New Delhi: India and Dubai are likely to finalise an agreement to increase the seat entitlement by 6,000 seats a week. However, the outcome of the talks depends on Indian carriers agreeing to hold talks without any commitment of getting preferred slots at Dubai's main airport.

This comes almost a year after the ministry turned down a similar request from Dubai. The talks have resumed as Indian carriers have fully utilised the current capacity entitlements. Of the current entitlement, 66,504 seats on the sector designated airlines of both India and Dubai are utilising capacity to the full extent.
According to an official of a private airline, the civil aviation ministry official has asked Indian carriers whether the agreement can be increased without any guarantee of slots. Simultaneously the ministry has also asked if the Indian carriers will use the Al-Maktoum International Airport at Jebel Ali which is 37 kilometres away from the main city of Dubai. "The civil aviation ministry sent a questionnaire to airlines asking if it is okay to hold talks without any guarantee of slots at Dubai's main airport," the official said. Lobby group Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) which represents IndiGo, SpiceJet, Go Air and Jet Airways has asked the government to ensure that they get preferred slots at Dubai airport. However, Dubai Airport in the past has said that the allocation of slots is independent of bilateral agreements.
Mohammed Ahil, Director General of the Civil Aviation, the governing body of aviation activities in the Gulf state has written to ministry that there is a further requirement of increasing the number of seats as carriers from Dubai was not being able to expand operations in India for lack of flying rights.

17/08/17 Business Standard

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Cocaine worth Rs 40cr seized at IGI

New Delhi: In one of the biggest seizures of this year, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized 4kg fine quality cocaine, worth Rs 40 crore, from IGI airport.
A Tanzanian woman, Beatrice Kemmy Ndyetabula, and her aide have been arrested in the case.
The contraband was concealed in ribbon rolls in the woman's luggage. The consignment was meant to be delivered to a distributor in Dwarka. The bureau is conducting further raids to arrest sother members of the cartel.
Madho Singh, director of Delhi zonal unit of NCB, said that they received a tip off about a Tanzaninan woman arriving in Delhi from Mumbai — with cocaine — on August 16 and accordingly surveillance was mounted around the airport.
Ndyetabula arrived at the IGI airport by a GoAir flight at 2.50pm. She was intercepted by the NCB team at the arrival hall of terminal 1 and questioned. She was carrying two bags which were thoroughly checked and white powder was found in 27 ribbon rolls kept in her bag. Upon testing, the powder was confirmed to be cocaine.
She told officials that she had flown into Mumbai from Nairobi, Kenya by Kenya Airlines flight with the drug on August 16. She said she was supposed to hand over the drug to a Nigerian national, Augustin, who was arrested from Dwarka. Augustin did not have a passport.
18/08/17 Times of India

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Malaysia Airlines sale: Get your flights to India from $573 return

Malaysia Airlines has some last-minute space on flights to Delhi in India with available flight dates from August to October 2017, going from Melbourne to Delhi for as little as $573 round trip. These are about as low as prices will ever drop to India, coming in a little bit cheaper than previous Malaysia Airlines Delhi flight sales which saw prices fall to $588 return.

They're still a bit more expensive than AirAsia flights are going at the same time, however. If you want to go budget and don't need the checked baggage and in-flight meals then AirAsia might be the one for you.

The reason there's space left to fill is probably because it's monsoon season in India from July to September, so you might want to aim for the later October travel dates for much better weather, while still getting practically identical prices.

The other catch is that certain dates might come with a fairly extensive stopover on the way back, so it might be worth tweaking your dates a bit to avoid this.
16/08/17 Finder

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Teething trouble for air corridor

A new air corridor trade scheme between India and Afghanistan has got off to a turbulent start, according to a report from The Hindu.

Fresh produce consignments, including melons and apricots, were left to rot at Kabul airport earlier this month following the delay and cancellation of chartered services on the trade route.

Citing figures from the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the Indian Embassy in Kabul, the report claimed only160 tonnes of cargo have been transported under the scheme.

Along with a lack of cargo planes, the report suggested a slow screening process and minimal cold storage facilities at Kabul airport have hampered trade.

Meanwhile, Indian traders have raised concerns about the length of time it takes to clear perishable goods through their customs department.

“We were told that all these procedural delays would be sorted out within a month of the corridor starting, but there are yet to be resolved,” Sayam Pasarlay, a spokesperson for ACCI, told The Hindu.
16/08/17 Asiafruit

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Air India Freedom Sale: Dubai flight tickets at Rs 6,000, Colombo at Rs 7,000

Indian travellers looking for a quick a getaway to an international destination must know national carrier Air India is offering cheap tickets as part of its Freedom Sale marking 70 years of Indian Independence. The sale began on 13th August and fliers can book tickets till 20th August to avail the discounted rates. The cheapest tickets among international flights are for Asian cities, some of which are also popular tourist destinations for Indians.
Tickets to Nepal's capital Kathmandu, Sri Lankan capital Colombo, Myanmar's Yangon are being offered for as low as Rs 7,000. The rates, however, can change, depending on ticket availability. The travel period during for to avail this offer is 16th September 2017 to 30th November 2017 and 25th January 2018 to 31st March 2018, as per the Air India website.
Tickets to Middle Eastern cities, most of which have a strong Indian population, are even cheaper. Tickets to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sarjah, Muscat, Bahrain, Kuwait, Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam are priced Rs 6,000.  But, fliers must note that the travel period at these rates are from 1st February 2018 to 20th April 2018. Tickets to other major international cities in the US, UK, Australia and Europe are also offered on lower rates than usual.
16/08/17 Business Today

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Etihad Airways partners with Indian designer Manish Arora at Lakmé Fashion Week

Etihad Airways and Lakmé Fashion Week today announced a collaboration with one of the most lauded and inspiring international contemporary designers, Paris-based Manish Arora, who returns to the prestigious Mumbai fashion event after more than five years.

