112 flights to fly in the stranded Indians

Phase Six of the Vande Bharat Mission to bring back stranded Indians from aboard on repatriation flights will start from September 1. During this phase, 1,464 flights will be operated from different countries to Indian cities.
To Karnataka, so far 112 flights have been announced which will bring back Indians from the US, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Germany and Malaysia. It’s been over three months since special flights started service under the mission and so far 159 flights from different destinations have landed in two airports in the state. Under Phase-1 of the mission, only six flights were operated, in Phase-2 (which included Phase-2 additional and Phase-2++), 36 flights were operated and in Phase-3 and in Phase-4, 38 and 79 flights were operated.
Apart from the Vade Bharat flights, the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) is now also reconnected to 14 international destinations following operations of international repatriation flights and Air Bubble programmes. As many as 13 airlines will operate on these sectors from KIA. The destinations connected directly from the Airport include Abu Dhabi (Etihad, GoAir & Air India Express), Amsterdam (KLM Royal Dutch), Dubai (Emirates, Indigo, GoAir, Air India Express & Vistara), Doha (Indigo & Qatar Airways), Frankfurt (Lufthansa), Kuwait (Air India & Indigo), Kuala Lumpur (Air India Express & Malaysian Airlines),
London (Air India & British Airways), Muscat (Air India Express), Narita (Air India), Paris (KLM Royal Dutch), Riyadh (Indigo) and Singapore (Air India Express). KIA will connect to San Francisco via Kochi (Air India).
31/08/20 Bangalore Mirror

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Air India has announced 13 new flights between Sydney and Delhi.

“13 special Air India VBM flights from Sydney to Delhi will operate between 04 September & 01 October 2020 as per the schedule given below. Tickets are available for sale on Air India website,” the airline posted on Twitter.
Other cities have not been included in this phase of the Vande Bharat Mission due to travel restrictions by different states.

The number of seats available on these flights is not known.

Melbourne-based travel agent Manpreet Walia says there could be reduced capacity in terms of passengers travelling on these flights.

"As far as I know through their website and the information shared with us, there could be reduced capacity in terms of passengers travelling on these flights but the exact numbers are not there," Manpreet Walia of Journey Hub travels told SBS Hindi.
In response to a Twitter user, the airline said, “We are working upon to increase operations from/to Australia. There are few restrictions imposed by the said country.”

India announced a repatriation operation to bring back Indians stranded abroad. More than 1.5 million Indians have returned since the mission commenced in May.
31/08/20 Vivek Kumar/SBS Hindi

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US Carriers Have Had A Tough Time Flying To India In The Past

Delta’s recent announcement that it is axing the new JFK-Mumbai route is a reminder of the tough times US carriers have had in India. With American delaying its Seattle-Bangalore route, United remains the only carrier serving India. So why do US carrier struggle in India, despite the massive demand?
The last time all three of the big US carriers were flying direct to India was in 2008, with airlines taking advantage of their new 777s for the route. The three carriers served different routes, hoping to generate traffic on the non-stop flights. However, both Delta and American dropped their routes in the next few years, citing overall losses and the low yield on the routes.
But India is a massive market for travel to the US. Over 1.4 million passengers visited the US from India last year, with that number rising in the previous decade. With such high demand, it’s surprising that US carriers were unable to fill their daily services.
Before jumping into why US carriers struggle in India, it should be noted that both Delta and American have also faced non-market issues. American cut its Chicago flight during bankruptcy in 2012, canceling all non-profitable routes. Delta also canceled its Mumbai flight during the global financial crisis, citing fewer passengers and cost cuts.
The main reason for the tough time US carriers face is intense competition, both from the Middle East Three (ME3) and, more recently, European carriers. These hub airlines can offer more connections and lower fares, attracting passengers from around the country.
The ME3 have been successful mainly due to their reach within India. Qatar flies to 13 Indian cities while Emirates flies to 9, allowing them both to access more population centers and remove the need for domestic connections. Combining this with lower fares enable these carriers to thrive in the notoriously price-sensitive market.
31/08/20 Pranjal Pande/Simple Flying

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Chennai airport sees most int’l flights since March

Chennai: The city airport has started to see more international flights, including Vande Bharat flights, over the past few days hinting that the state government is relaxing its restrictions on aircraft movement from abroad.
Foreign airlines and Indian carriers have been flying a few services under the ‘air bubble’ scheme permitted by the ministry of civil aviation between cities. However, more flights are scheduled in the coming days, including a service to either Europe or the UK.
On Wednesday, the airport saw its maximum number of international services since lockdown in March – 24 flights, including Vande Bharat, chartered and limited schedule flights, serving destinations like Jeddah, Muscat, Chicago, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Mattala, Doha and Kuwait. There were six flights the previous day.
An airport official said international operations are looking up as restrictions are fewer and the Centre is also pushing for point-to-point ‘air bubble’ services. “Many travellers are flying out of the city on flights that return after bringing passengers from abroad,” he added.
A majority of the flights that see leisure travellers are to the UAE, which has begun issuing tourist visas to Indian citizens.
31/08/20 Times of India

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Dutch auctioneer sells a large piece of Jet Airways’ in-flight equipment

A Dutch curator is holding an online auction with regard to the bankruptcy of Indian airline Jet Airways, which ceased operations on 17 April 2019.
A large part of the in-flight equipment is now up for sale: from crockery to cutlery, from trolleys to hot towels.
You have got to be quick to place your bid on the website of BVA Auctions as the auction ends at around 15:50 (UTC +2).
31/08/20 Aviation24.be

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12 flights bring back Indians to Chennai in 1 day, but complaints galore

Chennai: A total number 1,212 expatriate Indians, who were stranded for the last five months due to Covid-19 induced lockdown and the subsequent grounding of flights, arrived from ten countries in 12 special flights under the Vande Bharat mission at the Anna International airport on Sunday.

Sources said the stranded Indians arrived from USA, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Sharjah, Bahrain, Oman, Dubai, Qatar, Jeddah and Sri Lanka in private and Vande Bharat flights.

After the mandatory health check-ups and immigration clearances, all the 1,212 passengers were quarantined for 14 days.

Of them, 164 passengers, who arrived from Bahrain in a Gulf Airlines flight, staged a protest and picked up argument with the airport authorities after they were not allowed free government testing, to ascertain whether they were exposed to the coronavirus and the government quarantine facility, as they landed in the through private agents.

The passengers claimed that the agent had taken money before boarding the flight in Bahrain for the medical tests and for the 14-day quarantine stay and demanded action against the agents.

They also refused to leave the airport following which the officials and police pacified them and assured them that action would be taken if a formal complaint was given.

After the passengers agreed to it, all of them were subjected to free medical tests at the airport itself. Later, 115 of them were sent for 14 day government quarantine centre and the remaining 49 were taken to a hotel where they would be quarantined.
31/08/20 News Today

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Vande Bharat Mission Phase 6 to begin on Tuesday, India confirms

New Delhi: With the Indian government ruling out any imminent resumption of scheduled commercial international flights, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has reiterated that phase VI of special flights to repatriate Indian citizens from the Gulf and other locations worldwide will commence on Tuesday (September 1).

"Phase VI of Vande Bharat Mission is scheduled to begin on 1st September. Based on an assessment of demand by our Missions/Posts abroad, flights are being scheduled by Air India Group and private carriers," said Anurag Srivastava, Spokesperson of MEA.

Vande Bharat Mission is the code name which the Indian government has given for a massive, worldwide airlift of Indian citizens wishing to return home on account of disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Srivastava confirmed that the bubble arrangements with different countries will continue as per schedule in the phase starting on September 1.

As of August 26, the last date for which confirmed figures are available, Srivastava said "more than 1.2 million Indians stranded abroad have been repatriated by different modes under the Vande Bharat Mission. Flights have been added for repatriation from Kuwait. In addition, the number of flights from other GCC countries has been further augmented."
31/08/20 Wam/Khaleej Times

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Air India Express opens September bookings for UAE flights

Dubai: Air India Express on Sunday said that bookings have started for travel between September 1 and September 31 under Phase 6 of the Vande Bharat Mission (VBM).
“#FlyWithIX : Bookings have started for travel between 1st and 31st September under VBM Phase 6,” the airline said in a tweet.

Last Thursday, Air India Express opened bookings for next month’s flights connecting UAE and 18 destinations in India.Over 400 repatriation flights from the UAE to India and vice versa were announced under the fifth phase of VBM.
New flight schedule is available on the airline’s website: www.airindiaexpress.in

In a separate tweet, the airline said that Dubai residence visa holders returning to the emirate must get a return approval from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA).

