Man Who Stripped On Air India Express Flight Was Beaten, Harassed By Pakistani Co-workers

A male passenger on an Air India flight from Dubai to Lucknow stripped naked mid-air and began strutting in the aisle in that state.
The cabin crew quickly wrapped the man in a blanket and he was made to sit down on, reported ANI. After the flight landed at Lucknow’s Chaudhary Charan Singh airport at 12:05 pm, the passenger was handed over to the security.
One passenger who was on the flight and who saw the entire incident said, “As soon as the aircraft crew saw him walking nude, they pounced on him and wrapped him in a blanket. Initially, the man resisted but the staff managed to overpower him.”
Air India in-charge in Lucknow, Shakeel Ahmed, said, “The man after being detained by the authorities revealed that he had been harassed by his Pakistani coworkers in Dubai who far outnumbered him as he was the only Indian there. He said he was mercilessly beaten by the Pakistanis and tortured to go back. In frustration, he had resigned and was returning to India.”
30/12/18 Priyanshi Mathur/India Times

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‘Harassed’ in Dubai, flyer strips on flight to India

Lucknow: Around 150 passengers on board an Air India flight from Dubai to Lucknow were in for a rude shock when a 35-year-old male passenger stripped mid-air and started walking down the aisle. The incident took place on Saturday but was reported on Sunday.

Surendra, 35, was on board Air India express aircraft (IX-194) that was scheduled to arrive in Lucknow at 2pm on Saturday. Air India officials said Surendra got up from his seat, stood in the aisle and stripped, leaving the passengers in a state of shock. The aircraft crew had to hold him down and wrap him in a blanket.

Though the reason behind his action was not known, Air India officials said the passenger was under “mental trauma” following alleged harassment by his Dubai-based employer.

After the aircraft landed at the Amausi airport in Lucknow, Surendra, a resident of Unnao, was handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for inquiry. A CISF official told TOI that Surendra’s employer, a Pakistani, often harassed him and denied him his due leave. “Surendra thought that the flight would land in Pakistan and therefore he stripped in protest,” said the official, adding that he was later let off.
31/12/18 Times of India

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Foreign tourists can now fly directly to the Andamans

New Delhi: Foreign tourists can now directly fly to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as the government has designated Port Blair airport as an authorised immigration check post for entry into and exit from India with valid travel documents.

The decision came more than a month after the killing of an American national by members of a highly protected tribe in one of the islands of the Union territory.

"In pursuance of sub-rule (b) of rule 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950, the central government hereby designates Port Blair airport of Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands as an authorised immigration check post for entry into/exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers," a home ministry notification said.

In another notification, the home ministry appointed the Superintendent of Police, CID, the Andaman and Nicobar Police, as the "civil authority" for the immigration check post at Port Blair airport with effect from December 31, 2018.

The Andamans, under global spotlight after the killing of an American national, has emerged as one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the country receiving on an average four lakh tourists, including several thousand foreigners, annually.
31/12/18 PTI/Times of India

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Youngest pilot to take solo in the world has Nagpur links

Canada-based Mohd Faizy flew his first solo at the age of 14 years in a fixed wing Cessna 152, creating a world record. The Hitavada received the news about Mohd Faizy’s record, through his uncle Quaid Faizy, a city-based commercial pilot, presently Captain on SpiceJet Airline.
It was fun talking to Capt Quaid, who, himself a Pilot with vast flying experience and appeared quite excited in sharing the news with The Hitavada. This scribe being a student Pilot licence holder in his college days, also could not contain the excitement and could virtually visualise the thrill of taking the first solo, soaring in the blue sky, controls in hand, no instructor to bark at.
Capt Quaid Faizy spoke at length about how his nephew went about doing that record breaking feat. “Mohd Faizy is a fourteen-year-old boy from Mississauga, who created a world record of flying solo in the Cessna 152 on December 18, 2018. Mohd Faizy broke his own cousin’s record Mansoor Anis, who did this in 14 years, 3 months. Interestingly both are cousins and belong to Nagpur. I like to tinker with computers, that is how I made and developed my own flight simulator at home, equipped with best of basic avionics, on which Faizy played about, like how children today play computer games. That is how, he got the hang of it. Added to this was his sister Zahabia’s taking him on board for a joyride several times, that Faizy got hooked on to, like a duck taking to water. Mohd Faizy took his first solo flight in Vancouver with a flight instructor when he was twelve-year-old.
Guinness Book of World Record has accepted his claim to becoming the youngest Pilot to fly solo. Mohd Faizy’s father is Hassan Faizy from Ujjain and mother is a Physiotherapist”.
31/12/18 Nandu Andhare/Hitavada 

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Indian national arrested at Sri Lanka's Colombo airport with Hashish worth Rs. 2 mn

Colombo: Sri Lanka Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) unit at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) Sunday (30) arrested an Indian national attempting to smuggle over one kilogram of hashish.

The PNB officers on suspicion inspected the luggage of the passenger arrived from Bangalore, India and found 1.280 kilograms hashish carefully hidden in a false bottom of the bag. The stock of drug is valued at Rs. 2 million.

The 30-year-old suspect will be produced before the Negombo Magistrate's Court today (31).
31/12/18 ColomboPage

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Singapore flights running with huge demand: Chandrababu Naidu

Amaravati: While announcing achievements of aviation sector in the state, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that the Singapore flights from Gannavaram have gained huge demand. Even though the State government offered the Viability Gap Fund, there was no need to provide it as they got huge demand.

He said that state capital Amaravati got connected to first International sector that is Singapore.
Airport capacity and size increased including Runway length and terminals were expanded to accommodate larger aircraft of Code D and E, that is Boeing 787, A 321 and others.

Passenger movement at AP Airports enhanced to 5.5 MPPA (FY1849) from initial 1.1 MPPA (2013-14).
Connectivity to other cities in india increased from 7 Nos to 15 Nos.
Growth rate achieved over the last four years is 38% (CAGR) in comparison to national growth rate of 12% (CAGR).The State currently handles 1.7% of the total passenger traffic in India and stands at No.2 in terms of largest number of operational airports in the country.
29/12/18 Sambasiva Rao/Hans India

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Gold seized, three held at Trichy airport

Trichy: Customs authorities have seized Rs 20 lakh worth gold from 3 air passengers who arrived here from Kuala Lumpur at Trichy airport by Air Asia and Malindo Air flights in the last two days.
According to customs officials, they had grown suspicion over the activities of the passengers Mohammed Ibrahim, 57, of Chennai and Shyed Ibramsha, 28, from Ramanathapuram who arrived at the airport.
When the customs officials checked their belongings, they found 160-gram gold worth Rs 4.83 lakh and 100-gram gold worth Rs 3.15 lakh concealed in their baggage. The yellow metal was recovered from them.
The customs also recovered Rs 12 lakh worth gold from a woman passenger during the night hours on Thursday.Girija Malar, 52, a Malaysian resident had arrived at the Trichy airport by Malindo Air. It was found that she had concealed 401 grams gold ornaments in inner wear.
29/12/18 Times of India

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CBI registers 2 cases of illegal trafficking of minors to US, Kenya

The CBI has registered two separate cases of illegal trafficking of women and children to the United States of America and Kenya.

Both the cases were registered on Thursday and the first relates to a complaint from the US embassy which reported that an attempt was made by a woman Gagan Gupta, in August last year, to smuggle four minor children to that country allegedly using assumed identities of four students of St Joseph’s Convent in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district in Punjab. Five persons have been named as accused in the case. The second case registered following a reference from the Ministry of External Affairs which stated an unregistered recruitment agency was involved in trafficking girls and women to Kenya on the pretext of providing them employment.