The celebrated Indian couturier marks the 10th anniversary of his colorful Paris collection by presenting ‘CosmicLove’ at the Lakmé Fashion Week Winter Festive 2017 on August 19. His show, Etihad Airways Presents Manish Arora, will take the star-studded audience of Bollywood celebrities, lifestyle media and fashion lovers on a visual journey that spans the tribes of Africa and the outer reaches of the universe.

Known for his astute craftsmanship and unique play on colors – his trademark being pink and gold – Arora’s designs are inspired by Indian heritage but with a contemporary vibe.

Etihad Airways flew Manish Arora on its recently-launched Airbus A380 Paris – Abu Dhabi service and onwards to India, capturing his journey on film from the French capital to Delhi, during which he speaks candidly about his inspiration from the varied cultures and environment for his renowned creations.
15/081/17 eTN

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Irish tourist degtained with satellite phne at IGIA

New Delhi: Security personnel at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport went into a tizzy when a 28-year-old Irish national was detained at the Airport on August 14, a day before the Independence Day with a satellite phone, a device which is prohibited in India and can be used by terrorists, police said on Tuesday.

"Since satellite phones are prohibited in India, we took action against the accused identified as Pattrick O Connor  He had come to India to visit Leh Ladakh," Deputy Commissioner of Police, IGI, Airport Sanjay Bhatia told The Pioneer.

The accused was produced  before a Delhi court to pay fine as is the norm in such cases. A Kalandra under section 6 of the Indian Wireless Act was registered as a diary entry in the IGI Domestic Airport Police station against the accused.

The official said the accused was not aware that satellite phones are not allowed, except on special permission, in India.
16/08/17 Sauvik Mitra/Daily Pioneer

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Gulf flag-carriers see manifold jump in entitlements in 2017

Mumbai: As domestic carriers fail to utilise their bi-laterals, especially to the Gulf airlines eating away 54 per cent volume, foreign flag-carriers have seen manifold jump in their entitlements in 2017, with UAE, Qatar, Oman and Singapore leading the pack.
While domestic carriers’ ownership of international passenger market originating to and fro from the country is a very low 38 per cent, for countries like the Netherlands it’s a high 61 per cent, for China and Britain it is 49 per cent each, says a report by brokerage ICICI Securities.
“The share of the Gulf carriers to and fro from here has jumped from 27 per cent in 2008 to 33 per cent in 2015, while the same for the Southeast Asian airlines jumped over two times from 5.9 per cent in 2008 to 12.3 per cent in 2015,” says the report.
This has, says the report, “domestic airlines enjoy only 38 per cent of the total international segment capacity as measured by available seat kilometres. This is very low compared to other countries like the Netherlands (61 per cent), China and Britain (49 per cent each).” One of the reasons for this lopsided market is the round-tripping of passengers via international hubs of Dubai and Singapore, notes the report, which has been made through utilisation of the sixth freedom of the air and increase in capacity entitlements under bilateral air service agreements.
Gulf carriers enjoy almost 54 per cent of total global air travel destination for the country.
But these countries are not the end-destinations for most passengers but are being used as stop-over hubs to carry passengers for onward destinations in the US, Canada, Europe etc.
“The sixth freedom of the air has to a large extent been responsible for reducing the share of direct long haul flights for domestic carriers from 25 per cent in 2011-12 to 20.5 per cent in 2015-16,” the report says.
The sixth freedom of the air means the right to fly from a foreign country to another while stopping in one’s own country for non-technical reasons.
The sixth freedom of the air means the right to fly from a foreign country to another while stopping in one’s own country for non-technical reasons.
Fifth freedom means the right to fly between two foreign countries on a flight originating or ending in one’s own country, while the fourth freedom means flying from another country to one’s own.
What is more, the percentage of sixth freedom traffic for most Gulf and Southeast Asian airlines is over 50 with Qatar and the UAE having greater than 60 of the total traffic.
“Between 2003 and 2017, the capacity entitlements between Dubai and India have increased manifold. The same for Oman and Qatar jumped 9 and 12 fold, respectively,” notes the report.
While the UAE saw its weekly seats or bi-laterals jumping from 10,400 in 2003 to 66,500 in 2017, for Oman, it soared to 27,400 from 3,800; Qatar to 24,800 from 2,900 and Singapore’s to 26,300 from 1,650, says the report.
15/08/17 India.com

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India To Sri Lanka: Forget China, We Want Your Empty Airport

An Indian company has emerged with a bold plan for taking over Sri Lanka's struggling Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA). The proposal, which would see India pumping $205 million into the airport for a 70% share for 40 years, was approved by Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva and sent on to the country's cabinet for review. While Sri Lanka has received a total of eight proposals from various other parties -- including China -- to take over the airport, the Indian plan is reportedly being reviewed separately.

For many years, there was a very strong demand for Sri Lanka to add additional international aviation capacity. Air traffic through Colombo was getting too heavy, and the country either had to add an additional runway there or build or expand another airport elsewhere. At a cost of $209 million —  most of which coming from China — Sri Lanka chose the later option, building Mattala International far out in southern Hambantota district, a 250 kilometer drive from Colombo.

This airport started out as a key part of an ambitious plan by Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa to transform his extremely rural hometown region into Sri Lanka’s number two metropolis. In addition to the airport, there would be a $1.4 billion deep sea port, a large industrial and export processing zone, an exhibition center, a large cricket stadium, and a hotel and leisure area that would be connected together by some of the country’s best highways. The idea was that all of these large projects would rise up together and support each other. It was an all or nothing wager placed on creating an entirely new economy out in the middle of the jungle.