Other Emirates’ residence visa holders travelling to Dubai must ensure that they fulfil the requirements to enter UAE through - http://uaeentry.ica.gov.ae.
Air India Express said that as per a recent update, if a passenger has a valid negative COVID-19 PCR test taken not more than 96 hours before departure, a virtual notification received through SMS/ALHOSN Mobile Smart App is acceptable for entering Sharjah.
30/08/20 John Benny/Gulf News

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Hong Kong travel agent pledges stricter oversight as coronavirus-related ban on Air India flights draws to a close

The biggest travel agent on the India-Hong Kong route has pledged greater oversight and stricter health protection rules in a plan submitted to the local government seeking the resumption of direct flights between the two places, which were banned following a spate of imported coronavirus infections.
GC Nanda & Sons made the submissions to the Security Bureau on Friday as the two-week ban neared its end at midnight on Monday.
Air India has not said if and when its Hong Kong flights would resume following the ban, which went into effect on August 18, but it has stressed its flights followed all strict health protection guidelines laid out by health officials.
A flight takes off from the Hong Kong International Airport in 2018. Photo: Felix WongA flight takes off from the Hong Kong International Airport in 2018. Photo: Felix Wong
A flight takes off from the Hong Kong International Airport in 2018. Photo: Felix Wong
The biggest travel agent on the India-Hong Kong route has pledged greater oversight and stricter health protection rules in a plan submitted to the local government seeking the resumption of direct flights between the two places, which were banned following a spate of imported coronavirus infections.
GC Nanda & Sons made the submissions to the Security Bureau on Friday as the two-week ban neared its end at midnight on Monday.
Air India has not said if and when its Hong Kong flights would resume following the ban, which went into effect on August 18, but it has stressed its flights followed all strict health protection guidelines laid out by health officials.
The ‘disproportionate number of passengers’ on recent Air India repatriation flight to Hong Kong suggested a ‘lack of rigour’ when it came to enforcing coronavirus protocols, a local travel operator said. Photo: Shutterstock
The ‘disproportionate number of passengers’ on recent Air India repatriation flight to Hong Kong suggested a ‘lack of rigour’ when it came to enforcing coronavirus protocols, a local travel operator said. Photo: Shutterstock
But Poonam Nanda, director of Hong Kong-based travel operator GC Nanda & Sons, said there were valid reasons to question if that was the case.
“The disproportionate number of passengers on Air India’s recent repatriation flight suggests a lack of rigour in strictly applying the necessary protocols to ensure only negative tested passengers are permitted to board,” Nanda said.
Among the key measures proposed by GC Nanda is a pledge to use ISO-certified approved medical centres that have been vetted for reliable results, as well as validating hotel accommodation booked in Hong Kong and organising buses to escort returnees directly to quarantine hotels. It has lined up Singapore Airlines-backed Indian carrier Vistara to conduct flights should it get the go-ahead.
30/08/20 Danny Lee/South China Morning Post

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Might be no international flights till September 30; MHA exceptions allowed

International air travel might not be allowed till September 30 apart from the exceptions made by the MHA as there has no mention of any revision in the same as per the travel guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on August 29. There has been no mention of commercial flight operations in the Unlock 4.0 guidelines. The country is currently going through gradual unlock after the lockdown that was imposed in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak; Unlock 4.0 starts from September 1.

Earlier this month, all restrictions on inter and intra-state travel in the country were also lifted.

MHA has also issued a statement on passenger movement for Unlock 4.0, stating that, "Movement by passenger trains; domestic passenger air travel; a movement of a person on Vande Bharat and Air Transport Bubble flights; and sign-on and sign-off of Indian seafarers will continue to be regulated as per the SOPs issued."

Earlier, all commercial flights were suspended till August 31. While commercial flight services will not be allowed till September 30, public transport services will be put into operation to ease passengers' woes. Previously in this month, the Director General of Civil Aviation.
30/08/20 Times Travel

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Local fraudsters go after Kenyans stuck in India with fake air tickets

A group of fraudsters have been contacting Kenyans stuck in India through social media platforms - The suspects have been conning Kenyans with the promise of evacuating them from the Asian nation - They have been selling them fake tickets at exorbitanly high prices The ever opportunistic and timely fraudsters in Nairobi have now decided to expand their territory to international 'markets' specifically targeting Kenyans in India. This became evidential after a number of Kenyans who were stuck in India following lockdown fell prey to a group of fake travel agents selling non-existent air tickets to them.
30/08/20 Erick Kombo Ndubi/Tuko

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Vistara Completes Its First Delhi To London Boeing 787 Flight

Vistara, a full-service carrier in India, has operated its first long-haul flight from Delhi to London Heathrow using its brand-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The flight departed on August 28th from Delhi at 02:36 local and landed at London Heathrow at 06:59 local. This is the first of Vistara’s special, thrice-weekly, non-stop service operating under the bilateral ‘transport bubble’ from now through October 24th.

“Though not regular scheduled flights, we are excited about starting operations to our first long-haul destination. This, in many ways, marks the beginning of a new phase of growth in the global skies for Vistara. This also gives us the opportunity to introduce India’s finest and only five-star airline to London.” -Mr. Leslie Thng, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara

According to FlightRadar24.com, the August 28th flight from Delhi to London Heathrow had a flight time of eight hours and 53 minutes and operated as flight UK15. The return journey from London to Delhi began this morning around 09:00 local time and is scheduled to arrive in Delhi at 22:25 local.

The flight schedule for this service through October 24th is as follows:

Delhi to London: Flight UK15 will depart Delhi at 02:15 and arrive in London at 06:55. This flight will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
London to Delhi: Flight UK16 will depart London at 15:35 and arrive in Delhi at 04:15 the next day. This flight will depart on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays – arriving on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, respectively.
The aircraft flying this first service was registered VT-TSD and is a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The twinjet widebody was delivered to Vistara at the end of February of this year. At just six months old, it is the very first widebody for the relatively new airline. Vistara has since taken delivery of a 2nd Dreamliner. This took place on August 14th, 2020.

The Vistara 787-9 is configured to have three classes. There are 30 seats in business class, 21 in premium economy, and 248 in economy.
29/08/20 Chris Loh/Simple Flying

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Beer to be the only alcoholic drink on AI international flights from September 7; hot meal services to resume too

New Delhi: Beer will be the only alcoholic beverage to be served on Air India’s international flights from September 7. The airline will resume hot meal service on international; and pre-packed snacks/meals along with non-alcoholic beverages on domestic flights by the same date.

The Maharaja has appointed a new vendor to provide content for back-of-the-seat inflight entertainment (IFE) and is trying to bring those screens back to life at the earliest by following the strict disinfection protocol before each flight for all passenger touchpoints.

Before the pandemic, AI used to have a wide variety of alcoholic offering like scotch, vodka, wine, gin and beer. But after Corona outbreak from March, everything changed. Cash-strapped AI’s back-of-seat IFE has been iffy for some years now with large number of systems needing to be repaired or replaced and the Maharaja having no funds to do so.

A senior AI official said: “On international flights, liquor service will be limited to beer in all classes — economy, business and first. There will be no pouring service and beer will be served in disposable glasses or cans. Similarly we are trying to resume hot meals service on foreign flights by September 7. (The time is required to make) disposable equipment available across the network. The standard operating procedure is being circulated to our inflight caterers so that it meets the requirements.”

Given the requirement for disposable cutlery, pre-packed meals/snacks, tea/coffee and other non-alcoholic beverages on domestic AI flights are also likely to resume by September 7.

AI has during the pandemic been keeping pre-packed snacks, meals, non-alcoholic beverages and water bottles in packets on seats of its international flights to minimise crew-passenger interaction. Meal quantity is as per flight duration. Extra water bottles are kept in galley which flyers can pick as per their requirement.

AI has been operating ultra long hauls during the pandemic like nonstops between Delhi and San Francisco, Vancouver and Auckland apart from long and medium hauls to North America, Europe, Southeast Asia and Australia.
India has two full service carriers — AI and Vistara — that serve meals and beverages without extra charge. Budget carriers IndiGo, SpiceJet, AirAsia India and GoAir sell the same onboard, making this an important source for ancillary revenue which they will be keen to revive. Comments from these airlines about their plans to resume onboard meal/beverage service following the government nod were sought and awaited till the time of going to press.
28/08/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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IndiGo charters flight between India and South East Asia, repatriating Vietnam, Laos and Indian nationals

Continuing with its mission to work together and support the nation in the current situation, IndiGo, operated its maiden passenger charter to Hanoi, capital of Vietnam and Vientiane, capital and largest city of Laos helping stranded nationals to get back home. The flight from India repatriated 106 Vietnamese, 1 Filipino and 29 Laos Nationals along with 89 Indian citizens. The return flight repatriated 139 Indian nationals from Hanoi & 50 Indian nationals from Vientiane. IndiGo operated these flights while adhering to all the precautionary measures, ensuring a safe and hassle-free travel experience on-board a lean clean flying machine.

Mr. Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo said, "We are pleased to have successfully operated our first passenger charter to Vietnam and Laos to support the repatriation of citizens from India, Vietnam and Laos. We would like to extend our gratitude to all Embassies and Civil aviation authorities of India, Vietnam and Laos for helping us with necessary and timely approvals. We look forward to supporting not just Indian, but citizens across the world, in this hour of need".

The people returning to Vientiane, Laos consisted of Indian and foreign expats, students and Buddhist monks. The repatriated Indian citizens consisted of students, labourers and employees who had lost their job due to the pandemic, along with some Vietnamese diplomats who had come to serve the new term in New Delhi.
29/08/20 Equity Bulls

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Telangana relaxes quarantine norms for international passengers

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has relaxed quarantine norms for passengers traveling by Vande Bharat or Air Transport Bubble flights, which means asymptomatic international passengers flying to Hyderabad can now head straight home if they meet the criteria laid down by the government.

As per the latest guidelines issued by the State government in line with the order of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, passengers on business trips to Telangana with return tickets within four days of their arrival will not be quarantined if they show their negative RT-PCR test report conducted within 96 hours prior to departure.
Similarly, for any asymptomatic passengers traveling with negative RT-PCR test report conducted within 96 hours prior to departure will be exempted from institutional quarantine but have to undergo 14 days of home quarantine.

Special consideration of 14 days of home quarantine has been mandated for some categories of asymptomatic passengers without negative RT- PCR test report. These include pregnant women, parents traveling with children 10 years or below and those traveling on medical emergencies.