The embassy said that the staff of United Airlines-83 flight stopped them from boarding the flight as the faces of four children did match with their photographs in the passport, according to the us Embassy complaint to the CBI, which is now part of the FIR.

However, their passports were not seized and they were allowed to leave the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The airline staff did not contact the local police but it provided photos of the minor subjects, of the passports and the airline tickets to the embassy officials.

During inquiry by the embassy, it surfaced visas issued to the kids were part of a school group from St Joseph Convent for which a trip to the United States was organised by Click Education Services Pvt Limited.
29/12/18 Pioneer

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Three near-misses in seconds, ATC saves the day

New Delhi: In perhaps the first incident of its kind, three wide-body aircraft came alarmingly close to each other within seconds. The first alert of an aircraft being too close to another while flying in Delhi’s flight information region (FIR) sent it into the path of a third. Avoiding this, ironically took it back into the path of the first plane.

Top aviation officials said the three aircraft involved in this rare triple trouble a few days ago were Dutch carrier KLM’s Boeing 777 flight 875 from Amsterdam to Bangkok; Taiwanese carrier EVA’s Boeing 777 from Bangkok to Vienna and an American charter company National’s Boeing 747 jumbo jet flight NCR 840 from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan to Hong Kong.
Aviation authorities have categorised this as a serious incident and referred the probe to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB).
“In the first instance, there was a breach of separation between NCR 840 and EVA Air and the Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) alarm went off in the flights cockpits,” revealed a source. At this point, NCR 840 was at 31,000 feet, while EVA Air was at 32,000 feet. After the TCAS alarm, NCR 840 asked for higher flight level of 35,000 feet. The air traffic controller asked NCR 840 to ‘standby, expect 350’. This meant that the aircraft was not cleared to climb at that point as the ATC had asked the jumbo jet to standby at the same level.
The controller, however, observed that NCR 840 had started to climb without approval while there was traffic in both its direction (behind it) and in opposite direction. “KLM 875 was flying in the same direction (from Amsterdam-Bangkok) behind NCR 840 at 33,000 feet. During this unauthorised climb, NCR 840 had another TCAS, this time with the KLM flight,” said sources.
28/12/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Rafale deal on track: Govt ignores controversy, makes 25 per cent payment to French govt

New Delhi: Even as the controversy over the Rafale fighter jet deal continues, the Narendra Modi government has taken the next step by issuing 25 per cent of the payment due to the French government in the over Rs 59,000 crore deal. This was revealed in a report by news agency ANI citing top Air Force sources. India is procuring 36 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation in flyaway condition in a government-to-government deal.

Sources told the news agency the plane delivery schedule was on track and the Indian Air Force is expected to get the first aircraft in September 2019. The jets would be put to extensive testing by Indian pilots to evaluate the India-specific enhancements.
Rafale fighter jet deal Rafale fighter jet deal on track  |  Photo Credit: AP
New Delhi: Even as the controversy over the Rafale fighter jet deal continues, the Narendra Modi government has taken the next step by issuing 25 per cent of the payment due to the French government in the over Rs 59,000 crore deal. This was revealed in a report by news agency ANI citing top Air Force sources. India is procuring 36 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation in flyaway condition in a government-to-government deal.

Sources told the news agency the plane delivery schedule was on track and the Indian Air Force is expected to get the first aircraft in September 2019. The jets would be put to extensive testing by Indian pilots to evaluate the India-specific enhancements.

"More than 25 per cent of the payments have been made to the French government for the deal as part of the contractual terms and conditions of the project. The amount of the payment is being paid to the French government as the contract is government to government," ANI reported sources as saying.

The sources added that the first batch of four aircraft to be delivered to the IAF by the middle of 2020 would be equipped with advanced avionics and sensors.

The deal to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets was inked during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France in September 2016. Dassault Aviation is manufacturing 36 advanced fighter jets with India-specific requirements.
28/12/18 TimesNowNews.com

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Codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines 'purely commercial,' no change in shareholding: IndiGo

Country's largest airline IndiGo has clarified that its codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines doesn't entail an equity deal.
"The principle underlying such arrangement... does not have any impact on the shareholding pattern of both parties," the airline said a statement to the National Stock Exchange. IndiGo reiterated that the mutual cooperation arrangement "is purely a commercial arrangement between the parties."
The two airlines had announced a code share agreement on December 21.
IndiGo's clarifications come amidst increasing buzz in the industry that Turkish Airlines could follow up the codeshare agreement with an equity deal with its Indian peer.
The code share is a first that IndiGo has done, and will offer its customers more destinations in Europe through Turkish Airlines' network. The Turkish carrier's customers will get access to destinations in India, through IndiGo's operations.
In its statement on Thursday, IndiGo said that no shares have been issued to any party under the code share agreement.
27/12/18 Moneycontrol.com

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Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters journalist denied entry back into India

New Delhi: A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, working as Chief Photographer with global news agency Reuters at its Delhi office, has been denied entry back into India for alleged violation of visa conditions.

Cathal McNaughton and his colleagues were awarded the Pulitzer Prize in May 2018 for their photographs that “exposed the world to the violence Rohingya refugees faced in fleeing Myanmar”.

When contacted, officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that McNaughton “violated visa conditions by travelling to restricted and protected areas in Jammu and Kashmir without permission”. Sources told The Indian Express that when McNaughton was sent back from Delhi airport — he was returning from an overseas trip — he had a “valid visa” to enter India.
McNaughton’s timeline on Instagram shows he was in Jammu and Kashmir in April 2018 and had covered protests following the rape and murder of a minor in Kathua.
In a photograph of stone pelters, posted on Instagram, he wrote, “A protester throws rubble at Indian police during a protest against the killing in Kashmir, April 13, 2018”. He also posted pictures taken at the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar.
In another Instagram message summing up his work in 2018, posted on December 26, McNaughton wrote, “2018 has been interesting. From winning the Pulitzer to being denied entry back into India. The frigid cold of Pyeonchang Winter Olympics to the stifling heat of the Asian games in Jakarta. Finally the theater of the Whitehouse and the tragedy of a mass shooting in Pittsburgh. Over the next few days, I’ll be sharing some highlights and low lights.”
28/12/18 Rahul Tripathi/Indian Express

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Jet Airways to stop flights to south India from February

Dubai: Jet Airways, a full service airline from India, is stopping direct flights from the UAE to south Indian cities next month.

In a circular issued to travel agents this week, the airline announced that it will suspend operations to Kochi from Sharjah from February 10.

Confirming this to Gulf News, a spokesperson revealed that the airline suspended its Dubai-Kochi service on September 22 and its Dubai-Mangalore service on December 5.

“All passengers who were booked [on these flights] were taken care of in Mumbai or Delhi,” he said.

It means that passengers who had booked direct flights after these dates were rebooked on flights with transit in Mumbai or Delhi, extending the duration of their journey for several hours.
26/12/18 Sajila Saseendran/Gulf News

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State Pays Airlines to Fly to Israel, but Do All the Tourists Visit Here?

Three years after the government began offering foreign airlines subsidies to open new routes to Israel, the number of tourist arrivals has ballooned on the routes benefiting from the aid. But the cost has been high and in the case of Eilat the boost to the local tourism industry may be less than it seems.
Figures obtained by TheMarker show that airlines opening new routes to Uvda Airport, which serves the southern resort city of Eilat, were paid 8.3 million euros ($9.4 million) for the 2017-18 winter season, while those flying to Ben-Gurion International Airport, Israel’s main international airport, were paid 13.75 million euros over 2016-18.
But in the case of the Uvda assistance, there are indications that Israel is not only luring overseas visitors to Eilat but to nearby Jordanian and Egyptian resorts, too. In effect, Israel is subsidizing their tourism industries.