However, this great scheme has yet to come to fruition. Being located in a remote area in an under-developed part of the country, Mattala airport has struggled to attract both passengers and airlines. Only one or two flights per day This squalid state of affairs has led to the airport suffering major financial losses, with the government claiming that MRIA had hemorrhaged $112.9 million by the end of last year. It has become abundantly clear that Mattala International cannot provide the financial sustenance necessary for Sri Lanka to pay back the $190 million of loans that the Exim Bank of China provided to build it anytime soon.

currently stop there, and, according to the Sri Lankan government, the 3,000 flights that touched down at the airport in 2014 served just 21,000 passengers -- averaging a mere seven passengers per plane. This has led to MRIA being dubbed the "world's emptiest international airport," with its vacant corridors, gates, and tarmac serving as more of an attraction for curious journalists than actual passengers.
14/08/17 Wade Shepard/Forbes

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Abu Dhabi airport celebrates India, Pakistan Independence Days

Abu Dhabi: Passengers travelling to or coming from Pakistan or India this week were treated to festivities at Abu Dhabi International Airport, marking the Pakistan Independence Day on August 14, and the Indian Independence Day on August 15.

The celebrations included a flash mob that surprised passengers arriving from various destinations in both countries, as it suddenly appeared in the baggage claim halls, leaving the passengers in total amazement. Passengers also had the opportunity to take photos in front of the famous "Wagah Border", which is a tradition that reflects the close relations between the two communities.

Both Terminal 1 and 3 were carrying the flags and colours of both countries in a tribute to those nations. Abu Dhabi Duty Free and several of its concessionaires also joined in with many offers and discounts over the two days, including Sharaf DG, Pure Gold, and the airport' lounges operated by Plaza Premium. In addition, the VIP terminal chose 50 lucky passengers and gave them the opportunity to experiment the luxury travel experience they have on offer.
15/08/17 Khaleej Times

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New formula seeks to give wings to foreign airlines’ India expansion

New Delhi: Foreign airlines will now be able to offer more seats on routes to India in cases where domestic carriers have not been able to utilise even one-third of the capacity as per their entitlements under bilateral air services agreements.
A committee of secretaries has issued an order to this effect, devising a new formula to calibrate the opening up of Indian skies to genuine demands of overseas carriers. The panel, headed by the cabinet secretary, was constituted to discuss reforms in bilateral air services agreements, including auctioning of rights.

“With countries where Indian carriers have not utilised even one-third of the total seat entitlements and do not have any immediate plans, the panel is of the view that bilateral entitlements should be increased,” said an aviation ministry official, who did not want to be identified.

The committee has also suggested a formula for increasing bilateral entitlements of foreign carriers in such cases, the official said. “The committee has suggested selecting the higher one between a flat increase by 10% of the existing capacity and the average of the growth in the past three years in that particular sector,” he said. Malaysia would be an immediate beneficiary of this order, according to the official, Qatar would not become eligible for an increase under the scheme because the utilisation by Indian carriers on that route is about 66%.
Analysts, however, said the move did not constitute a long-term strategy. “This could, at best, be termed another incremental move, which may be another short-term measure. It may not benefit many countries seeking more traffic rights,” said Kapil Kaul, CEO of aviation consultancy firm CAPA South Asia.
14/08/17 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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How Arora Group ruffled feathers with Heathrow runway proposal

London:  When the British government gave the go-ahead to the construction of a third runway at Heathrow airport last October, it seemed it had finally put an end to the long running and heated battle over the future of the first new full length runway that south-east England had had since the Second World War.

That assumption was put paid to decisively last month as the Arora Group, an established hotel and property empire owned by Indian-origin businessman Surinder Arora, revealed that it had submitted a proposal as part of the consultation the government had launched, that would knock a startling £6.7 billion off the cost of the project.

Crucially, the project received backing from airlines, including the International Airlines Group, which owns British Airways (the biggest airline at Heathrow). “Arora’s Heathrow proposal is a welcome alternative to the airport’s own costly scheme,” its CEO Willie Walsh told the FT last month.

Speaking at the group’s 600-bed Sofitel Heathrow, Arora, who was born in Sultanpur Lodhi in Punjab, is quietly confident that his move has ruffled feathers at the very least, and shaken the project out of the complacency it was in danger of falling into, with his very public campaign. (The group has a fully dedicated website outlining the proposal and how it differs from Heathrow’s plans, submitted to Howard Davies, who headed the independent commission recommending the expansion at Heathrow over the alternatives).

Arora sees his bid as a crucial part of challenging the Heathrow “monopoly.” “The way in which the business is currently regulated in the UK…the airport has no incentive to be efficient — in fact, they are incentivised to be inefficient, not doing things in a different way,” he said. “That’s what led us to come up with a different idea — in the 21st century, we should be looking at what they do in other countries where different terminals are owned by different entities that create competition…Heathrow is the most expensive airport in the world and there is no reason why this should be the case and unless we think outside the box it’s not going to change.”
13/08/17 Visdya Ram/Business Line

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Two airlines to pay Rs 1.07 lakh to passenger

Chennai: The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Chennai (South) has directed two international airlines to pay a compensation of Rs 1.07 lakh to a person for not permitting him to board a flight to Pittsburgh, USA, from Chennai. He was returning to USA along with his wife and brother in 2009.

In the petition, S. Karthik from Pittsburgh submitted that he planned to spend a month with his family members in Chennai. He purchased round trip tickets for travel from Pittsburgh to Chennai for himself and his pregnant wife and his brother Ravinder. They left Pittsburgh by Continental Airlines on January 23, 2009 and reached Chennai on January 26, 2009.

 He said “while returning to Pittsburgh only his brother was allowed to board the flight on February 23, 2009”. Karthik and his wife were not given boarding passes on a British Airways flight. When he enquired, Karthik found that their confirmed tickets were cancelled.

 His original travel schedule was disrupted. He was forced to book tickets again and travelled in Qatar Airlines on March 11, 2009. He said the act of Continental Airlines and British Airways amounts to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice, which caused him mental agony and hardship. He sought direction to the airlines to pay a compensation of Rs 8 lakh.
 In the reply, Manager, Continental Airlines, Nandanam, submitted that Karthik purchased confirmed round trip ticket from Pittsburgh through agent Hotwire.com. His onward journey was smooth on Continental tickets from Pittsburgh to Newark without any trouble. He was scheduled to fly on a British Airways from Chennai to London on February 23, 2009. The British Airways cancelled two out of three tickets and Continental Airlines had no role in the cancellation.
14/08/17 Deccan Chronicle

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Air India’s new Washington-Delhi flight is a win-win for everyone

Washington, DC: The launch of Air India’s non-stop service from this city to Delhi, on July 7, 2017, was a welcome news to Indian Americans living in the area. The 14-hour long nonstop flight from the US capital to the Indian capital has brought the people of world’s oldest and largest democracies closer, literally and figuratively.