However, rest of the asymptomatic passengers without negative RT-PCR test results will have to undergo seven days each of institutional quarantine followed by home quarantine.
Currently the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is connected with UK and UAE under Air Bubble agreements. British Airways has resumed its operations between Hyderabad and London four times a week, while the other airlines operating between Hyderabad and UAE – Etihad, Emirates and Flydubai are likely to resume their operations shortly, according to a press release from RGIA.
29/08/20 Telangana Today

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7 Air India Passengers Test Covid +Ve In New Zealand, 3 Days After Landing

New Delhi: Seven passengers who travelled from Delhi to Auckland in New Zealand on Sunday on an Air India flight have tested positive for COVID-19 three days after their arrival, a senior government official said on Friday.
Earlier this month, all Air India passenger flights were barred from landing in Hong Kong till August-end after 14 passengers on its Delhi-Hong Kong flight of August 14 tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival.

"Seven passengers on Sunday's Air India Delhi-Auckland flight have tested positive for COVID-19 three days after arrival," the government official said.

Air India did not respond to PTI's request for a statement on this matter.

While scheduled international passenger flights remain suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic, special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission and bilateral air bubble pacts formed between India and various countries.

At a daily press briefing at Auckland on Friday, New Zealand's Director of Public Health Caroline McElnay said, "There are five new confirmed community cases of COVID-19 to report and seven imported cases giving us a total of 12 new cases."

The seven imported cases all arrived on the same flight on August 23 and tested positive on their day-three tests, she stated.

These people will be transferred to the quarantine facility at Jet Park hotel in Auckland, she added.
28/08/20 PTI/NDTV

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Direct air connectivity between Kochi, Europe begins; CIAL waives landing fees

Kochi: The direct air connectivity between Kochi and Europe, a long-cherished demand of the NRIs and business community in this port city fructified on Friday with Air India commencing services in the London-Kochi sector.
The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) welcomed the AI 1186 aircraft with a water salute as a mark of gratitude.
In a statement, CIAL said as part of promoting direct connectivity to Europe, it has decided to waive the entire landing fee of airlines operating direct European services to Kochi.
The decision will give instant advantage to the national carrier as it schedules direct London-Kochi flight till September 27, it said.
The Air India flight from London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) landed at Kochi at 03.28 am on Friday with 130 passengers on board.
A 'follow me' vehicle service was facilitated by CIAL and as the aircraft entered the taxiway link, the fire tenders of CIAL Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting team rendered water salute, the statement said.
A water salute is a welcoming ritual offered by an airport operator to receive a new service or a new model aircraft or to mark the aviation fraternity's respect to a pilot who is commanding his last flight, just before his or her retirement.
The Air India flight departed to London at 06.30 am with 229 passengers.
This is the first time that the national carrier operates a direct London service from Kochi and back.
It also operates stopover flights from Heathrow Airport, Australia and from US cities to Kochi regularly.
28/08/20 PTI/Economic Times

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First ever chartered flight from KCWA lands at Mangaluru airport

Mangaluru: Kuwait Canara Welfare Association (KCWA) is the foremost and leading Mangalurean association in Kuwait, primarily engaged in funding the poor children’s educational needs and allied purposes, regardless of religion, caste and creed back home in India and Kuwait for the past 32 years. KCWA’s charity will soon cross Rs 5 crore. During the current pandemic COVID-19 situation throughout, many people are stranded in Kuwait with a hope to soon travel to their hometown. With this thought in mind, KCWA took an initiative to support its fellow brethren to reach their homes safely. KCWA successfully organized its first ever chartered flight in coordination with Al Rashed International Travel, Kuwait.
Though it was quite a challenging project, KCWA managed to successfully complete all the required procedures.
The Kuwait national carrier Kuwait Airways Flight # KU 1739 departed Kuwait on Friday August 28 with 108 adults, 6 children and 4 infant passengers on board at 2.00 pm. The passengers were accorded a safe departure at the Kuwait International Airport by Michael Pinto, vice president, KCWA, along with the committee members and Wilfred D'Cunha, representative, Al Rashed International Travel-Kuwait, who is also a committed member of KCWA.
The historic flight touched the ground of Mangaluru International Airport - tabletop runway on Friday August 28 at 9.10 pm. KCWA president Maria Rinna D'Souza along with her team wished all the passengers a warm welcome to the homeland and happy healthy stay with their loved ones. The participatory charter flight project has received immense support from the people, Kuwait Airways and Al Rashed International Travel.
29/08/20 daijiworld

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The Kerala gold scandal has blown up in the face of the BJP.

Bangalore: A statement attributed to a key accused claims that a pro-BJP television journalist had “requested the help” of the UAE consulate in the state capital to support the party in 2018.
The statement also says the journalist offered the suspect advice to defuse the scandal through the consulate. The purported advice has a striking similarity with a claim made by a Union minister three days later.
The scandal has taken the dramatic turn at a time the Opposition Congress and BJP have been seeking the scalp of chief minister and CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan.

On Friday, Anil Nambiar, the coordinating editor of the pro-BJP Janam TV, stepped down, pending an investigation, after the claims made in a handwritten statement attributed to Swapna Suresh became public.

“In 2018, he (Nambiar) invited me for a dinner at Taj Hotel and had a couple of drinks together. He enquired about UAE investments in India and requested the help of consulate to support BJP,” said the statement that Swapna purportedly made before a central agency.

Swapna is under arrest on the charge of helping smugglers bring in gold using “diplomatic baggage” in the name of the UAE consulate. An influential IAS officer in the Kerala chief minister’s office has already been suspended because of his links with Swapna.
The BJP has not yet responded to the specific claim that Nambiar wanted the consulate to help the party. The nature of the help he allegedly sought is not clear.

The UAE enjoys a special relationship with the Narendra Modi government and honoured the Indian Prime Minister with its highest civilian award last year. There had been reports in the western media that Indian security forces had helped capture and return the Dubai ruler’s runaway daughter off Goa in 2018.
29/08/20 K.M. Rakesh/Telegraph

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GoAir Says it Repatriated Over 50,000 Stranded Indians in 300 Charter Flights Since June

Budget airline GoAir said it has repatriated 51,314 stranded Indians and clocked more than 300 international charter flights since June 10.

The airline had started the repatriation flights on June 10 and gradually ramped up its operations with a combination of 'Vande Bharat Mission' flights and private international charters.
"As of 15th August the airline flew more than 300 international charters - including 17 'Vande Bharat Mission' flights that repatriated 50,000+ stranded Indians - from the Gulf countries to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Goa, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kochi, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kannur, Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Amritsar, Tiruchirappalli and Gaya," the airline said in a statement.

According to the airline, Saudi Arabia has emerged as the top destination for GoAir repatriation flights, followed by Kuwait, UAE, Qatar and Oman.

"GoAir operated 113 flights between Saudi Arabia and India and repatriated 19,916 passengers. Within Saudi Arabia, the city of Dammam remained on top with 72 flights that repatriated 12,659 stranded Indians. GoAir operated 34 flights from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and repatriated 6,027 stranded Indians," the statement said.
28/08/20 News18

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Recovery in international air travel slower than expected

David Lim has been overseeing India operations for Singapore Airlines since April 2016. A Singaporean, Lim graduated from the National University of Singapore and has spent more than three decades with the company, in various capacities within passenger and cargo service operations. His overseas assignments have spanned across cities such as Berlin, London, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Zurich and Tokyo. Singapore Airlines, which recently completed 50 years in India, is undergoing challenging times because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The airline suffered a net loss of $815 million in Q1 of FY21. Conditions continue to be gloomy for the aviation sector in India and globally.
 In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Lim talks about the challenges for the airline and the road ahead. Excerpts >>

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A Tata Group airline, Vistara, lands in London after almost 7 decades

New Delhi: Seventy-two years after JRD Tata was among the 35 who flew Air India's first flight to Mumbai in June 1948, another Tata Group airline landed in the British Capital on Friday morning with Vistara making its much-awaited medium haul launch. AI was nationalised in 1953 and had operated its first flight to London as a Tata Group airline. Now the Tata JV with Singapore, Vistara, -- that is tipped to be the most likely bidder for AI -- has operated its first Delhi-London flight.

The airline used the Boeing 787 Dreamliner for the flight. It had got first of the two widebody B787s this March but the launch of medium haul international nonstops was delayed by the pandemic. It is now operating Delhi-London under the air bubble India has created with the UK.

"Vistara is operating special, non-stop flights under the bilateral ‘transport bubble’ from August 28 to 24 October 24, 2020, and will fly thrice a week between the two cities," the airline said in a statement.

Vistara’s CEO Leslie Thng said: “Though not regular scheduled flights, we are excited about starting operations to our first long-haul destination. This, in many ways, marks the beginning of a new phase of growth in the global skies for Vistara."
28/08/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Direct air connectivity between Kochi, Europe begins

The direct air connectivity between Kochi and Europe, a long-cherished demand of the NRIs and business community in this port city fructified on Friday with Air India commencing services in the London-Kochi sector. The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) welcomed the AI 1186 aircraft with a water salute as a mark of gratitude.

In a statement, CIAL said as part of promoting direct connectivity to Europe, it has decided to waive the entire landing fee of airlines operating direct European services to Kochi. The decision will give instant advantage to the national carrier as it schedules direct London-Kochi flight till September 27, it said. The Air India flight from London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) landed at Kochi at 03.28 am on Friday with 130 passengers on board.
A ‘follow me’ vehicle service was facilitated by CIAL and as the aircraft entered the taxiway link, the fire tenders of CIAL Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting team rendered water salute, the statement said. A water salute is a welcoming ritual offered by an airport operator to receive a new service or a new model aircraft or to mark the aviation fraternity’s respect to a pilot who is commanding his last flight, just before his or her retirement.
28/08/20 PTI/Financial Express

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India proposes resumption of air connectivity

Outgoing Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das yesterday proposed restoration of air connectivity with Bangladesh.