Israel was a late and reluctant entry into the practice of subsidizing airlines to fly to their country, but after the disastrous 2014-14 tourism season for Eilat, tourism officials decided they had to take drastic measures.

The ministry said an expert study showed the grant was justified but declined to say what criteria it used or how it reached its conclusions.

Since the program began the biggest recipients have been LOT Polish Airlines, which has received 2.05 million euros for seven new weekly flights. The low-cost carrier Ryanair has 2.3 million for eight weekly flights from Poland. Wizzair is the biggest recipient of them all with 3.3 million for 12 flight’s weekly. Air India is expected to get 750,000 for its new New Delhi-Tel Aviv route.
There are no data on how the subsidized flights are doing, but figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics show that in the first 10 months of this year tourist arrivals from Poland were up 89%, compared with the same time in 2017. Air India’s new route boosted incoming tourism from India by 21%.
27/12/18 Rina Rozenberg Kandel/Haaretz.com

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Mumbai woman used Chennai airport to traffic five boys

Chennai: Haru Manju Datta, an unassuming 55-year-old woman from Khar West in Mumbai, has been in Puzhal prison for a couple of weeks now, charged with human trafficking. The Chennai police say during interrogation she admitted she had made five trips to the UK with teenagers posing as her sons. She charged the parents Rs 10 lakh each time for ensuring their sons got menial jobs in the UK. She got caught on her sixth trip from Chennai to London on April 9.

Though she was sentenced to two years in jail by a London court, she was deported back to India on December 1 and the Mumbai police arrested her on arrival. Later the Chennai police took her into custody to unravel the web of contacts she and some agents used to run their trafficking network.

The police here and in Mumbai first learnt about her activities only when she was arrested in London. During interrogation, Datta told investigators how she was approached by some agents in Mumbai promising good money if she would escort teenagers to UK masquerading as mother and son. She said the agents put her in touch with some immigration officers in Chennai airport, and she used to fly to London from Chennai using a fake passport for the teenager. In fact, she said she would use the same passport for the boy with her, only changing the photograph each time.

27/12/18 Times of India

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Venezuelan woman held at Mumbai airport with Rs 3 crore narco

Mumbai: A Venezuelan national was on Wednesday arrested by customs' air intelligence unit (AIU) for possessing 1.2kg of the drug methaqualone worth Rs 3 crore. The woman, Luisa Garcia Lopez (27), told officials she was supposed to deliver the contraband to someone at a prominent hospital in South Mumbai. She is now in the custody of the narcotics control bureau (NCB), which is investigating the matter.

The NCB is using a translator to interrogate the Spanish-speaking accused, who was intercepted at the airport, so that the person the consignment was meant for can be identified. Lopez was cornered based on a specific tip-off. She arrived in Mumbai from Sao Paulo via Dubai by an Emirates flight. A search of her baggage yielded nine wooden cloth hangers. Finding the nature and the quantity of the item to be suspicious, the AIU put the hangers into the screened machine, which revealed hollow interiors filled with some substance. "We broke open a hanger to find white powder, which we suspected to be a banned drug. With the help of a spot testing kit, we found the power to be methaqualone," said an officer.
27/12/18 Times of India

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AAIB seeks NTSB help in probing IndiGo mid-air engine smoke incident

Mumbai: Aircraft accident probe agency AAIB has sought assistance from its US counterpart NTSB in investigating the incident of an IndiGoNSE -0.44 % plane's Pratt & Whitney engine emitting smoke mid-air, a senior official said Tuesday.

The incident, which took place in the A320 neo aircraft operating the Jaipur-Kolkata flight on December 10, is also the first time globally that smoke was detected from a P&W engine.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which has refuted allegations that it was going slow with the probe, is already pursuing the matter with Airbus and P&W.
"In this case, AAIB is sending this engine to M/s P&W facility for detailed investigation and is seeking assistance from NTSB, USA also," a senior AAIB official told PTI.
Responding to queries about the incident, wherein the plane made an emergency landing at Kolkata airport, the official also said the "question of hushing it (the probe) up doesn't arise at all".
25/12/18 PTI/Economic Times

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‘United will launch flights from Delhi to San Francisco next year’

Within a year United Airlines plans to start direct flights from Delhi to San Francisco. With strong local contenders in the Indian commercial airspace, how does US-based United Airlines look at strengthening its hold over the market?

In October, United launched the new Polaris business class, after 12,000 hours of research identifying sleep as a priority for passengers. Globally, United has invested $400 million over the past two years to ramp up its services. In the backdrop of this, BusinessLine caught up with the Country Manager of United Airlines India, Harvinder Singh. Excerpts:

United Airlines has ordered Boeing 787-9 and Boeing 787-10, but not meant for India route? Given that Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 have range and more fuel efficient, is the fact that the Boeing 777 offers more seats driving the decision?

The Boeing 777-300ER is one of the newest aircraft in our fleet featuring the new United Polaris business class seat and we believe it is the right aircraft type for this route at this time.

Designed for efficiency, the environmentally progressive Boeing 777-300ER aircraft creates less noise leading to a cleaner eco-footprint.

India and the US have an Open Sky agreement yet you fly only in two Indian cities? Why is this? Is it lack of aircraft which have capacity to fly non-stop or you feel it is not a big enough market?

We are proud to have served the India market for over a decade and during that time have carried over three million customers on more than 14,000 flights between India and the US.

Our commitment to this important market is further underpinned by both the introduction of the Boeing 777-300ER on our Mumbai–New York/Newark route in October this year and the launch in December 2019 of a new non-stop seasonal service from New Delhi to San Francisco.
25/12/18 Maitri Porecha/Business Line

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GoAir enhances services to Phuket with daily operations

Budget passenger carrier GoAir on Monday said that it has enhanced its operations to Phuket with the launch of daily directly flights from Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru. According to the airline, it expanded the services effective December 22.

“At the beginning GoAir started two direct flights per week to Phuket from Delhi, three direct flights per week to Phuket from Mumbai and Bengaluru,” the airine said in a statement on Monday.

“By the end of 2019 the airline will further expand its network by connecting 7 more Indian cities to Phuket.” The airline had recently commenced direct flights from India to Phuket.
25/12/18 IANS/Financial Express

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Emirates offers tickets to India, Pakistan for under Dh1,100

Dubai: Residents in UAE looking to celebrate the new year abroad should check out Emirates' last-minute holiday deals.

Check the list of various destinations and avail of these special offers, all of which don't exceed Dh1,100.

For those looking to travel to India for the holidays, from December 23 up until June 30, 2019, book your tickets to Kochi (Dh845),  Thiruvananthapuram (Dh855), Delhi (Dh925), Mumbai (Dh935), Chennai (Dh955), Bengaluru (Dh955) and Hyderabad (Dh1,035). The tickets need to be booked by December 25.

Ahmedabad (Dh935) and Karachi (Dh1,095) are also on offer.

Discounted tickets to GCC cities include Kuwait (Dh785), Dammam (Dh1,055), Muscat (Dh975), Bahrain (Dh965), as well as the Levantine Beirut (Dh1,055).
24/12/18 Khaleej Times

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Afghan national released on bail goes missing, Cochin Customs Department launches manhunt

Kochi: The Customs Department has launched a manhunt for the Afghan who has gone missing after being released on bail in a case related to the seizure of foreign currencies worth 10.86 crore - the largest foreign currency haul in the country - from the Cochin International Airport.

The Customs has sought the assistance of the police in Kerala and New Delhi for tracking down Mohammed Siddiqui Yusafi. Yusafi, 33, was arrested by the Customs sleuths while boarding a flight to Dubai from Nedumbassery in June. Yusafi had boarded an Air India flight to Dubai via Kochi from New Delhi. However, due to a technical snag, the passengers were asked to alight at Nedumbassery airport. The currencies - a mix of Dollars and Saudi Riyals - were detected when the baggage was scanned at CIAL.
In July, Customs invoked COFEPOSA detention against him. However, the COFEPOSA review committee decided to cancel the preventive detention stating the accused did not know about the charges against him as he understands only Dari language, a Persian variety spoken in Afghanistan.