This region is home to one of the largest Indian American communities in the country. As many as 150,000 Indian Americans live in the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area. The flight gives members of the community traveling to India, either to visit family members, or for vacation, a highly convenient option.

Until now, those flying to Delhi from Washington had to deal with hours-long stopovers in either European or Middle Eastern airports, or fly via New York. Senior citizens — parents and grand parents — were especially affected by it. Now they have the option of avoiding hardships of flying via New York, or having stopovers in foreign cities.
12/08/17 Sambhu N. Banik/American Bazar

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Dhaka Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport fire originated at Air India office: Caab

The fire at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport originated at the Air India office housed on the second floor of the airport, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (Caab) today said.

“The automatic central fire alarm system rang up at 1:25pm and the airport’s fire control monitor identified Air India office as the source of yesterday’s fire,” Caab said in a press release today.

Offices of two airlines -- Air India and Qatar Airways -- were damaged in the fire, said the press note under signed by AKM Rezaul Karim, public relation officer of Caab.

The fire was brought under control at 2:00pm, said the release issued on completion of the investigation carried out by Caab.

It also claimed that the fire did not hamper the landing and takeoff operations.

However, Caab yesterday said that at least 10 flights, including one dedicated for pilgrims, were delayed, due to the incident.

The Caab has formed a five-member investigation committee led by its director (administration) to investigate the matter.
12/08/17 Star Online

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Eco Survey Trips on Middle-East Air Traffic data

The Economic Survey released on Friday has argued that the Indian carriers lagged behind in utilising their foreign air traffic rights compared with their international counterparts. However, some of the figures cited by the Survey to depict this scenario are inaccurate, as per official aviation ministry estimates reviewed by The Hindu.

According to the second volume of the Economic Survey 2016-17, the Indian air carriers utilised 72.1% of their capacity entitlements to Dubai whereas airlines from Dubai were able to use 97% of the total entitled capacity to India in the latest summer schedule of 2017.

However, data compiled by the Civil Aviation Ministry shows that both Indian and foreign carriers have exhausted their bilateral quota on the India-Dubai sector already. Airlines from Dubai and India are entitled to fly 66,504 seats into each other’s territory, as per the air services pact.

This year, Indian carriers have flown 66,526 seats to Dubai (more than 100% of the entitled seats) and airlines from Dubai flew 66,462 seats (99.9%) to India – clearly showing that Indian carriers were carrying more capacity than their foreign rivals on this sector.

Countries sign bilateral air services agreements stating the number of seats or flights that airlines are entitled to fly into each other’s country. However, as a special case, India has signed separate bilateral air traffic agreements with United Arab Emirates’ Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras-al-Khaimah.
12/08/17 Somesh Jha/The Hindu

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GoAir all set to fly international

GoAir, the low-cost Indian carrier, is planning to launch overseas operations with flights from Mumbai to Phuket in Thailand and Male in Maldives, starting around October this year.
“We have plans to start overseas operations from October this year,” informed Jehangir Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir.
According to sources, the airline is anticipated to acquire two planes by October and would set the seal on its overseas plans by then. Though the carrier became eligible to fly international last year when it inducted its 20th aircraft, the launch has been postponed because of delay in deliveries of the Airbus A320 neo planes.
Currently, there are no direct flights from Phuket to India, and Male is linked only to cities in south India and Delhi. Thus, securing a slot at the Mumbai airport could be easier given the airport operator’s preference for virgin international routes.
13/08/17 Arachika Kapoor/MiG

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First flight with 300 Haj pilgrims leaves for Saudi Arabia

Kochi: The season’s first Haj flight carrying 300 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia was flagged off today from the international airport at nearby Nedumbassery by local administration minister K T Jaleel.

The Saudi Airlines flight, which departed at 7.40 AM, carried 300 pilgrims including 139 men and 161 women. A total of 11,800 pilgrims will be going on the Haj pilgrimage through the Nedumbassery airport this season.

These include 305 faithful from Lakshadweep and 32 from Mahe, which is part of Pondicherry. Central Haj committee co-ordinator and Lok Sabha member ET Muhammed Basheer, Anwar Sadath MLA, state Haj committee chairman Thodiyoor Muhammed Kunju Maulavi, Executive Officer Amit Meena, CIAL Executive director A C K Nair and Haj committee members were present.
13/08/17 PTI/Statesman

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Chinese Airline Misbehaved, Alleges Indian; New Delhi Takes Up Complaint

India has taken up with China a complaint filed by an Indian passenger alleging misbehaviour with Indians at the Shanghai Pudong international airport by the staff of a Chinese airline, sources said today.

Chahal, who travelled on August 6 by China Eastern Airlines flight from New Delhi to San Francisco, had to stop at Shanghai Pudong to catch his next flight of the same airlines for San Francisco. He said when he complained to concerned Airlines he was shouted down by the official.

"I noticed from their body language that they were frustrated from the rising border tension between India and China," Chahal was quoted as saying in the letter, apparently referring to the nearly two-month long standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam in Sikkim section.

Chahal even suggested to Swaraj to issue an advisory for Indian transit travellers to avoid transiting through China.

The matter has been taken up with the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Pudong airport authorities after it was brought to the notice of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, sources told PTI.

Meanwhile, China Eastern Airlines has denied the allegation saying that after checking related materials and the airport CCTV footage, it found news reports about the incident did not conform to the fact, state-run Xinhua news agency reported last night.

"Instead, the airlines employees offered meticulous service," the airline said in a statement.