The air services between the neighboring countries have remained cancelled due to Covid-19 outbreak since April.

The Indian envoy came up with the proposal while at a meeting with State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali at his office in the secretariat.

She also informed Mahbub Ali about India's interest in working for the development of the aviation sector in Bangladesh, the civil aviation ministry said in a release.

In reply, the state minister agreed on the need to resume air communication and said steps would be taken soon through mutual communications.
During the meeting, the junior minister said direct flights from Sylhet MAG Osmani International Airport to London will start soon.

He also told the Indian envoy that the use of Osmani airport as a transit route will be much more convenient for the residents of the northeastern states of India to travel to different countries, especially the UK.

The Indian high commissioner agreed.

During the meeting, she and Mahbub Ali discussed ways to enhance cooperation in the development of the tourism and aviation sectors between the two countries.

Riva said the relations between Bangladesh and India are getting stronger day by day.
28/08/20 Daily Star

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Vistara airlines starts Delhi-London long haul flight under transport bubble arrangement

Vistara airlines, in its debut long haul international flight, flew from New Delhi to London Heathrow airport today. From today onwards the airline will run the flights between the two capitals thrice a week, according to the press statement issued by the airline. The flight is being run in accordance with the “transport bubble” established between India and the United Kingdom that will allow operations of limited number of flights between the two nations in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. Starting from today, the operations of the Vistara New Delhi-London flight will continue until 24th of October as per the transport bubble arrangement, the airline said.

The arrangement of “air bubble” has been devised mutually among different nations of the world to resume limited operations of the airline industry and ensure vital movement of stranded people. The arrangement allows select airlines in both the countries to operate on a fixed number of routes and days. As per the arrangement established by the Vistara airlines, the flight from New Delhi airport to Heathrow airport, London will fly three times in a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and depart at 0215 AM(Indian Standard Time). On the other hand, the flight from London to Delhi will also fly thrice a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1535 PM(UK time zone).
Vistara’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Leslie Thng on the occasion of the launch of airlines’ first long haul international flight said that the moment marks the beginning of growth for the airline in the global skies. He also said that though the flight is not a regular route flight, nevertheless the company is happy and excited to have started its first long haul international flight operations.
28/08/20 Financial Express

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More stranded Indians repatriated aboard special flight

The Indian High Commission said that 174 Indian nationals including an infant had been repatriated from Sri Lanka on a special Air India flight AI 0282 from Colombo to Delhi on 25 August, 2020. The flight was scheduled as part of ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ a Government of India initiative to undertake the largest ever repatriation from all over the world for the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The Indian nationals who were stranded in Sri Lanka due to restrictions on international travel because of COVID-19 pandemic have expressed their happiness at the opportunity to return home. Nearly 2000 Indian nationals have been repatriated from Sri Lanka so far including this flight by seven special Air India Flights, an Indian Naval Ship Jalashwa which made a voyage from Colombo to Tuticorin on 01 June and through various charter flights.

Based on the registrations received by the High Commission of India, a passenger manifest is prepared for the special repatriation flights. Priority is given to compelling cases in distress, including migrant workers/labourers who have been laid off, short term visa holders faced with expiry of visa, people with medical emergency/ pregnant women/elderly, those required to return to India due to death of family member, and students as stated in the Standard Operating Procedure issued by Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
28/08/20 Island Online
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Gold smuggling case: Customs quizzes journalist, may summon him again

The Commissionerate of Customs (Preventive) on Thursday interrogated Anil Nambiar, chief of a Malayalam TV channel, for five hours based on a statement given by gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh. Swapna had said the senior journalist asked her to claim that the controversial consignment seized by the Customs was a “personnel baggage”. The Customs has decided to quiz him again.

Swapna, in her 32-page confession statement, claimed that Anil had contacted her on July 5 when the consignment containing the gold was seized by Customs at Thiruvananthapuram airport. “Anil Nambiar said he was calling me on seeing the news in this regard. He asked me to tell the excellency (UAE diplomat) to release a statement stating that the cargo from which the gold was seized was not a diplomatic baggage but purely a personal baggage. I intimated this to his excellency who knew Anil.

The excellency asked me to tell Anil to draft a letter as required. I called him back and asked him to do so and he agreed,” Swapna said in her statement. However, as she was frantic to protect herself, she was not in a position to follow up the letter, she said. About her association with Anil, Swapna claimed that he was involved in a cheating case in Dubai. He approached Swapna through Sarith P S (another accused) to resolve the matter as he wanted to interview jeweller Atlas Ramachandran. She took it up with the consul-general who cleared it using his influence in Dubai. “Ever since, we have been good friends,” she said. On another occasion, Anil enquired about the UAE’s investments in India and requested the consulate’s support for BJP, she said.
28/08/20 New Indian Express

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SpiceJet operates first ever long-haul cargo flight to Frankfurt

Airline major SpiceJet on Thursday operated its first-ever long-haul cargo flight from Delhi to Frankfurt using wide-body Airbus A340 aircraft.
Accordingly, SpiceJet's A340 carried 45 tonnes of cargo supplies from New Delhi to Germany.
"SpiceJet is now regularly operating non-stop cargo flights to Europe, Africa and CIS countries providing the fastest connectivity to Indian businesses, farmers, pharma companies to the rest of the world," said Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet.
Since March 25, SpiceJet has operated over 6,061 cargo flights and transported over 33,297 tonnes of cargo - this is more than double of all domestic airlines combined together - carrying medicines and medical equipment and fruits and vegetables to all corners of India and the world.
At present, SpiceJet's international cargo network now spans over 43 international destinations.
27/08/20 IANS/Business Standard

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AirAsia's Tony Fernandes: we will come out of pandemic much stronger than before

Chief executive of Asia's largest low-cost airline talks exclusively with 'The National' about the worst crisis he has ever faced and how the company is building up its digital businesses across e-commerce, food and FinTech

The airline business has never been more precarious than it is right now during a global pandemic that has resulted in closed borders and depressed travel.

The group chief executive of AirAsia, Tony Fernandes, has had a particularly difficult time of it.

In April, some reports speculated that the airline would be lucky to survive five months given the impact of Covid-19 on aviation.

Dressed casually, he exudes a relaxed air, even with the lack of proximity in a video call last week with The National. Mr Fernandes is sanguine despite what he has been through.

“Without a doubt” this is the worst crisis he has faced since he took over AirAsia almost 20 years ago, he says.

“Can you imagine that at one stage 96 per cent of aircraft [worldwide] were on the ground? That’s just unthinkable.

"AirAsia had 275 planes sitting, doing nothing. I mean, that's nothing I would have ever imagined.”

On Tuesday, a week after we speak, AirAsia reported a record quarterly loss, underlining the extent of the pain felt by the group in April, May and June.

What the overall experience adds up to, he says, is that he is learning how to survive in a pandemic.

“We’ve learnt to survive in Sars, we learnt to survive in bird flu, we learnt to survive in tsunamis and earthquakes and political changes in government," Mr Fernandes says.

"This is something else but we'll survive it. We're still around, right? The pandemic started in January. We're going into September. We’re flying, we’re paying people. We’ve done all right so far.”
27/08/20 Mustafa Alrawi/National

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Aeroplan adds Vistara to airline roster

Montreal: Aeroplan, which recently got a complete overhaul, has added Vistara to its growing roster of airline travel partners.

Starting today, Aug. 25, Aeroplan Members can accumulate and redeem Aeroplan Miles for travel with Vistara, a full-service Indian airline that was founded in 2013 as a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. Operating from its hub in New Delhi, Vistara serves 34 destinations with over 200 daily flights and boasts a fleet of over 40 aircraft that operates within India and to four international destinations including Bangkok, Colombo, Dubai, Kathmandu and Singapore.

The news comes on the heels of Etihad and Azul also being added to Aeroplan’s roster. With the addition of Vistara, Aeroplan now features a total of 37 airline partners.

In terms of Aeroplan Flight Rewards on Vistara flights, the following applies:

Vistara flights will be subject to Aeroplan’s Fixed Mileage Flight Reward chart, available here.
Vistara flights can be combined with flights operated by Air Canada and our other international partners.
Fuel surcharges will not apply on Vistara operated flights.
27/08/20 Travel Week

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Flying within air bubble? No need to register

New Delhi: Travellers planning to fly out of India on Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flights or to air-bubble countries need no longer register with the civil aviation ministry before booking their tickets directly with airlines of their choice. The announcement comes within a week of the Union home ministry doing away with the registration protocol for travel to India from air-bubble countries.

India has so far created air bubbles with the US, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Qatar and Maldives. Seeking to expand its travel orbit as the world gradually reopens, the government is in talks with Australia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan.

The idea of air bubbles is to ensure continuity of travel between India and these countries by eligible categories of people till normal flight operations resume.

For flights out of India, the home ministry guidelines say: "Before tickets of such persons are confirmed, the airline concerned will ensure that the destination country allows entry of such persons with valid visa in that country. The conditions, if any, imposed by the destination country, will have to be fulfilled by the person intending to travel."
27/08/20 Times of India

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Emirates in talks with Goa govt, AAI to fly pharma exports

Panaji: In a move that will save time and money, Emirates Skycargo has expressed interest in operating cargo flights from Goa International Airport, said the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Goa.
Emirates SkyCargo has reviewed the current facilities at Dabolim, and although there are infrastructural challenges, they are closely working with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to get some basic amenities sorted out to ensure that the cargo is handled correctly and product integrity is maintained, said CII Goa.
Emirates SkyCargo, a subsidiary of the Emirates Group, has already held meetings with the state government, AAI and the customs authorities over the past six months.