A top officer, on condition of anonymity, said a petition has been filed before the Ernakulam Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court (Economic Offence) for cancelling Yusafi’s bail. The Customs officers are apprehensive about the possibility of him leaving the country.

The identities of the persons who stood as sureties for executing the bail were found to be bogus. “We have already started the search for Mohammad Siddiqui Yusafi. We have approached the Kerala Police to take necessary action to track him down. Our units in New Delhi, where he had been staying, are also looking for him. We will also seek the assistance of Delhi Police in this regard. The persons who stood as sureties also have to traced,” he said.
25/12/18 Toby Antony/New Indian Express

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ADIA said to eye opportunities in India airport privatisations

The Abu Dhabi Investment Agency (ADIA) is among the international sovereign wealth funds and long-term investment funds in discussions with European and Southeast Asian airport operations for possible consortium arranged to bid for six state-owned Indian airports currently on offer for privatisation, according to sources.

A number of international and domestic airport operators and some leading infrastructure developers are currently in discussions with financial investors to put in place consortiums before forming up financial and technical bids for six airports in Indian cities, according to officials at leading management consultancy firms in India.

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) sent out requests for proposals (RFPs) on December 14 for the proposed privatisation of the six airports.

Luknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mangaluru and Guwahati are the six brownfield airports for which RFPs have been issued.

ADIA is understood to be in talks with a leading European airport operator to be its consortium partner for bidding for some of the six airports on offer for privatisation.

According to sources, a management consultancy firm is assisting the two as they draw up the contours of their consortium structure and advising them on the details of the terms of conditions of bidding, existing aviation and non-aviation assets and in assessing current passenger and cargo traffic-related information about these airports.

When contacts, a spokesperson for ADIA told Arabian Business that the fund does not comment on possible investment plans.

International consultancy firm Deloitte is said to be assisting AAI in the privatisation process.

Sources said that the prospective bidders – private airport operators, infrastructure developers and financial investors – are currently taking the help of firms such as PwC, KPMG and EY to study the proposed terms and conditions for operation and management (O&M) and development, besides the revenue sharing model in the RFPs.

These firms will also help the bidders draw up bidding strategies based on their assessments of the existing operations and future development prospects of each airport.
23/12/18 James Mathew/Arabian Business

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24% of traffic between India & US flies non-stops of Air India & United; Emirates leads in market share

New Delhi: Less than a quarter of the people travelling between India and the United States fly non-stop. And, a majority of the one-stop travellers fly via the Gulf, with Dubai-based Emirates having the largest share of the India-US travel pie. Air India, which along with United, has direct flights between the two countries is at the second spot after Emirates in terms market share of this lucrative sector, according to data shared by UK-based air consultancy firm OAG with TOI.

The OAG data, which is for bookings made between October 2017 and September 2018, shows the direct flights of AI and United accounted for 17% and 7% of travellers while the remaining 76% flew one-stop or more. The top 10 carriers for this sector are from the Gulf, Europe, Southeast Asia and one each from India and US.

The number of Indian travellers to the US has been growing constantly since 2010. According to US department of commerce’s National Travel and Trade Office (NTTO) latest data based on citizenship, Indians became the 10th largest in terms of visitors in 2017. NTTO data shows 13.5 lakh Indian travelers went to US in 2017 and 11.1 lakh American travelers came to India last year. The demand from travel from both sides has made this a big market for airlines.
24/12/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Six-fold growth in international flyers brings new airlines, routes to India

New Delhi: A six-fold growth over the past two decades in international air traffic from India and a focus on business and leisure travellers has prompted not only foreign airlines such as Air Italy, United and NokScoot to launch new routes to destinations in the country but has also caused several Indian carriers including Jet Airways and IndiGo to start operations on foreign routes connecting airports other than Delhi and Mumbai.

Air Italy, in which Doha-based Qatar Airways holds 49 per cent stake, started three weekly flights each from New Delhi and Mumbai to Milan effective December 7 and December 14, respectively. “The launch of our India-Italy sector represents another major step forward for Air Italy and reinforces our commitment to our network expansion plans in Asia,” Air Italy’s Chief Operating Officer Rossen Dimitrov had said at a briefing here. He had noted that India is a great market and there are “very high expectations” as there is an opportunity to grow. To leverage the traffic from points other than Delhi and Mumbai, Air Italy is planning to enter an interline agreement with full-service carrier Vistara.

Apart from Air Italy, low-cost airline NokScoot – which is a joint-venture between Thailand’s Nok Air and Singapore-based Scoot – launched non-stop service between New Delhi and Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport from December 19. “NokScoot believes these flights will appeal to both leisure and business travellers travelling between Delhi and Bangkok,” the airline said. NokScoot’s deputy CEO Giam Ming Toh pointed out that the carrier plans to add more Indian airports to its network in first half of 2019.
24/12/18 Pranav Mukul/Indian Express

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Emirates plane makes emergency landing after 5-year-old falls sick

A mid-air medical emergency on board an Emirates flight from Dubai to Myanmar's Yangon forced the aircraft to divert to the city airport in Ahmedabad, the airline's spokesperson confirmed to Khaleej Times on Sunday.

The aircraft contacted the Ahmedabad Air Traffic Control (ATC) after a five-year-old British national on board the flight developed medical complications.

"The flight was met by airport medical services, and the sick passenger was offloaded with three other accompanying passengers. The flight continued to Yangon and arrived with total delay of 1 hour and 40 minutes," an Emirates spokesperson said in the statement sent to Khaleej Times.

"Emirates apologises any inconvenience caused to our passengers for the delay, but the safety of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance," the spokesperson added.

Upon landing, the child was taken to a private hospital near the airport in an Airports Authority of India ambulance. He is still undergoing treatment at the hospital, officials said, adding that the flight departed for Yangon around 3pm.
23/12/18 Khaleej Times

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Production of 36 jets not feasible in India, says HAL Chairman R Madhavan

New Delhi: The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman R Madhavan has claimed that producing only 36 aircrafts in India is not feasible, even though he maintained that HAL was fully capable of producing aircraft in India.

Madhavan, who arrived in Udaipur for a conference of Engineers, said that the question of transfer of technology does not arise in the current deal of only 36 aircraft.

"It was necessary to buy them as soon as possible. For the 36 aircraft, the question of production here does not arise. If 126 aircraft were bought, some would have been purchased outright and others produced in the country. The HAL was not part of the process of the current deal," Madhavan said.

The Congress had alleged that the Modi government was buying the military aircraft from French company Dassault Aviation at a much higher price than what was being negotiated by the previous UPA government, which had planned to buy 126 aircraft.
23/12/18 Dev Ankur Wadhawan/India Today

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Bangladesh Civil Aviation Turns Down Delhi Proposal

New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has turned down India’s proposal for conventional routes between Kolkata and Dhaka with further connectivity to Guwahati. “Proposal for conventional and now Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) routes between Kolkata and Dhaka with further connectivity to Guwahati has been declined by the CAAB,” an official in the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.
The proposal for such conventional routes is needed to avert all possible mid-air disaster.
On October 31, two private airline flights were on a reciprocal track, which could have led to the breach of separation while flying in Bangladesh airspace. “However, timely corrective action taken by Air Traffic Controller in Kolkata avoided the emerging situation,” the official said.
Sources said, till date, nine such incidents have been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in 2017 and 2018 along the India-Bangladesh region.
The CAAB was approached by Airports Authority of India (AAI) for conversion of various bi-directional ATS routes passing through Bangladesh airspace connecting Kolkatta, into pairs of uni-directional routes (inbound and outbound).
23/12/18 Sentinel

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Low-cost flights between Hong Kong and India arrive as budget carrier IndiGo tests waters

Low-cost flights between Hong Kong and India have arrived as budget carriers get creative to challenge traditional airlines’ passenger volumes and profits.