The company claimed that it is dedicated to providing quality flight service for passengers around the world. Earlier, media reports said that North American Punjabi Association executive director Satnam Singh Chahal wrote to Swaraj alleging that he noticed that at the exit gate of the airplane for wheelchair passengers, ground staff was insulting transit Indian passengers.
13/08/17 PTI/NDTV

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‘Ease norms for airlines to fly abroad’

New Delhi: The Economic Survey has suggested a mix of protectionism for domestic airlines and liberal norms for flying abroad to bolster their share in international air traffic.

The second volume of the Economic Survey 2016-17 released on Friday said a large increase in capacity entitlements under bilateral air service agreements with foreign countries has helped foreign carriers in gaining a large share in the international traffic to and from India as domestic carriers have underutilised their rights.

About 38% people fly in and out of India through Indian carriers as per estimates for January-March 2017.

“Indian domestic airlines have a very low share in international traffic to and from India,” the Survey said. “Factors like foreign airlines utilising the sixth freedom of the air, expansion of capacity entitlements under bilateral air service agreements with foreign countries, lower utilisation of India’s own capacity entitlements, the 0/20 rule and fleet constraints are responsible for the same.”

Sixth freedom is the bilateral air traffic right to fly from a foreign country to another foreign country while stopping in one’s own country. For instance, Emirates operates flights between India and the U.K. while stopping at Dubai, its home state. Sixth freedom traffic constituted 61.14% of the total international traffic in 2015-16, increasing from 59.15% in 2014-15. The Survey said this had reduced the share of direct, long-haul flights for Indian carriers from 25% in 2011-12 to 20.5% in 2015-16.

The Survey said that the government should focus on building its own aviation hubs as “India is as advantageously placed in terms of geographic location as Dubai or Singapore.”

It noted that the capacity entitlements between Dubai and India have increased sixfold between 2003 and 2017. It increased ninefold in the case of Oman and 12-fold in the case of Qatar.
12/08/17 The Hindu

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Survey shows factors for India's lower international air traffic share

New Delhi: The Economic Survey 2016-17's second volume has recommended removing the 0/20 rule — where an Indian carrier needs to have at least 20 planes in its fleet to fly abroad — and having bilateral agreements with other nations in a way that takes care of desi airlines as the ways for increasing the market share of Indian airlines in international traffic to and from the country.
Despite the fact that India is a huge market for air travel and is growing at among the fastest rates in the world, the survey has pointed out in 2015 Indian carriers accounted for only 36.6% of international traffic to and from India. In comparison, the airline/s of Netherlands, China and UK had a 60.6%, 49.1% and 48.9%, respectively, share in international travel to and from their countries in 2015.
"Indian domestic airlines have a very lower share in international traffic to and from India... Factors like foreign airlines utilising the sixth freedom of the air, expansion of capacity entitlements under bilateral air service agreements with foreign countries, lower utilisation of India's own capacity entitlements, the 0/20 rule and fleet constraints are responsible for the same," the survey says.
"Reforms such as privatisation or disinvestment of Air India, creation of aviation hubs and reconsidering the 0/20 rule are some suggestions to improve Indian airlines' share in the international market," it adds.
11/08/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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India keen to run Sri Lanka airport

Colombo: India has expressed interest to operate Sri Lanka’s second international airport situated in Mattala, about 40 km from the southern town of Hambantota, where China has majority stake in a strategic port it built.

The Sri Lankan government earlier this week cleared Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva’s request for a committee to study the Indian government’s proposal. India proposes to “operate, manage, maintain and develop” the airport through a joint venture, holding 70% of the equity for 40 years. According to the Minister’s Cabinet paper, India is to invest $205 million in the venture, while Sri Lanka would pitch in the balance $88 million.

The development comes less than a fortnight after Sri Lanka signed a $1.1 billion deal with China, giving the state-run China Merchants Port Holdings a 70% stake in a joint venture to run the port. Additionally, Colombo also roped in China to help develop an industrial zone in the adjoining land, spanning some 15,000 acres.
12/08/17 Meera Srinivasan/The Hindu

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PH firm eyes $300-M airport project in India

Megawide Construction Corp. is pursuing a construction project in India—its first overseas—as it builds on a relationship with its Indian partner in the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
Megawide said it was prequalified as contractor for the Mopa Greenfield Airport in North Goa, India. The airport concession was awarded to GMR Goa International Airports Ltd., a subsidiary of GMR Group Inc.
In 2014, a unit of GMR and Megawide jointly won the 25-year concession to develop, operate and maintain the Mactan Cebu International Airport via the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

“The engineering methodology that we are using for Mactan-Cebu International Airport has gained a lot of attention here and abroad. It was on this basis that we were invited to bid for the Mopa airport project, and we believe it gives us a lead over other bidders,” Megawide president and chief operating officer Edgar Saavedra said in a statement.
The airport project has a total construction cost of $300 million. The contract includes the passenger terminal building, air traffic control tower and cargo facilities.
Megawide said the actual bidding for construction of the Mopa airport would be held in September this year.
“The proponents were very impressed with the design and construction methodology we implemented in T2. In fact, despite initial delays in the turnover of project land, we are already at 67-percent completion and 7-percent ahead of schedule,” Saavedra said.

Megawide was established more than a decade ago as a contractor, making a name for itself during the residential tower construction boom in Metro Manila. It diversified into infrastructure via the MCIA project.
Goa is a state in India’s West Coast. According to Megawide, the greenfield airport is designed to accommodate an initial five million passengers a year.
12/08/17 Miguel R. Camus/Inquirer.Net

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SriLankan Airlines hosts cultural evening for Kolkata patrons

With a view to mark the months of association with Kolkata, SriLankan Airlines hosted an evening of cultural rendezvous for its patrons & GSAs present in Kolkata & West Bengal. The cultural event was held on 10 August at The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata and was attended by more than 200 guests comprising GSAs, travel community and Kolkata's elite. The evening was a celebration to acknowledge their support, strengthen the relationship and bring Sri Lanka closer to its patrons in Kolkata.