On an average, 60 tonnes of pharmaceutical products are transported to Mumbai or Bengaluru on a daily basis to be exported out of India, mainly to the US or European markets.

“Companies incur heavy trucking costs, on an average Rs 40,000 per truck and other interstate duties which can be avoided if shipments are exported directly out of Goa,” a CII official said.

Emirates SkyCargo is a GDP certified airline, ensuring pharma shipments will be handled as per the highest industry standards.
27/08/20 Times of India

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Over 12 Lakh Indians Have Returned From Abroad Under Vande Bharat Mission: MEA

 Over 12 lakh Indians have returned from abroad after the government launched the Vande Bharat Mission on May 7.
"Phase 5 of this mission will be completed on August 31," said Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.
In this phase, around 900 international flights have been operated from 22 different countries reaching 23 airports across India, he said at an online media briefing.

"As on August 26, more than 12 lakh Indians stranded abroad have been repatriated by different modes under the Vande Bharat Mission," added Srivastava.

Noting that phase six of the mission is scheduled to begin on September 1, he said based on an assessment of demand by Indian missions and posts abroad, flights are being scheduled by Air India group and private carriers.

Bubble arrangements with different countries will continue as per schedule in the next phase too, he added.
27/08/20 Republicworld.com

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Passengers on 3 Air India Delhi-Vancouver flights this month exposed to COVID-19

Passengers on three Air India flights from Delhi to Vancouver this month were exposed to COVID-19, according to the list provided on the Public Exposures page of the BC Centre for Disease Control’s website.

The Delhi to Vancouver flights were:
* Air India 1143 on August 14
* Air India 1143 on August 12
* Air India 1143 on August 9

However, the affected rows on the flights were not reported.
The website states: “Travel outside of Canada is not recommended at this time. All passengers who have traveled outside of Canada are required to self-isolate and monitor for symptoms for 14 days upon their arrival.”
26/08/20 Rattan Mall/Voice

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Air bubble to continue, says Indian Embassy in Qatar

Doha: Indian Ministry of External Affairs has said that air bubble arrangements with different countries will continue as per schedule in next phase.

"India-Qatar air bubble  transport arrangement has been extended till 31.10.2020 or till resumption of schedule services, whichever is earlier," Indian Embassy in Qatar said in a tweet.
A per Embassy official the arrangement will continue till October 31 or till the resumption of regular International flights to India. As of now India has restricted International flights into its airports and only allows air bubble flights from certain countries with which it has reached an agreement and Vande Bharat Mission (repatriation) flights.

“Phase 6 of Vande Bharat Mission scheduled to begin on September 1, based on an assessment of demand by our missions abroad, flights are being rescheduled by Air India group and private carriers. Bubble arrangements with different countries will continue as per schedule in next phase 2,” the Indian ministry was quoted saying and the Indian Embassy in Qatar quoted a media report on their twitter.
The air bubble between Qatar and India was setup from August 18.
As per the agreement Qatar Airways flies to and from many Indian airports while Indigo and Air India Express operates from Indian side.
27/08/20 Peninsula

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AirAsia looks past Q2 losses

Petaling Jaya:  AirAsia Group Bhd, which was badly hit by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, says it has sufficient cash flow to maintain operations for the rest of the year and 2021 in tandem with rising domestic demand.

The low-cost carrier, which restarted its domestic flights in late April, said the number of passengers picked up in June, including the tripling of the number of passengers carried by AirAsia Malaysia, the doubling of the number of passengers carried by AirAsia Thailand, and an increase of 10% in load factor.

While AirAsia India achieved six times the number of passengers carried, reflecting the strong rebound demand for air travel, it believes the group has set the right foundation for the second quarter of 2020, as the airline heads into the second half of the year with continued understanding of its customers and support from lessors, hedge counterparties and business partners.

“Furthermore, we are working with our creditors on repayment plans, ” said AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes in a statement.

For the second quarter, AirAsia reported almost a billion ringgit in losses, reflecting the collapse in airline passengers as the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out demand amid widespread travel restrictions.
26/08/20 Intan Farhana Zainul/The Star

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Book directly with airlines, no need to apply to us: Aviation Ministry tells international passengers

New Delhi: Passengers taking international flights from India need not apply to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and can directly book their tickets with the airlines, said an official statement on Wednesday.

A standard operating protocol issued by the Home Ministry on August 22 stated that persons who are eligible to travel on outbound flights "will apply to MoCA or an agency/agencies designated by MoCA for this purpose with necessary details, including places of departure & arrival".

The MoCA said on Twitter on Wednesday that it "has designated all the airlines operating under Vande Bharat Mission & air transport bubble arrangements as designated agencies for this purpose".

"Passengers may book tickets directly with the airlines concerned. They need not apply/register with the Ministry of Civil Aviation," it added.

While scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic, special international flights have been operating under Vande Bharat Mission and bilateral air bubble arrangements.

Since July this year, India has signed separate bilateral air bubble arrangements with various countries like the US, the UK, the UAE, Germany, France and Qatar.

Under a bilateral bubble pact, airlines of both the countries can operate special international passenger flights with certain restrictions.
26/08/20 PTI/New Indian Express

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Why India’s airlines are missing out big time by ignoring Central Asian republics

Last week, FICCI organised a webinar to look at cargo corridor potential between India and the Central Asian republics. Since the republics became independent in 1991 after the fall of Soviet Union, every government in the country has tried to have an outreach with the five “stans”.

While some of the ambitious projects like TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) pipeline haven’t taken off, trade and lately tourism has zoomed upwards. In this context, comments by the chief strategy and revenue officer of IndiGo were also widely reported with the hope that India’s largest airline could potentially explore flights to Central Asia when things normalize.

While India has direct connectivity to all five republics—Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan—it is a shame that it is all driven by carriers from those countries. Indian carriers have been reluctant to venture into any of these countries.

The recent repatriation flights shed light on what they have been missing. Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo, which fly to some points in these countries, raised eyebrows when a large number of students, workers and white-collar workers were repatriated from places beyond the capital cities.
Kazakh airline Air Astana started operations to India in 2004 and has come a long way investing in the network over the years. In the early days, Air Astana, Uzbekistan Airways and Turkmenistan Airlines were looked at cheaper flight options from North India in general and Punjab in particular. Tajikistan-based Somon Air launched non-stop flights between capital Dushanbe and New Delhi in December 2019 while Avia Traffic Company operated flights between Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and New Delhi.
Air Astana announced services to Mumbai while Uzbekistan Airways had already launched services until COVID-19 struck the aviation market. The last two years have not been particularly great for the connectivity since 2019 saw disruption due to airspace closure by Pakistan. Indian carriers currently operate charters and few flights under Vande Bharat Mission and Air Astana and Uzbekistan Airways are operating cargo-only flights to India.
25/08/20 Ameya Joshi/moneycontrol.com

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Why London To Amritsar Could Be Lucrative For Indian Airlines

Air India recently started operating a once-weekly service between London Heathrow and Amritsar under the Vande Bharat Mission. The overwhelming demand for passengers between the two cities, before and during the pandemic, has led to many calling for a regularly scheduled route too. Here’s why London to Amritsar could be lucrative for Indian airlines.

The main reason why London to Amritsar can be lucrative is due to the high traffic on the route. Estimates in 2019 said that nearly 200,000 people fly between the two cities, making it a prime candidate for a direct route. The presence of a large Punjabi community in the UK and strong business ties ensure both leisure and business traffic on the route.

Currently, the only direct route between the two cities is a thrice-weekly Air India service to London Stansted. The route started late last year using the airline’s 256-seat 787-8 Dreamliner. While this was a good start, there remain a few things lacking with this flight.

As mentioned, there are nearly 200,000 passengers between Amritsar and London every year. However, the thrice-weekly Air India flight can only service a maximum of 40,000 passengers every year, only 20% of the capacity. Air India would have to up its flights to daily services and switch to a 777-300ER if it hopes to capture over 50% of the traffic.

Another drawback on the Air India route has been that it flies to Stansted and not the better-connected Heathrow. Many advocates for a switch of airport, in a statement to the Times of India, say that the Punjabi business community is located much closer to Heathrow. Switching to the airport will attract more business travelers and offer easier connections to everyone.
Earlier this year, Air India leased six slot pairs from Garuda Indonesia to expand operations at Heathrow. While these slots were planned to be used for flights to Mumbai, the success of Vande Bharat flights to Amritsar might push Air India to use some of the slots for the city.

Alternatively, Air India could simply increase its frequency on the Stansted route. A daily flight would help it capture more market share and offer passengers more flexibility on travel dates. Currently, the only other options to London are with Qatar or Emirates (through flydubai).
Another possible candidate could be Vistara. The airline currently offers a one-stop connection to London via Delhi. As it inducts more 787s, perhaps the airline could look to new non-stop flights to the UK.
25/08/20 Pranjal Pande/Simple Flying

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Full List Of International Flights In August By Air India, SpiceJet, Vistara: Timing, Route, Fare & More

With a view to bringing back stranded Indians to the country amidst the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Center initiated a mega repatriation mission called ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ on May 6, 2020.
Phase 5 of the mission will end on September 1, 2020, after which phase 6 will commence.
According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, till August 24, Vande Bharat Mission has brought back more than 11.70 Lakhs people and flown out nearly 1,66,000 since May 6.
Let us find out the flights operated by Air India, SpiceJet, and Vistara for the remaining month of August >>

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Passengers fail to board Amritsar-Dubai flight

Amritsar: Even as the Air India took the measures to inform the passengers of preponing of the scheduled Amritsar-Dubai flight, which took off from the Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport today, some of them missed it.
The passengers complained of not being informed through a proper and reliable method. Due to some technical reasons, the schedule of the flight was preponed by two hours. Consequently, the passengers who did not receive prior intimation were left stranded at the Amritsar airport.