The move is part of an “experiment” by India’s largest carrier IndiGo to offer cheap long-haul flights using smaller planes over greater distances, including midway refuel stops, its chief commercial officer William Boulter told the Post in an exclusive interview.

His comments came with the debut of IndiGo’s Bangalore to Hong Kong route last week.
Late last month, fellow no-frills carrier Spicejet also launched flights between New Delhi and Hong Kong.
Boulter said: “We are in a test phase and to an extent experimenting with some of these routes. The Hong Kong route is an example that stretches the A320neo [Airbus model].”

The main competitors on routes between Hong Kong and India are the city’s Cathay Pacific Airways and Cathay Dragon, which fly to six destinations in the country, and other full-service carriers Air India and Jet Airways.
In the same vein, IndiGo plans to use a low-cost structure to launch flights to London with its existing fleet, with a stopover for refuel at either Baku in Azerbaijan or Tbilisi in Georgia, by the middle of next year. In doing so, it could offer cheaper tickets and expand more aggressively internationally without using larger twin-aisle planes – which it doesn’t own or operate.
22/12/18 Danny Lee/South China Morning Post

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Air India Express passengers stranded at UAE airport for 19 hours

Abu Dhabi: Shamnad was all prepared to attend his brother's wedding on Saturday. He reached the Abu Dhabi airport in advance on Thursday night with his family - wife, a four-year-old and two-month-old - for their flight to Kozhikode, Kerala on Friday.

And on Friday evening, a tired Shamnad explained to Khaleej Times the struggle the family went through after a 16.30-hour delay of Air India Express (AIE) flight IX348 to Kozhikode. He was wondering how to reach the wedding venue in his hometown in Kasargod district, more than four-hour distance from the Kozhikode airport.

Shamnad and family were among more than hundred passengers, who were stranded in the Abu Dhabi International Airport for almost 19 hours. The flight, which was scheduled for 12.20am on Friday, finally took off at 4.50pm.

An Air India Express official told Khaleej Times that it was 'a very rare situation' due to a 'progressive engineering delay'. "There was an engineering issue and we couldn't solve it as easily as expected," he said.
23/12/18 Anu Warrier/Khaleej Times

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Flydubai announces direct flights to Kozhikode in India

Flydubai has launched flights to Kozhikode in Kerala, India. The three times weekly service from Dubai International (DXB) to Kozhikode Calicut International Airport (CCJ) will start from 01 February 2019.
Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer, said: “We have always been proud of the strong ties between India and the UAE. We have seen a stronger flow of trade and tourism between the two countries over the past few years. In 2017, India became the first source market to top 2 million annual visitors representing an impressive 15 per cent year-on-year increase in total number of visitors to Dubai. We are grateful for the support we have received from the Indian authorities and we remain committed to serving the market. We look forward to more opportunities to strengthen the airlinks between the two countries in the future.”

Sudhir Sreedharan, senior vice president, commercial (UAE, GCC, Subcontinent and Africa) at Flydubai, said: “we are pleased to add Kozhikode to our network of eight destinations in India, offering greater connectivity and an unrivalled travel experience to our passengers in India. The new route will provide more passengers from India with access to Dubai and beyond via its aviation hub together with the new codeshare agreement.”
21/12/18 Arabian Aerospace

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Pie in the sky: Vistara’s overseas plans in trouble as Air Asia probe drags on

Vistara, the joint venture carrier between the Tatas and Singapore Airlines, may have to wait longer to fly international as the civil aviation ministry wants to wait for the Central Bureau of Investigation to complete its inquiry into allegations that the overseas flying norms were relaxed due to lobbying efforts of AirAsia. The Tata group holds stake in AirAsia also and the CBI is probing allegations that the company illegally paid government officials and lobbyists to get overseas flying norms relaxed.

Though overseas flying norms were relaxed by the current government in June 2016, the move began during the earlier UPA rule.

Earlier norms allowed carriers to fly international only after domestic flying experience of five years and after attaining a fleet of 20 aircraft. However, under the new policy, an airline just needs to have 20 aircraft to be eligible to fly overseas. The 20 aircraft have to be deployed for domestic operations and the 21st onwards can be used for international operations.

Vistara, which began operations in January, 2015 got its 20th aircraft in April and currently has 22 aircraft in its fleet so it can begin services to two overseas destinations.
22/12/18 Arun Nayal/Financial Express

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Airport filled with love as families reunite for holidays

There's been a lot of hugs and smiles at the Charlottetown airport these days.

Whether it's family members who haven't seen each other for a while or long-time friends reuniting, the airport can be a place where emotions run high.

Randi-Lynn Perry and her two children were eagerly awaiting the arrival of husband and father Tyler Perry, who was coming home for the holidays after spending the last three weeks working in Alberta.
"Pretty excited to enjoy the holidays and get a little bit of a break from everyday life," said Randi-Lynn.

Tyler, who has been working in Alberta back and forth for about eight years, said it felt good to be home again.

"There's no better feeling, especially at Christmas."
Jogesh Sharma was waiting for his nephew, Haashish Sharma, to arrive from India. Jogesh has lived on P.E.I. for six years, and Haashish will be the first man in his family to visit him.

Haashish is going to school in Nova Scotia on a student permit, but he'll spend the first week in Canada with his uncle. 

"Because he is coming to a new country he didn't know any rules, regulations ... whatever so he's very scared," Jogesh said.

"Instead of going directly to his university he wants to come and meet me so I can teach him a few things and then drop him off."
21/12/18 CBC.ca

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Medical emergency forces Emirates plane to land in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: A mid-air medical emergency on board an Emirates Airlines flight from Dubai to Myanmar's Yangon forced the aircraft to divert to the city airport in Ahmedabad today.
The aircraft contacted the Ahmedabad Air Traffic Control (ATC) this afternoon after a five-year-old British national on board the flight developed medical complications, the airport authorities said in the statement.
"Ahmedabad ATC immediately approved the diversion and initiated priority landing procedures. At that time, the aircraft was flying at 35,000 feet", the statement said.
22/12/18 PTI/One India

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IndiGo's New Bangkok to Varanasi Flight Renamed 'Paap and Prashchit' Route by Twitter

IndiGo Airlines has attracted the attention of Twitterati for all the wrong reasons. The popular budget airline recently announced a direct flight from Bangkok to Varanasi and Twitter could not help but notice the irony.

If you are missing the point here, let us tell you that Varanasi is a city in Uttar Pradesh that is famous for its Shiva temples and the spectacular 'Sandhya Aarati' (evening prayer) which takes place in devotion of goddess Ganga on the banks of her namesake river. The city is often referred to as the spiritual capital of India.
Bangkok on the other hand, is famous for an entirely different reason. Apart from its scenic beaches and eclectic food, the capital city of Thailand is also famous for its vibrant sex trade. It is often referred to as the sex capital of the world and is the preferred destination for many a 'coming-of-age' trips.
While IndgiGo's heart was probably in the right place in starting the new flight, Twitterati couldn't help but poke some fun at the obvious.
A journalist recently posted a photo of the advertisement, adding that his WhatsApp group was going mad with it. He called it the "Paap and Praschit route" meaning the "sin and make amends" route announced by Indigo.
21/12/18 News18.com

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GoAir Christmas offer: Click a selfie with Santa to win free return ticket to Phuket!