The evening commenced with a welcome dance by the Sri Lankan dancers and the lighting of the traditional lamp by the guest of honour and dignitaries which included Siva Ramachandran, CCO; Lalith Peiris, Area Manager Kolkata- SriLankan Airlines ; Pradeep Durairaj, Manager Marketing; Chinthaka Weerasinghe, Country Manager and Subhash Goyal, Chairman of STIC Travels.
11/08/17 Voyegers World

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Fire breaks out inside Air India office at Bangladesh airport

Dhaka: A fire on Friday broke out inside the Air India office at Bangladesh's international airport here, officials said.

Ten firefighting units were working to douse the fire that started around noon at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

An Air India official told PTI the fire originated from the office of the airline.

However, he did not specify the cause of the fire.

The airport's third storey houses the offices of Air India and Saudi Airlines, a duty officer of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) was quoted by the bdnews24.

Electricity supply to the airport has been cut off.

Employees and passengers being evacuated from the various floors have reported seeing smoke inside the building.

Departures have been suspended as people arriving for their flights were being barred from entering the airport, a security official said.
11/08/17 PTI/Zee News

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Economic Survey calls for liberalising flying abroad rules for airlines

New Delhi:  The Economic Survey has suggested liberalising the flying abroad rule for airlines to bolster India’s share in international air traffic and advocated protectionism for the domestic carriers while negotiating air traffic bilateral rights.

The second volume of the Economic Survey 2016-17 released on Thursday said the expansion of capacity entitlements under bilateral air service agreements with foreign countries has hurt the Indian carriers as foreign airlines dominated the international traffic to and from India.

“Indian domestic airlines have a very lower share in international traffic to and from India,” the Survey said. “Factors like foreign airlines utilising the sixth freedom of the air, expansion of capacity entitlements under bilateral air service agreements with foreign countries, lower utilisation of India’s own capacity entitlements, the 0/20 rule and fleet constraints are responsible for the same,” it added.
11/08/17 The Hindu

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Passport please? Doha sends lady back

A university professor on her way to the US had mistakenly left her passport at a duty-free shop in the Calcutta airport and was sent back from Doha where she had a layover.

Chandana Mitra, an associate professor of geosciences at the College of Sciences and Mathematics in Alabama's Auburn University, had to spend 24 hours at Hamad International Airport in Doha and missed the connecting flight to Atlanta before being asked to return to Calcutta the next morning.

The woman, who flew back to Calcutta yesterday, said Qatar Airways staff members at the boarding gate had not asked her for her passport when she was boarding the flight. They only checked her boarding card, she said.

Officials of several airlines said that although it was not mandatory in India to check passports at the boarding point, most airlines do so to ensure only genuine passengers were boarding.
At the Doha airport, Mitra said today, Qatar Airways officials expressed shock that no one at the Calcutta airport, where she spent one-and-a-half hours in the boarding area after misplacing the passport at the duty-free shop in the departure zone, had taken any initiative to track her down by making announcements.

Mitra, a US resident for 12 years, had come to Calcutta to attend a conference and visit friends and relatives. She was booked on the Qatar Airways flight from Calcutta to Atlanta on August 7. She had a stopover in Doha.
 "The airline people only checked my boarding pass. Had they asked for the passport, I would have realised that it was not on me," she said.

In the transit lounge, she reached for her passport but to her shock failed to find it. "I desperately tried to recollect where I could have left it. Suddenly I remembered that I had left it in the duty-free shop," she said.

Mitra showed the airline staff a scanned copy of the passport from her mailbox and other documents.

Qatar Airways officials in Doha asked their counterparts in Calcutta to search for the passport. Sources said the airline staff in Calcutta failed to find it.

"The airline people in Doha were very helpful and even provided me with a lounge access card and allowed me to use their phones to make calls to India," the academic said.

Mitra called a friend who works at the Calcutta airport and asked him to look for the passport. The friend found the document in the duty-free store in the arrival area.

"I took it to the office of the airport manager, who handed it to a Qatar Airways official," he said.

"Had my friend not found it, I don't know what would have happened," Mitra said.

But her ordeal didn't end there.

Qatar security officials told the airline that Mitra could not stay in transit for more than 24 hours. It would be 27 hours since her arrival in Doha if she was to take the Atlanta flight the next morning.

She was sent back to Calcutta on the return flight on August 8. Qatar Airways officials, meanwhile, handed over her passport to the immigration department at the Calcutta airport.

Mitra booked a fresh ticket on Virgin Airlines spending more than Rs 67,000. She also lodged a complaint with Qatar Airways. The airline didn't comment today.
10/08/17 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

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Air India Frankfurt-Delhi Flight Makes Precautionary Landing at Tehran Due to Technical Snag

New Delhi: An Air India Dreamliner from Frankfurt to Delhi made a precautionary landing at Tehran due to technical snag. All 249 passengers on board are reportedly safe.
The flight AI 120 FRA/DEL was diverted to Tehran on Wednesday morning after its windshield cracked midair. ” Flight AI120 FRA/DEL (8th Aug) has made precautionary landing at Tehran due technical snag. All passengers are safe and being taken care.”
A relief flight departed from Mumbai at 2 PM to serve the passengers.
The flight was scheduled to reach Delhi at 8:30 AM today. It will be flown back to Delhi after its cracked windshield is replaced, the Times of India reported.
Another Air India’s Bhopal-Mumbai flight was cancelled today after it developed a technical snag.
09/08/17 India.com

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Kannur Airport: 95% of airside, 90% of cityside work completed

Kerala’s fourth international airport at Kannur is very close to completion, with 95% of the airside works and 90% of cityside work completed, the government said today.
Airside refers to the runway, bays, traffic control tower and so on, while city-side works refer to civilian construction components such as the parking area, approach roads and so on.
Construction of the airport is being handled by Larsen & Toubro, which won the project in late 2013. The first flight was supposed to take off by late 2015.
The airport will come up in an area of 2,000 acres about 25 km from Kannur, and will serve the Northern Kerala market, which is currently served by the Calicut airport.
The projected cost of the airport in 2013 was Rs 1,542 cr.
Unlike similar projects in other parts of India, the Kannur airport will not be operated by a private company.
Instead, a government-controlled undertaking, known as KIAL or Kannur International Airport Ltd, will own and operate the facility.
10/08/17 Trisha Thomas/Ultra