In all, there were a total 178 passengers who had booked the flight but only 123 travelled today. The 16 passengers were offloaded either due to Covid-19 report or lack of approval from the UAE.

Vipin Kant Seth, Airport Director, said 24 passengers did not show up at the airport. Of these, 12 passengers managed to enter into the terminal building but by the time counters were already closed.

He added that despite taking all measures to inform them in advance regarding the change of schedule, these 24 passengers did not reach in time to board the flight. Even then the airline adjusted all of them on the next flight to take off on August 30.
25/08/20 Tribune

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Lufthansa Group to allow flying without mask only with medical certificate & negative Covid-19 test

New Delhi: Airlines are now trying to woo back passengers as the pandemic has dealt a body blow to the travel industry. From September 1, Lufthansa Group passengers with a negative Covid-19 report from a test done within 48 hours of undertaking the journey and those with medical certificate can seek exemption from the mandatory rule of wearing masks on flights.

While, Virgin Atlantic has decided to provide complimentary Covid-19 global insurance cover for all existing and new bookings, travelling from August 24, 2020, until 31 March 2021. Lufthansa operates to India under the air bubbles created with Germany and Virgin Atlantic will do so from next month under the arrangement with UK.

“From September 1, 2020, an exemption from the obligation to wear a mask during the flight for medical reasons will only be possible if a medical certificate is presented on a form provided by the airline. Passengers can download the document from the airlines' websites. In addition, passengers who are unable to wear a mask during the flight must present a negative Covid-19 test, which is not older than 48 hours at the scheduled begin of the journey. This ensures maximum safety for the passengers travelling with them,” Lufthansa Group, which had introduced compulsory masks on board its flights this May and exceptions to this rule were previously only possible with a medical certificate, said in a statement on Monday.
24/08/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Could hear children crying, it was horrific: Air India plane crash survivor

Chennai: I could hear children crying when the plane crashed, it was a horrific situation," a survivor from the Air India Express plane crash told India Today TV. Recalling the first few minutes after the Air India aircraft crashed in Kozhikode, Kerala on August 7, Faisal Kodiyathoor said he got out of the aircraft on his own.

Faisal Kodiyathoor says he came out of the Air India aircraft and some locals escorted him to a vehicle. "That's all I remember," Faisal Kodiyathoor said.

Twenty people, including the pilot and co-pilot, were killed and several others injured when the flight from Dubai with 190 people on board overshot the tabletop runway at the Karipur airport and fell into a valley. It had broken into pieces in the impact.

Speaking with India Today TV, Faisal Kodiyathoor said when the Air India plane crashed at Kozhikode airport, he made his way out of it through the broken part of the aircraft. He said there was a lot of noise and he could hear children crying.

"When the plane broke into two, as you can see in the photo, I got out through the broken part. There were a lot of people. I don't know what happened. I got out of the aircraft on my own and the locals put me a vehicle after that. That's all I remember," Faisal Kodiyathoor said.

Also Read | Thought I'd lost my hands: Air India plane crash survivor recounts final moments

"I could hear children cry," he said, adding, "It was a horrific situation".

Recalling the moments before the Air India plane crashed, Faisal Kodiyathoor said all the passengers on board the aircraft thought it was over for them. Faisal Kodiyathoor said he thought the plane would catch fire.
25/08/20 Shalini Lobo/India Today

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Thought I'd lost my hands: Air India plane crash survivor recounts final moments before crash

A survivor from the Air India Express plane crash spoke with India Today TV about the final moments before the aircraft crashed in Kozhikode, Kerala on August 7. "The Air India plane was out of control.
Read how Ashiq Perumbal, recalls the events unfolded right before the Air India plane crashed >>

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Flying to UAE? Air India Express makes PCR COVID test mandatory

Traveling to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)? Air India has laid down criteria before the passengers for traveling to UAE. Air India Express has said passengers aged 12 years and above must possess a valid negative COVID19 PCR test report in printed form. This report must be obtained from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) designated laboratory. Passengers must remember that the polymerize chain reaction (PCR) coronavirus test must not be conducted before 96 hours of the journey. Air India Express is a subsidiary of national carrier Air India.

Passengers who have moderate or severe disabilities are exempted from the Coronavirus PCR test for travel to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Air India Express has stated on its website. The airline stated under “passenger category”, UAE Nationals, resident permit holder having a stamped RP in the passport returning to UAE only, and Indian nationals with any valid visa of UAE travelling to Dubai and Sharjah will be allowed to travel. Health declaration form and quarantine undertaking form must be filled and submitted by passengers at the airport on arrival.
Earlier, the Union Home Minister issued guidelines for international air travel. The guidelines remain effective. In the guidelines, the central government has said that air travel will be entirely at the risk of the flyers wanting to travel keeping in mind the laid down restrictions and approval from the competent authority. Only those persons who are citizens of that country or have a green card or hold Permanent Residency Status or Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card, will be allowed to travel. Indian nationals who are holding visas of that country other than tourist visas will be allowed to travel. The visa must have a residual validity of that country. Those, who are stranded in close neighboring countries and permitted to exit through India, will be allowed to fly.
25/08/20 Debjit Sinha/Financial Express

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AIMDF successfully repatriates Kannadigas from UAE via chartered flight

Mangaluru: NRI Shaikh Muzaffer organized a chartered repatriation flight to evacuate distressed Kannadigas from the UAE. Muzaffer aged 29 hails from Shirali taluk, Bhatkal

The All India Muslim Development Forum ® (AIMDF) repatriation chartered flight landed at Mangalore International Airport carrying 182 adults and 2 infants including pregnant women, medical emergency people, stranded visitors, people who lost their job and people whose visas expired.

The flight took off at 1.50 pm from Ras Al Khaima international airport to Mangalore International Airport.

National spokesperson of AIMDF, Shaikh Muzaffer and Naushad Siraj UT, brother of the president of Beary's and Iqbal Kajoor along with their team Asgar, Abdul Latif, Syed Naufil, Waqas, Azher, Fayaz and Basheer assisted all the passengers making their journey successful.

Basheer looked after the transportation and medical rapid test of the passengers, Latif and Azher coordinated the issue of tickets and other documents, Fayaz and Waqas looked after the meals.
Basheer looked after the transportation and medical rapid test of the passengers, Latif and Azher coordinated the issue of tickets and other documents, Fayaz and Waqas looked after the meals.

At 4.30 am, four buses were arranged at two pickup points namely two in Sharjah and two in Dubai.

The team leaders of the organizations coordinated with the transportation team and sent all the passengers to the airport.

Namma Kannadatiyaru team leaders Senthil, Mamatha and Hadiya were present at the airport to look after the boarding.

Naushad Siraj UT and Iqbal along from BBD looked after the administration work and back-office work from home late night and done the amazing work with a 100% track record.

After reaching the airport, all the arrangements were taken care of with total dedication by the national spokesperson of AIMDF, Shaikh Muzaffer.
25/08/20 daijiworld

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India may offer Covid testing for people flying out of the country too

New Delhi: People flying out of India will soon get the option of taking a Covid test so that those who are found free from the virus can have a hassle free experience on arrival as per the rules of the destination country. Work is on to have testing facilities for persons flying into India through its main hubs like Delhi and Mumbai.

“The test is likely to be made available for those flying out of the country also for a seamless experience as per norms for those coming with a Covid negative test report in different countries,” said a senior aviation ministry official.

The move comes after Hong Kong barred Air India flights till August-end after a number of passengers who flew in on a flight from Delhi earlier this month tested positive on arrival.
Some countries like the UAE already require a Covid negative certificate from a recent test as a pre-condition for allowing passengers to fly in. And others like Germany test passengers coming from “high risk” (meaning higher incidence of corona) countries like India and the US for the flu.
Having a negative report could increasingly mean less hassles for international flyers as countries seek to resume travel amid a pandemic that is likely to be around for about a couple of years. From September 1, Lufthansa Group passengers with a negative Covid-19 report from a test done within 48 hours of undertaking the journey can seek exemption from the mandatory rule of wearing masks on flights.
Frankfurt is among the global hubs that has Covid testing facilities for both passengers flying in and out of Germany. “For several weeks, the company CENTOGENE has been offering convenient tests at Frankfurt Airport in cooperation with Lufthansa and Fraport. With this voluntary test taken at the airport right before your departure, you can avoid restrictions after landing at your destination. Private quarantine, for example, is required in many countries,” the Lufthansa website says.
25/08/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India 

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Vande Bharat Mission Phase 6: Air India Express Opens Bookings For Flights From Singapore to These Indian Cities

As the Central government has announced that the phase 6 of Vande Bharat Mission will commence from September 1, Air India Express on Monday opened bookings for flights from Singapore to multiple cities in India.
As per the announcement from the Centre, the phase 6 of VBM starts from September 1 till October 24.
Taking to Twitter, Air India expressed it has opened bookings for flights from Singapore to Trichy, Chennai, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kochi and Madurai.
As per the schedule, Air India will operate its flights from Singapore to Trichy on September 2 and 3.
Likewise, the airline said it will operate flights from Singapore to Bengaluru and Kochi on September 1 and 17.
24/08/20 India.com

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Delhi Airport seizes gold smuggled in mobile phone from Dubai passenger

Customs officials at Delhi Airport have seized gold hidden in the mobile phone of a passenger arriving from Dubai.
The 505 gram gold bar was moulded into the shape of a phone battery.
Officers at the Indian capital's airport detained the passenger who arrived on a Vistara flight on Monday.
An investigation was launched but more details were not revealed.