New Delhi: Budget airline GoAir is offering customers a chance to win a free return ticket to Phuket this Christmas. The offer is valid on tickets booked through GoAir website or mobile app from December 18 to December 21. In order to avail the offer passengers have to follow GoAir Instagram and Facebook page.

Once you are on the flight, you have to spot the Santa and take a picture with the Santa. Upload these photos on Instagram and use #GoSanta and the caption of the picture should be a reason why Santa should gift you the free return ticket to Phuket. Make sure to tag GoAir on your post. Try to make sure that you post has the maximum likes.
20/12/18 TimewNowNews

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Turkish Airlines inks deal with India’s IndiGo

Ankara: Turkish Airlines and IndiGo, India’s largest domestic carrier, on Friday signed a codeshare and mutual cooperation agreement.

Under the pact, Turkey's national flag carrier will offer new destinations in India as marketing carrier on Indian airlines-operated flights, while IndiGo customers will be able to reach many European destinations through Turkish Airlines’ network, according to a Turkish Airlines statement.

IndiGo was the first Indian carrier to offer flights to Turkey, said Bilal Eksi, Turkish Airlines' CEO.

"We believe this will be a great opportunity to improve our cooperation with our new codeshare partner IndiGo, which will provide new services and destinations for our passengers traveling to and from India,” Eksi said.

Rahul Bhatia, the director of IndiGo, said the "strategic" partnership using Turkish Airlines’ network will expand the choices of IndiGo's customers for journeys beyond Istanbul.
21/12/18 Tuba Sahin/AA

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Air India Express passengers stranded at UAE airport for 19 hours

Abu Dhabi: Shamnad was all prepared to attend his brother's wedding on Saturday. He reached the Abu Dhabi airport in advance on Thursday night with his family - wife, a four-year-old and two-month-old - for their flight to Kozhikode, Kerala on Friday.

And on Friday evening, a tired Shamnad explained to Khaleej Times the struggle the family went through after a 16.30-hour delay of Air India Express (AIE) flight IX348 to Kozhikode. He was wondering how to reach the wedding venue in his hometown in Kasargod district, more than four-hour distance from the Kozhikode airport.

Shamnad and family were among more than hundred passengers, who were stranded in the Abu Dhabi International Airport for almost 19 hours. The flight, which was scheduled for 12.20am on Friday, finally took off at 4.50pm.

An Air India Express official told Khaleej Times that it was 'a very rare situation' due to a 'progressive engineering delay'. "There was an engineering issue and we couldn't solve it as easily as expected," he said.
21/12/18 Anu Warrier/Khaleej Times

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If NDA fails to announce JPC probe into Rafale deal, next govt will: Chidambaram

Bengaluru:Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram today demanded JPC probe into the Rafale deal signed by the NDA government to purchase 36 war jets and said, "if it did not heed to opposition demand, the next government that come to power post 2019 elections will do it’’.
Speaking to reporters here on Friday, he said the NDA government had betrayed both the Indian Air Force, which badly needs much more war planes than the 36 Rafale jets ordered by the BJP-led government as well as the State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd which was denied its rightful claim to co-produce the aircraft with Dassault Aviation, the French company which produced these war jets.
He said Rafale deal will be one of the issues over which the recent elections in five States were fought and BJP given a stern lesson. ‘’This will continue to be one of the important issues on which the next Lok Sabha elections will be fought.
He said the IAF was in dire need to increase its air might and wants 42 squadrons of fighter jets.
But now it had just 31.
21/12/18 UNI

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Passenger complains of chest pain, Dubai-Singapore flight lands in Chennai

Chennai: A Singapore-bound Emirates airlines flight from Dubai, with 273 passengers on board, made an emergency landing at the Chennai airport on Thursday after a passenger complained of chest pain.
Airport sources said after a passenger, an Australian National, complained of chest pain, contacted with the authorities following which permission was given for emergency landing in the early hours.
Emergency medical teams, who were in stand by, attended the patient and was later rushed to a private hospital, the sources said.
20/12/18 UNI

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India's engineering footprint in Airbus & Boeing is growing

Bengaluru: Airbus and Boeing work with a clutch of Indian IT firms to accelerate their engineering services efforts.

Four Indian IT firms -- Quest Global, AxisCades, Tech Mahindra and Infosys -- are part of 29 engineering service providers listed in Airbus’s main supplier list. Quest has won the Wing & Pylon Design Centre offshore development centre contract from Airbus. Infosys offers engineering services related to landing gear, while Axis Cades provides a range of engineering services for the fuselage.

Boeing counts TCS, Cyient, HCL America and HCL Technologies, and TAL Manufacturing Solutions among its IT and engineering services providers. Cyient, which gets nearly 50% of its revenue from aerospace and railways, works on solutions ranging from aero engines and aero systems to avionics and aero structures.

Engineering services has become one of the new growth engines for IT companies as the traditional business witnesses pricing headwinds and customers demand that their IT partners deploy productive levers including automation on routine processes.

Indian IT firms provide an array of services to the two big aerospace majors including in the areas of repair and overhaul, missile and rotary-wing propulsion systems, electrical, communication and display systems, landing gear and large integrated assemblies. “Overall, Airbus R&D spend was $3.2 billion in 2017. Our estimate suggests that more than 20% of that is outsourced to engineering service providers and Indian heritage service providers get less than 2% of Airbus' R&D spend. Going forward, there is a potential of upside for Indian engineering service providers as Airbus goes for digital transformation. Indian providers could also look for acquisition of European engineering service providers to extend their footprint in both Airbus and aerospace engineering,” said Pareekh Jain, founder of Pareekh Consulting. Airbus published its suppliers list in September.
21/12/18 Shilpa Phadnis/Times of India

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DRI seizes USD 1 million, arrests 2 foreign nationals from Delhi, Bengaluru airport

New Delhi: In yet another major crackdown on smuggling of foreign currency out of India, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Monday and Tuesday seized a total of USD 1 million at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Terminal-3, New Delhi and Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. The DRI officials also arrested one Afghan national and one Singaporean national from the two international airports respectively. While a total of USD 4,90,000 valued at Rs 3.59 crore was seized in Delhi, US Dollar/Euro/Saudi Riyals currencies equivalent to Rs 3.50 crore was assorted from Kempegowda airport in Bengaluru.

"The foreign currency was being smuggled out of India to Dubai and Singapore, respectively," according to an official statement by the DRI.

In an operation conducted on 17.12.2018 in New Delhi, officers of DRI intercepted one Afghanistan national who was about to board a flight from IGI, Terminal-3 to Dubai, UAE. Detailed search of the baggage of the passenger resulted in the recovery of US Dollars concealed in the inside walls of a microwave oven, in the packaging of ceramic mugs and the inner lining of the checked-in suitcase.
20/12/18 News Nation

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Increased air connectivity between Singapore and secondary cities of India

The air connectivity between Singapore and secondary cities of India has further been boosted with the introduction of new links to Pune and Vijaywada. These new routes have strengthened Changi Airport of Singapore’s overall connectivity to various cities of India.

Jet Airways of India started a new daily service between Singapore and Pune on December 1. This is the first international link of Pune with Asia and has been started in view of  heavy demand of the local people of Pune to start air connectivity with Singapore.

In addition to this, Jet Airways have also launched an additional daily service each to Mumbai and New Delhi. With this, the total weekly services from Singapore to both Mumbai and New Delhi have been increased to 45 and 42 respectively.
On December 5, Indigo launched twice weekly services from Vijayawada to Singapore increasing connectivity between Andhra Pradesh and Singapore in support of ongoing government collaborations between the two cities.
Speaking about the latest connectivity between Singapore and Indian cities of Pune and Vijaywada, Lim Ching Kiat, Managing Director of Air Hub Development, Changi Airport Group said, “Together with our airline partners Jet Airways and Indigo, we are pleased to welcome two new non-stop links to Pune and Vijayawada.”