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Indians facing rough treatment at Chinese airport: North American Punjabi Association

Jalandhar: The standoff between India and China at Doklam seems to have changed the attitude of Chinese staffers at Shanghai airport towards Indian passengers. Narrating what he experienced and witnessed on August 6 during his stopover at Shanghai Pudong airport in his letter to minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj, North American Punjabi Association executive director Satnam Singh Chahal has urged her to take up the matter with her Chinese counterpart.
Chahal has also requested Swaraj to issue an advisory to Indian passengers to avoid travelling through China during their international flights. In his letter Chahal has alleged that Indian passengers using wheelchairs while changing flights were even being abandoned by airport staffers midway.
Chahal has also requested Swaraj to issue an advisory to Indian passengers to avoid travelling through China during their international flights. In his letter Chahal has alleged that Indian passengers using wheelchairs while changing flights were even being abandoned by airport staffers midway.
"On August 6, 2017, I caught my China Eastern Airlines flight number MU564 from New Delhi to San Francisco. On my way to the United States, I had to stop at Shanghai Pudong to catch my next flight number MU 589 of the same airlines for San Francisco. During the transit process at Shanghai Pudong, I noticed that at the exit gate of the airplane for wheelchair passengers, ground staff was insulting passengers of Indian origin," Chahal wrote in his letter to Swaraj while urging her to take up the issue with her Chinese counterpart.
10/08/17 IP Singh/Times of India

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UAE's cheaper flights plan for Indians seeks to make the Emirates a 'weekend getaway'

A bid to remove a limit on the number of airline seats between India and the UAE could turn the Emirates into a "weekend getaway" for millions of Indian families, boosting a key sector of the economy in the process.

Travel industry experts predict lower fares and a major boost if the current agreed capacity - 130,000 seats per week - is lifted later this year. Emirati and Indian officials are set to meet in October to discuss the move.

On Wednesday, the UAE ambassador to India, Dr Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Banna, said more flights "will lead to affordable prices".

The agreed number of seats between the two countries is currently at 100 per cent capacity, WAM reported. With a population of more than 1.2 billion, India has huge scope for increasing travel demand.

Nishant Pitti, the chief executive of EaseMyTrip.com, which has an office in Dubai, said cheaper flights could turn the UAE into “a popular weekend getaway for Indian travellers”, for families for whom that currently isn't an option.

“The UAE is an important tourist destination for Indian travellers,” said Karan Anand the head of relationships at Cox & Kings, one of the oldest travel companies, headquartered in Mumbai. “More flights means less cost.”
10/08/17 Rebecca Bundhun/National

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Qatar waives visas for India and other countries amid Gulf boycott

Qatar announced on Wednesday a programme to allow visa-free entry for citizens of 80 countries to encourage air transport and tourism amid a two-month boycott imposed on the Gulf state by its neighbors.

Nationals from dozens of countries in Europe and elsewhere including India, Lebanon, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States only need present a valid passport to enter the gas-rich country which hosts the soccer World Cup in 2022.

Nationals of 33 countries will be allowed to stay for 180 days and the other 47 for up to 30 days.

"The visa exemption scheme will make Qatar the most open country in the region," Hassan al-Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development officer at Qatar Tourism Authority told reporters at a press conference in Doha.

Oil giant Saudi Arabia along with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates imposed a boycott on Qatar on June 5 and cut off all transport links with the country after accusing it of supporting terrorism and of close ties to Iran.
10/08/17 Reuters/Business Insider

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How lower airfares could result from UAE-India talks

New Delhi: The UAE is aiming to make travel from India to airports in the Emirates affordable and accessible with new seat quotas — which could potentially cut air fares between the two countries, a senior diplomat has said on Wednesday.

Dr Ahmad Abdul Rahman Al Banna, UAE Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to India, has held extensive discussions with India’s Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha, on augmenting air transport facilities and services between the two countries.
09/08/17 WAM/Gulf News

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Qatar Airways introduces offer for students

New Delhi: Qatar Airways has introduced offers for students travelling from India to Europe, Canada and the US.

The offer would be valid on all bookings made on or before March 31, 2018 for travel before December 31, 2018.

"Students can now take advantage of three pieces of baggage allowance of 23 kilos per piece to USA and 40 kilos for one piece for students travelling to the Europe," the airline said in a release today.

Among others, students would be allowed to change the travel date once free of cost.

"Students can also avail the option of buying additional baggage at 20 per cent discount, as well as paying additional difference for upgrade to business class," the release said.
10/08/17 PTI/New Indian Express

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Air India and Ethiopian Airlines wings collided at Delhi IGI airport, DGCA probing the incident

New Delhi: A possible disaster was averted after wings of Ethiopian Airlines and Air India collided on Tuesday at Delhi’s IGI Airport, ANI reported. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing the incident, the report added. Ethiopian Airlines referring to the incident said,”We flew substitute aircraft to continue with flight service for valued customers. Apologize to passengers on the flight,” reported ANI. In a similar incident, earlier in April this year, the Air India and Indigo flights came face to face on the runway. The mishap was averted due to a timely alert from the Air Traffic Controller (ATC). As per Air India sources, AI’s Delhi to Goa flight AI156 was about to take off from Runway 28 at 11:15AM of IGI airport but the pilot was asked to stop and come back to the bay by the ATC. At about the same time, Indigo’s Delhi bound flight from Ranchi 6E398 was about to land on the same runway.
09/08/17 Financial Express

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AI Frankfurt-Delhi flight's windshield cracks midair, plane safely diverted to Tehran