Gold smuggling is a major issue for India. Authorities in the UAE and India separately launched an investigation into gold smuggling in July after customs officials in India thwarted an attempt to smuggle Dh7 million worth of gold from the UAE to Kerala.

Officers discovered 30kg of gold hidden in aluminium cylindrical locks and placed in a package labelled "foodstuff" alongside a pair of shoes and speakers.

Customs officials in India said the shipment arrived from the UAE through air cargo and was addressed to the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.

The UAE embassy in New Delhi called the incident a "major crime".

Kerala customs officials seized more than a tonne of gold in raids last year.
The precious metal is smuggled in everything from electronics to chocolates.

The goods and services tax on gold in India is 18 per cent, making gold smuggling from the Middle East an attractive risk for some.
25/08/20 National

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Indian Government Issues New SOPs for International Travel

The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued Standard Operating Protocols (SOP) for international travel on non-scheduled commercial flights under the Vande Bharat Scheme and Air Transport Bubble arrangements. As per the SOPs, anyone who wishes to travel to India will first have to register themselves with the Indian missions in the country they are currently in, and hand in necessary details as prescribed by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The SOP is a part of the guidelines laid down by the home ministry to contain the spread of COVID-19 infection. The move is aimed at keeping a check on the movement of international passengers in a calibrated manner, says the statement from the ministry. However, such registration will not be required for people coming to India on flights operating under air bubble arrangements.

As per the guidelines, flyers with compelling cases like people in distress, including workers who have been laid off, short term visa holders faced with the expiry of visas, persons with medical emergencies, pregnant women, elderly persons or those required to return to India due to death of family members and students, will have the priority.

The External Affairs Ministry will prepare a flight database of all such travellers, based on the registrations made including details such as name, age, gender, mobile phone number, place of residence, place of final destination; and information on RT-PCR test taken and its result. These will then be shared by MEA with the respective state or union territory in advance.

To fly on an outbound flight, eligible persons will be permitted by the home ministry after he/she applies to civil aviation ministry or an agency designated under this ministry, along with necessary details. Before such tickets are confirmed, the airline concerned will have to ensure that the destination country allows entry of such a person with a valid visa.
25/08/20 Outlook Traveller

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India's Vistara airline to run special flights on Mumbai-Dubai route

Mumbai: India’s Vistara airline will operate special flights between Mumbai and Dubai between August 27 and August 29.

The joint venture of Indian conglomerate Tata Group and Singapore Airlines chartered all the teams flying to the UAE to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL), one of the most followed sporting events in the world. (India’s domestic competition was shifted on concerns about the mounting number of COVID-19 cases)

Vistara is not the only airline to fly between the two countries. SpiceJet is operating scheduled flights between Dubai and five Indian cities – Delhi, Jaipur, Kozhikode, Madurai and Mumbai - until August 31.

Emirates had earlier announced repatriation flights to Bengaluru, Kochi, Delhi, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram from August 20 until August 31 – the last day of the 'air bubble' agreement between the two countries.

Industry sources expect the Indian government to extend air bubble arrangements with countries until things begin to improve on bringing down infection cases.
25/08/20 Gulf News

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Demand for direct Amritsar-London flight ramps up

London: Lobbyists battling for direct flights between Heathrow and Amritsar have leapt on news that a direct flight will be introduced one day a week under the Vande Bharat Mission starting Monday.
From August 24 till September-end, Air India will operate Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) direct flights once a week between Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport, Amritsar and London Heathrow. When India started Vande Bharat Mission flights on May 6 to bring back Indian citizens, flights to Punjab went via Delhi.
Now, under VBM phase 5/6, flights will leave London at 9.45am on Mondays and reach Amritsar at 10.25pm that evening. Flights will then depart from Amritsar at 2.40pm on Tuesdays and reach Heathrow at 7pm the same day. On the remaining days, passengers will have to travel via Delhi.

“High demand for direct repatriation flights between Punjab and the UK during the lockdown is evidence that a flight between Amritsar and Heathrow is needed permanently,” said Sameep Singh Gumtala, global convener, FlyAmritsar Initiative and overseas secretary of Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM).

“This is a welcome step that should have been taken earlier. It will save many hours of time for people to reach Punjab,” he said, adding, “We are thankful to civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Air India and request them to continue to operate the flights to Heathrow after resumption of regular international commercial flights to India.”

In April, Amritsar was the third busiest airport and in May, it was the second busiest airport in India handling international traffic.

“Even Delhi, Mumbai and many other metro cities were left behind as the largest number of Britons were stranded in Punjab. If the majority of passengers travelling from Delhi to London are from Punjab, then why can't Air India fly from Amritsar?” Gumtala asked.

His views were echoed by Manmohan Singh Brar, president of AVM, the civil society NGO working for development of Amritsar and Charan Kanwal Singh Sekhon, chairman of the SEVA Trust, UK which have been campaigning for the London Heathrow to Amritsar route since 2018.

“Not only will a Heathrow-Amritsar direct flight attract a large number of Punjabi travellers coming from Canada, USA and Europe due to better connections at Heathrow than Stansted, but it will also attract business class travellers as majority of Punjabi business community lives close to Heathrow, not Stansted,” said Sekhon.


The British government had to arrange 28 repatriation flights from Amritsar to Heathrow between April and May 2020, flying about 8,300 Britons stuck in Punjab back to Britain. At the same time, the Canadian government organised 25 repatriation flights from Amritsar, evacuating around 7,500 Canadians to Toronto and Vancouver.
24/08/20 Naomi Canton/Times of India

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Ban on Air India flights to Hong Kong ignores imported coronavirus cases travelling to city via connecting flights, analysis shows

Despite recent government actions aimed at preventing Air India from carrying coronavirus-positive passengers into Hong Kong, a review by the Post has found that direct flights only account for part of the issue, with connecting flights from other locales also bringing in several cases from India.
At least 44 cases imported from India have emerged since stricter public health restrictions were imposed on high-risk countries. Nineteen of the cases can be traced to a single August 14 flight operated by India’s national airline, triggering a two-week ban on Air India flights to the city by Hong Kong authorities. Five other cases were linked to an Air India flight from Delhi on August 11, and eight more were on another flight from Delhi a week before that.
But a review of the official data also found another six Covid-19 cases imported from India could be traced to Singapore Airlines flight 890 on August 5. A further analysis of travel patterns found six more such cases travelled to Hong Kong via Singapore, Doha and Kuala Lumpur in late July and the first 19 days of August, indicating the problem is not limited to direct flights from India.
The number of cases linked to these flights has slowly ticked up as passengers test positive during the city’s mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
An aviation specialist and a health expert have said the revelations raise questions on why only Air India had been singled out, and whether it was necessary to strengthen preflight testing requirements.
Air India was banned from operating flights to the city until the end of August when an initial 11 Covid-19 cases were detected upon arrival in Hong Kong aboard the August 14 flight. The number had risen to 19 by Saturday.
Since July 25, the Hong Kong government has required travellers from high-risk countries – including India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia and the United States – to secure a negative Covid-19 test with certification and validation within 72 hours of departure.
24/08/20 Danny Lee/South China Morning Post

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Before they issue tickets, airlines must check if you are eligible to travel abroad

With international air travel opening up gradually, governments across the world are revising rules and procedures every few days to ensure safe and hassle-free journeys. In that spirit, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has published a set of standard operating procedures for international travellers. The rules are a consolidation of the many that have been issued over the last few weeks. In summary, all international air travel is still conditional and subject to rules. Those travelling on Mission Vande Bharat repatriation flights still need to register with the government and to avoid chaos, airlines have been asked to verify if travellers are eligible to travel to the destination country, which could mean a few extra questions while booking tickets.
Here is the full SOP for international travellers that has been issued this past weekend >>

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Gulf spl flights bring back unemployed professionals

Kolkata: The city airport hosted three international charter flights between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon — the highest in terms of frequency in the last 53 days — with repatriates coming back home from three Gulf nations, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

While flight G8 6269 from Abu Dhabi with 174 passengers on board reached the airport around 9.40pm on Saturday, the 10.30pm flight G8 7444 from Kuwait had 180 flyers. Both the flights were operated by Go Air. On Sunday afternoon, an Oman Air repatriation flight from Qatar with 154 passengers reached the airport at 3.40pm. A majority of passengers in all three flights were jobless professionals and labourers, who shared horrific tales of struggle and hunger to TOI as they reached the city. All of them had Covid-negative certificates and were allowed to go home and stay in quarantine.
“With hopes of making a fortune out of my expertise in embroidery work, I had gone to Abu Dhabi on December 2019 like many of my neighbours from Howrah. But such had been my luck that within three-four months, I was jobless as the city came under lockdown. A colleague allowed me to stay at his apartment but since March, there have been several days when I had slept only drinking water and nothing else. There is no job for us any more. I am thankful to the company that they at least got me a ticket back home. I am not going back to any foreign nation ever,” said Rafikul Hasan Khan, a resident of Amta in Howrah who returned from Abu Dhabi.
Dum Dum Cantonment resident Mitisha Mondal, who used to work at a resort in Kuwait, said she lost her job five days after the lockdown started in the country. “I had no clue where to go and live. There was no way I could even come back home. The horror of uncertainty without work and without means to return home while stuck at a foreign nation had sent me into depression. Thankfully, my employers arranged my ticket back home,” said Mondal.
24/08/20 Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India

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Vande Bharat Mission: More flights from Oman added under Phase 6

Muscat: The Government of India has decided to 21 more flights to India from Oman under Phase 6 of Vande Bharat Mission.