“These new routes reflect India’s importance to Changi as a key growth market and further augment the airport as the region’s leading air hub. We hope that more Indian travellers will enjoy what Singapore has to offer,” he added.
19/12/18 Connected to India

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Connecting flights to global destinations on the cards

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court was told today that several new flights from Chandigarh to Delhi, Mumbai and the Middle East were on the cards. The flights to Mumbai would further connect to international destinations such as London, Manchester, Paris and Amsterdam.
The airport was also expected to be made functional round the clock next year with availability of additional manpower in February next. The CAT II instrument landing system would also be available by March 31 along with night operations.

As the case on making the Chandigarh international airport fully operational came up for resumed hearing, a report by the amicus curiae or the friend of the court, ML Sarin, based on a high-powered meeting, was placed before the Bench.

Senior advocate Sarin told the Bench that it transpired during the meeting that the CAT I instrument landing system would be available from December 19. It would mean availability of 9,000 ft of runway length.

Sarin submitted that he was told during the meeting that the work on further extending the runway was going on in full swing and it would be available by the end of February 2019. Sarin added that he was told that everything was going in accordance with the schedule submitted before the High Court.

Sarin also quoted Chandigarh International Airport Ltd (CHIAL)  CEO Suneel Dutt as saying that they would receive additional manpower from the CISF by February 2019 to enable 24-hour operation.
19/12/18 Saurabh Malik/Tribune

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UAE budget airline flydubai adds new Indian city; return fare starts from Dh670

Dubai: Dubai-based flydubai has announced the launch of direct flights to Kozhikode in Kerala, India.

The three times weekly service from Dubai International (DXB) to Kozhikode Calicut International Airport (CCJ) will start from February 1, 2019 making flydubai the only Dubai-based carrier to operate this route.

Business Class return fares to Kozhikode from Dubai start from Dh2,659 (Rs54,075), while Economy Class return fares to Dubai start from Dh670 (Rs13,000).

Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer, flydubai commenting on the new announcement: "We have always been proud of the strong ties between India and the UAE. We have seen a stronger flow of trade and tourism between the two countries over the past few years. In 2017, India became the first source market to top 2 million annual visitors representing an impressive 15 per cent year-on-year increase in total number of visitors to Dubai. We are grateful for the support we have received from the Indian authorities and we remain committed to serving the market. We look forward to more opportunities to strengthen the airlinks between the two countries in the future," added Al Ghaith.

Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President, Commercial (UAE, GCC, Subcontinent and Africa) at flydubai, said: "we are pleased to add Kozhikode to our network of eight destinations in India, offering greater connectivity and an unrivalled travel experience to our passengers in India. The new route will provide more passengers from India with access to Dubai and beyond via its aviation hub together with the new codeshare agreement."
20/12/18 Khaleej Times

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Dubai-Singapore flight lands in Chennai after medical emergency

A Singapore-bound private airline flight from Dubai made an unscheduled landing at the airport here Thursday after a passenger complained of chest pain, airport officials said.
After the flight landed in the early hours, emergency medical teams attended on him following which the 48-year old passenger was rushed to a corporate hospital, the sources said.
The flight resumed its journey later, they added.
20/12/18 PTI/Financial Express

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Two women among three Bangladeshi nationals arrested from Dum Dum airport with fake passports

Kolkata: Two women among three Bangladeshi nationals have been arrested from Dum Dum airport with fake passports, police said today.
The arrested persons are relatives and the residents of Rangamati in Bangladesh.
The Immigration officials during routine checking before their Dhaka bound flight in SpiceJet on Wednesday evening found all the three were having fake passports. They said the passports were made in Tamil Nadu as they were working in a textile factory at Triruppur for past six years.
20/12/18 UNI

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Marshal Dhanoa defends Centre over Rafale deal; welcomes SC ruling

Jodhpur: Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa Wednesday called Rafale a game changer and said the Supreme Court has given a "fine judgment" on petitions against the deal with France on the military aircraft. He also cautioned against the politicisation of defence purchases, suggesting that this had earlier led to the delay in the Army acquiring the Bofors gun.

"I am not going to comment on the judgment but the Supreme Court has given a very fine judgment. It has also said that this plane is badly needed," he told reporters here.

Dhanoa said as far as the technology is concerned, there is no argument against the Rafale aircraft. His remarks on the sidelines of a joint military exercise with Russia come days after the Supreme Court dismissed petitions seeking a probe into the Rafale deal.

The Congress has alleged irregularities in the deal for 36 aircraft and claimed that the Narendra Modi government is buying them at a price much higher than the one that was being negotiated by the previous government.
19/12/18 Devdiscourse

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Oman Air eyes more seats from India, bets on leisure, medical tourism

Mumbai: Oman Air is hopeful for an increase in traffic rights to India which would drive more leisure tourists to the West Asian country and help feed its flights to Europe and Africa.

At present, Oman Air operates 161 flights per week to eleven Indian cities, utilising the 27,000 seats allocated to airlines from each country. Oman is seeking an increase in seats and access to Ahmedabad and Kolkata, which will boost its Indian presence. Seat entitlements and access to destinations are negotiated between respective governments.
"We have requested for more seats and are waiting for the Indian government's response. We are positive that the government will consider our demand," said Oman Air Chief Executive Officer Abdul Aziz Saud Al Raisi. The airline is celebrating its 25th anniversary in India.
India is the second most important market for the airline after Oman and contributes to around 15 per cent of its sales. While a majority of traffic from India flies onward beyond Muscat, the airline is aiming for an increase in point to point traffic between the two countries. Muscat is the second largest destination in the West Asia region for Indian travellers after Dubai. In recent months, an economic slowdown has impacted airline yields. Oman Air, however, is hoping that leisure and medical tourism, along with trade and investment ties, will boost the traffic between India and Oman.
18/12/18 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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India's Indigo Airlines may introduce new routes into KLIA

Passenger traffic between Malaysia and India is expected to increase following the possible introduction of additional new routes into the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) by IndiGo Airlines, India’s largest airline network.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) Airline Marketing General Manager Mohamed Sallauddin Mat Sah said the airport operator is in the midst of discussions with IndiGo.

"The airline is planning to start increasing (flight) frequency early next year with new routes. But, we have to wait and see what the routes are.

"I can say they are very keen to operate those additional routes into Malaysia," he told reporters after welcoming Citilink Indonesia's inaugural flight to KLIA today.

Currently, IndiGo provides daily flights connecting Kuala Lumpur with New Delhi and Bengaluru.
19/12/18 Bernama/Malaysia Kini

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Gaya: Foreign airlines to pay 60% less charges

Gaya: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has offered 60% discount on landing charges to foreign airlines starting operations from the , airport director Dileep Kumar said on Sunday. The concession will remain available for two years.
Asked whether the discount will also be available to airlines that increase the frequency of their flights, Kumar said concessions would also be made on landing charges to foreign airlines increasing the frequency of their flights, say from four days a week to daily or more than four days. He said concession would also be made for frequency increase, but in such cases, it would be less than 60%.

As of now, Thai, Myanmar, Bhutan and Sri Lankan airlines operate flights for Gaya. Most of these flights are seasonal in nature (October-March) when tourist traffic is more. A sizeable number of chartered flights from abroad also land at Gaya in the tourist season.

Ruing the under utilization of the airport infrastructure, former Central Chamber of Commerce president D K Jain wondered why Patna-bound flights are diverted to Kolkata and not Gaya in case of fog. About four times bigger than the airport, the has facilities like aerobridge, something not available at Patna. Gaya airport, as per official figures, is spread over 950 acre area while Patna airport has got only 250 acres.
19/12/18 Edward Rupert/FinCitizen

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Airlines may get nod to tap foreign loans; govt mulls external borrowing

Distressed airlines may get a new line of funding from foreign lenders, as the government is mulling opening up the external commercial borrowing (ECB) route for them to raise The has sought the intervention of the finance ministry to allow airlines to tap foreign funds.