New Delhi: An Air India Dreamliner, with 249 passengers on board flying from Frankfurt to Delhi, had to be diverted to Tehran on Wednesday morning after its windshield cracked midair.
"The left cockpit windshield of the AI 120 cracked. The aircraft was then diverted to Tehran where all passengers have been sent to hotels. We are sending a Jumbo Jet from Mumbai to Tehran at 2pm (IST Wednesday) with man and material for repairing the Dreamliner. The Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet will fly the passengers to Delhi," said an AI spokesman.
AI 120 had departed on time from Frankfurt and was scheduled to reach Delhi at 8.30am today. En route, the windshield cracked and the plane had to be diverted.
The Dreamliner stranded in Tehran will be flown back to Delhi after its cracked windshield is replaced.
Windshield cracks happen due to uneven heating or something hitting the same. "This happens in an aircraft usually after four to five years or when some foreign object hits the same. There could also be water ingress in windshields and then the electric system inside it gets short-circuited," said a source.
Cracked windshields have been a recurring problem with the Boeing 787, with Air India also getting its share of the problem. While this issue has arisen after a gap, two to three years ago, it was a regular occurrence on the Dreamliners.
09/08/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Terror on the tarmac

“You can have your permission, but I doubt you will need it now,” said the officer at Delhi’s Palam airport as he signed the paper I had been chasing him with for a week. It was the last week of 1999. We were to be at the airport at the stroke of midnight of the new millennium, as the biggest worry then was whether computers affected by the “Y2K bug” would disrupt flights around the world. I was finally getting permission to film my report right from the tarmac, but I could tell from the officer’s agitation that a bigger story was breaking.

The Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to Delhi, IC-814, had been hijacked, and the first report said that it was being diverted to Lucknow. All of a sudden, the sleepy corridor of the Civil Aviation Ministry was like a beehive coming alive. As a TV producer, I had a massive story on my hands. We broke the story about an hour later, by which time IC-814 was on its way to land in Amritsar and journalists were thronging the airport.
Watching events unfold up close, we saw that every department of the government was unprepared. Family members of passengers were running around wildly, but no official would speak to them. Indian Airlines staff were barking orders, but no one could be seen carrying them out. At the ‘crisis management group’ meeting at the Safdarjung Airport office, senior officials watched the television paralysed as commandos couldn’t be sent to Amritsar on time. Captain Devi Sharan’s stalling tactics weren’t heeded by the airport security who allowed the plane to take off from Indian territory, after which, it has been argued, the government lost all its cards. For the next week, journalists covering the story worked all day, speaking to relatives at the airport and attending briefings, in order to cover every moment of hostage negotiations at Kandahar. Hopes faded as it was clear that neither the Taliban government in Afghanistan nor any other government that could exert influence — the U.S., the U.K., the U.A.E., or Pakistan — would do much to help. On December 31, just before lunch, we were told that the External Affairs Minister would be flying to Kandahar, possibly to meet the demands of the terrorists. We all rushed back to the airport, knowing that the government had caved.
09/08/17 Suhasini Haidar/The Hindu

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GoAir plans international foray with Phuket, Maldives service

Mumbai: GoAir plans to launch its overseas operations with flights from Mumbai to Phuket (Thailand) and Male (Maldives), in the winter schedule.

GoAir became eligible to launch international services last year when it inducted its 20th aircraft. However, the launch has been postponed because of delay in deliveries of the Airbus A320neo planes.

GoAir has 23 Airbus A320 planes, including five A320neo aircraft. The airline is expected to receive two planes by October and would firm up its overseas plans by then, sources said. A GoAir spokesperson did not respond to an email query on the topic. At present, there are no direct flights from Phuket to India, and Male is linked only to cities in south India and Delhi. Securing a slot at the Mumbai airport could be easier given the airport operator’s preference for virgin international routes. “We have plans to start overseas operations from October this year,” GoAir Managing Director Jehangir Wadia said.

International traffic from India is growing at about nine per cent and rival low-cost carriers are increasing frequencies or launching new routes to cater to this demand.
09/08/17 Business Standard

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UAE, India in talks for more bilateral flights

New Delhi: The UAE is taking the initiative to make travel from India to airports in the country affordable and accessible as the share of Indians in tourism in Dubai and Abu Dhabi reaches record numbers.

Dr. Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Banna, UAE Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of India, has held extensive discussions with India?s Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha, on augmenting air transport facilities and services between the two countries.

"Both parties agreed to set up a meeting between the General Civil Aviation Authority of the UAE and the Civil Aviation Authority of India to propose a new agreement and policy for the bilateral air services agreement," according to a statement from the UAE Embassy in New Delhi after Dr. Al Banna?s' meeting with Sinha.

The ambassador said, "The UAE is willing to add few more flights and routes to connect regional airports in India to those in the UAE that will lead to affordable prices with the required capacity and also needs to focus on an open sky policy that raises the potential for enhancing UAE - India ties."
09/08/17 WAM/Khaleej Times

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Planes missing, fruits to India rot in Kabul

New Delhi: Weeks after the India-Afghanistan air corridor trade project was launched, the project has run into rough weather, with fruit exporters complaining that procedural delays, particularly a shortage of cargo planes, are causing them major losses.

Matters came to a head last week, when tonnes of fresh fruits, including apricots and melons, were left rotting at the Kabul airport. The flight chartered by Afghanistan’s national carrier, Ariana airlines, on July 20 failed to arrive on time, and the fruits were not moved to cold storage. Much of the load went only on July 29, officials say. Angered by the losses, traders, who say as much as 120 tonnes of fruits are still waiting to be transported from the airport, demanded that the government take swift action or they would find it hard to continue exporting perishable produce to India.
Calling the reports of more than 100 tonnes of rotting fruits “inaccurate and misleading”, India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Manpreet Vohra, however, admitted that the lack of a secured provider for chartered flights had caused some disruptions.

“Some fruit did go bad, but the exporters also cut corners by not using cold storages sufficiently,” he said, adding that the the Afghan government was sorting out issues in chartering aircraft.

Among the issues, say exporters, is the lack of “cargo screening machines” that necessitates packaging and repackaging, and the lack of adequate cold storage facilities at the airport. On the Indian side, traders say they worry about clearing the perishable goods quickly through Indian customs, and the process is yet to be streamlined.
08/08/17 Suhasini Haidar/The Hindu

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