A total of 21 flights will be operated from Muscat to various destinations such as Chennai, Lucknow, Kannur, Mumbai, Kochi, Trivandrum, Delhi, Calicut, Bengaluru, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Tiruchirapalli, the Embassy of India in Muscat confirmed.

The Embassy of India in its press release said, "As in the case of flights operated earlier under Vande Bharat Mission, passenger lists for all the above-mentioned flights will be finalized by the Embassy on the basis of information received by it. Passengers are requested to provide details and confirmation to travel on a particular flight on the online form floated by the Embassy for VBM Phase 6."

"All such people will be contacted by Air India directly for booking of tickets. The passengers, after registering on the online form, may also approach Air India offices in Ruwi and Wattaya (National Travels, General Sales Agent of Air India) directly to book tickets on a first come first serve basis. However, priority will be given to medical emergency cases, pregnant women, workers in distress, senior citizens as well as to other Indian nationals who are stranded in difficult situations," the release mentioned.
23/08/20 Times of Oman

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SOP laid by MHA; Check guidelines for inbound and outbound international flights, ships

International travel from India: In a recent notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) followed for international travel on non-scheduled commercial flights. These flights will operate under the Vande Bharat scheme and air transport bubble arrangement that the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA) has entered in. The SOP is a part of guidelines laid down by the home ministry in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 infection. This will also help the ministry keep a check on the movement of international passengers in a calibrated manner, read the statement released by MHA.
See the SOPs >>

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SpiceJet operates maiden A340 freighter service from Amsterdam to Mumbai

Budget carrier SpiceJet has operated its maiden long-haul cargo flight with a widebody Airbus A340 freighter aircraft to Mumbai from the Dutch capital Amsterdam, making it the first and only Indian carrier to operate non-stop cargo services from Europe on a dedicated freighter.

The Gurugram-based airline, in a release on Saturday, also said that the same A340 cargo plan will perform its next flight to Sudan from Mumbai on Sunday.

SpiceJet has a dedicated fleet of nine freighter aircraft consisting of five Boeing 737s, three Bombardier Q-400s and one Airbus A340.

"SpiceJet operated its first-ever long-haul cargo flight from Amsterdam to Mumbai using its wide-body Airbus A340 aircraft on Saturday. The flight, operated by a widebody A340 freighter, departed from the Dutch capital at 10.50 PM (local time) on August 21, and reached Mumbai at 10.54 AM (local time) on Sunday, carrying over 14 tonnes of cargo to the city," the release said.

The aircraft will now operate from Mumbai to Khartoum in Sudan on Sunday with 40 tonnes of cargo, the airline said, adding that SpiceJet has transported over 31,800 tonnes of cargo since nationwide lockdown began in late March.

"Today is a proud moment, we successfully operated our first wide-body long-haul flight from Europe. The induction of our first Airbus A340 cargo aircraft has significantly enhanced our operational capability and will allow us to operate non-stop cargo services across the globe to destinations in Europe, Africa and CIS countries," said Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet, said.
22/08/20 CNBC TV18

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German Company to operate 3 Adani Airports in India

The Adani group has roped in Flughafen Munchen GmbH, a German firm to operate three of the Adani’s airports in India. The firm won the contract in a privatization bid.

The firm may maintain airports of Ahmedabad, Mangalore and Lucknow. The firm is currently responsible for managing the Munich airport in Germany. The contracts were put out by Adani in July and they are O&M contracts.

According to the sources, The Adani soon maybe managing/running the Mumbai airport as well, which is currently run by GVK. However, the news has not been finalized yet and is something that is still in its offing.
22/08/20 TimesNowNews.com

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Flying from an air bubble country to India, no need to register with Indian mission before doing so: MHA

New Delhi: In a huge relief to people travelling to India from countries with which the government has created air bubbles and airlines flying them here, such inbound travellers now do not need to register themselves with the Indian mission abroad before doing so.

That requirement is only for people travelling on Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) flights, according to new guidelines issued by the home ministry (MHA) Saturday for international travel to and from India on VBM flights and on the air bubbles created with various countries.

A senior official of a foreign airline of an air bubble country welcomed this move, saying: “As per the new rules, passengers on our flights don’t have to register on the Indian embassy portal. So relief for them and us who had to check (if that condition has been complied with).” India has so far created air bubbles with USA, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Qatar and Maldives.

“Persons desirous to travel to India on VBM flights, will register themselves with the Indian Missions in the country where they are stranded/ residing, along with necessary details as prescribed by ministry of external affairs (MEA). Such a registration may not be required on flights operating under air transport bubbles arrangements,” the new standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by home secretary A K Bhalla on Saturday said.

India is in talks with many more countries to create air bubbles like Australia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan.

The idea of these bubbles is to ensure continuity of travel between India and these countries by eligible categories of people till schedule flights resume.

Eligible people are allowed to travel between India and the countries with which air bubbles have been created on airlines of either sides on a reciprocal basis. Schedule international flights to and from India have been suspended since March 22.

The protocol for flights to India requires that “priority be given to compelling cases of in distress, including migrant workers/ labourers who have been laid off, short term visa holders faced with expiry of visas, persons with medical emergency/ pregnant women/ elderly persons or those required to return to India due to death of family member, and students.”
23/08/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Fewer Indians returning home as Air India Express demand dips

Abu Dhabi: As the demand for Vande Bharat Mission flights has lessened in Abu Dhabi, Air India Express has resumed normal operations from its office on Electra Street.

Facing an unmanageable crowd in early July, Arabian Travel Agency, the general sales agent for Air India Express, had shifted its booking office to India Social and Cultural Centre (ISC) Abu Dhabi in Al Mina.

The number of people seeking tickets had hit 450 in July and touched 500 until August 10, the initial deadline for holders of expired visit visas to exit the country without paying fine. But since then, there has been a gradual fall and in the past weeks less than 100 people sought air tickets as part of the fifth phase of Vande Bharat Mission, an official from the agency said.

"Earlier in July, it was difficult to manage the crowd. In a bid to comply with social distancing and precautionary measures, we moved to the larger facility of the ISC. But the rush of people seeking air tickets has fallen. From 450 to 500 people, the number got reduced to 100. So, we have moved back to our office," an official said after moving logistics back to the office on Electra Street.

The official doesn't see an upswing in demand for air tickets in the upcoming weeks.
23/08/20 Ashwani Kumar/Khaleej Times

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Vande Bharat Mission: Over 3.5 Lakh Stranded Indians Repatriated, Says Civil Aviation Ministry

Over 3.5 lakh passengers have returned to India under the Vande Bharat Mission, the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Saturday as it gears up to begin phase 6 of the mission from September 1.
“Over 3.5 lakh stranded Indians have been repatriated with the help of Air India Express and Air India under Vande Bharat Mission”, the Civil Aviation Ministry said today.
Notably, the ministry had launched the mission from May 7 to bring back Indian nationals stuck in various countries due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Currently, phase 5 of the mission is going on, which started on August 1 and will end on August 31, a day before the sixth phase begins.
On August 7, an Air India Express flight operating under the mission, had crashed at the Kozhikode International Airport, where it had arrived from Dubai. A total of 18 people-2 pilots and 16 passengers-died in the crash, which was India’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
“The mission will continue”, the ministry had stressed then, adding that repatriation fights won’t have any problem.
22/08/20 India.com

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Probe has to be conducted abroad to unearth all conspirators in gold smuggling case: NIA tells Court

 
Kochi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the sensational gold smuggling case in Kerala has said an investigation has to be conducted abroad to unearth all conspirators in the crime. It has also said steps have been taken for issuing Blue corner notices against four accused currently in UAE through Interpol to secure them for investigation.
"Investigation revealed that the absconding accused Fazil Fareed (A3), Rabins Hameed (A 10), Sidhiqul Akbar (A 15), and Ahammed Kutty (A 20) are in UAE.Therefore, NBW (non-bailable warrant) against them has been obtained from this NIA court.

Steps have been taken for issuing Blue notices against them through Interpol to secure them for investigation," the agency said in a report submitted in the special NIA court here on Friday. A Blue corner notice is issued to locate or obtain information about a person in a criminal investigation.

In the report, the NIA reiterated that the investigation discloses that the accused had earned profit from the offence and proceeds of smuggling could be used for terror funding.

It said the investigation conducted so far revealed that the accused had conspired and sourced gold in large quantities from abroad on multiple occasions earlier and smuggled it through various airports, especially in Kerala.

Investigation has to be conducted abroad and interrogation into roles of high profile individuals and Consulate officials is also necessary to unearth all conspirators in this crime, the NIA said.

It said the accused have used various social media platforms to communicate with co-accused and suspects for committing the offence.

The seized digital devices of the accused have been forwarded to C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram for cyber forensic analysis.

"Investigation had also revealed the larger conspiracy involving influential people both in India and abroad behind this crime and that the racket has already transported bulk quantities of gold from Middle East through diplomatic baggage and sold it clandestinely to various people, with the intention of threatening economic security of India," the NIA said. The NIA submitted the report seeking judicial custody of four arrested accused-- Mohammed Anwar, Hamzath, Samju and Hamjad---in connection with the case.

The court allowed the agency''s plea and sent them to judicial remand yesterday.
22/08/20 PTI/Outlook

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