“Airlines, in their correspondence with the government, have requested that since aviation has become a primary mode of transport and an imperative part of the infrastructure, they should be given benefits such as access to ECB for We have written to the finance ministry asking for it,” said a senior ministry official.

The ministry has also asked that the cap of such borrowings is to be set at $500 million (Rs 34.5 billion) for a single firm and $1 billion (Rs 69 billion) for the entire sector. “Some airlines such as Jet Airways and IndiGo had demanded that the cap be higher, so we have asked for it,” the official said.

A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) spokesperson did not respond to queries.

ECBs are loans raised by an Indian corporate entity from a foreign commercial bank or alternate financial institutions to be used for commercial purpose such as capital expenditure.
17/12/18 Canton Caller

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Jetescapes holidays announces attractive packages for the Dubai Shopping Festival

Mumbai: Jet Airways’ JetEscapes Holidays today introduced new all-inclusive Dubai holiday packages for guests planning to travel to Dubai to indulge in retail therapy at the world’s biggest shopping festival - ‘The Dubai Shopping Festival’.
JetEscapes’ Dubai Holidays packages aim to offer an enhanced shopping experience at the annual festival and are inclusive of return Economy air fares, airport transfers, hotel accommodation with breakfast, city tours, travel insurance and the chance to earn 5 JPMiles on every Rs.100 spent. The incredible 6-week sale extravaganza is scheduled from 26th December, 2018 to 2nd February, 2019.
An annual pilgrimage for shoppers’, the Dubai Shopping Festival is replete with fashion shows, fireworks and mega sales, which completely transform the entire city of Dubai. This year, JetEscapes Holidays has announced two nights/ three days and four nights/ five days’ holiday options. The two nights/ three days package starts from INR 28, 740/-* and four nights/ five days package starts from INR 51, 850/-*respectively. The four attractive holiday packages, ‘Dubai Free & Easy’, ‘Magic Dubai’, ‘Mania Dubai’ and ‘Fascinating Dubai’ have been especially created in response to the needs of travellers keen to experience this special global extravaganza.

With these tailor-made packages, guests can get a glimpse of the culture, traditions and history of Dubai. Guests choosing the ‘Magic Dubai’, ‘Mania Dubai’ and ‘Fascinating Dubai’ packages will also be able to experience the Dhow Cruise and Desert Safari along with dinner and enjoy a free entrance to the Global Village. Guests opting for ‘Mania Dubai’, in addition to the above, will also get access to the architectural landmark, Dubai Frame which has also been described as "the biggest picture frame on the planet". There are special add-on delights for guests availing ‘Mania Dubai’ and ‘Fascinating Dubai’ packages with Abu Dhabi city tour, visit to Ferrari World and free entrance to Warner Bros Studio included in the packages.

And while in Dubai, guests will also be able to join the live showing of the grand Mughal-E-Azam show from 10th – 12th January, 2019. Mughal-e-Azam – an absolute must watch, is the first large-scale Indian Broadway-style musical which pays a stunning homage to K. Asif’s classic film of the same name. The musical swept the Broadway World Awards and won seven trophies, including Best Play & Best Director in 2017.

Guests travelling for the Dubai Shopping Festival can now enjoy even more convenient flight options from Mumbai and Delhi with Jet Airways. Effective 5th December, 2018, Jet Airways has added a 7th daily non-stop frequency between Mumbai and Dubai. Effective 24th October, 2018, the airline added a 4th daily frequency on the Delhi-Dubai route, giving its guests added convenience of travelling at their chosen time and make the most of their holidays.

Belson Coutinho, Sr. Vice President – Marketing, eCommerce & Innovations, Jet Airways said, “The Dubai Shopping Festival is a shopaholic’s dream. As the world’s largest shopping festival clubbed with top-of-the-line entertainment, the annual showcase gives this Gulf hot spot a whole new platform replete with jovial and vibrant vibes. Tourists including families, will be spoilt for choice with the presence of every major global retail and lifestyle brand at the 23rd Dubai Shopping Festival not only offering unbeatable shopping deals to travellers, but also an exhaustive and equally impressive culinary options from the choicest restaurants. JetEscapes Holidays’ all-inclusive Dubai Shopping Festival packages are designed to offer a unique and memorable holiday experience for the entire family, while taking care of our guests’ every travel need. Providing guests with lasting experiences is one of the core strengths of Jet Airways.”
18/12/18 PRESS RELEASE/Jet Airways

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Rafale deal: Dassault reaffirms intention to produce jets

Even as two Members of Parliament gave an adjournment motion notice in the Lok Sabha on Monday over the Centre’s decision to buy 36 Rafale jets from French company Dassault Aviation, the combat aircraft maker has backed the Indian government's ‘Make in India’ proposition in its first-ever statement over the controversial deal.

While welcoming the Supreme Court verdict on the deal, which dismissed all petitions, the company, on December 14, reaffirmed its full commitment to India.

“Dassault Aviation will ensure successful production in the country, through the Dassault Reliance joint venture in Nagpur, as well as through a full-fledged supply chain network involving 30 (other) companies, with which Dassault Aviation has signed contracts,” it said, adding that the French company is in dialogue with an additional 60 companies to join its supply chain network.
The Rafale contract signed on September 23, 2016, is in the form of an Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and France, the company said.
The estimated cost of the deal is ₹58,000 crore. The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).
17/12/18  Business Line

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Air Italy adds second Indian connection

Air Italy launched flights between Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Mumbai (BOM) on 13 December. This becomes the airline’s second service to India, with the carrier only adding the country to its network on 6 December with the introduction of a link from Malpensa to Delhi. The 6,505-kilometre Mumbai service will operate three times weekly using A330-200s. Rossen Dimitrov, COO, Air Italy, said: “With the opening of this fifth new international route to Mumbai, Air Italy is proud to now be providing six direct weekly flights to India. Mumbai is, together with Delhi, one of the richest and most dynamic cities of India, a truly modern and cosmopolitan city and home to the largest film industry in the world – Bollywood. Following Delhi, which we inaugurated last week on 6 December, Mumbai completes our planned five new intercontinental destinations as announced back at the start of 2018.” schedules show that Neos Air also serves this airport pair on certain Fridays throughout W18/19, although the frequency is irregular on occasions. These flights are not for sale on the Neos website, suggesting that they may be a series of charter operations.
17/12/18 anna.aero

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India Emerges As 6th Largest Market For Changi Airport

Changi Airport continues to boost connectivity to secondary cities in India with the introduction of new city links to Pune and Vijayawada. With India being the sixth largest market, registering more than 4.2 million passenger movements in 2017, these new routes strengthens Changi Airport’s overall connectivity to India, and reinforces its position as Asia’s most connected cities to India.

On 1 December, Jet Airways commenced a daily service between Singapore and Pune. This marks Pune’s first international link to Asia and caters to the rising demands of Pune travellers visiting Singapore and the region. In the same month, Jet Airways launched an additional daily service each to Mumbai and New Delhi, bringing the total weekly services to the two cities to 45 and 42 respectively. In addition, Indigo launched twice weekly services from Vijayawada to Singapore on  December 5, increasing connectivity between Andhra Pradesh and Singapore in support of ongoing government collaborations between the two cities. With these new developments, Changi Airport is connected to 18 Indian cities by 300 weekly one-way services – an 18 per cent increase in the number of weekly one-way service compared to the same period last year.

Lim Ching Kiat, Managing Director of Air Hub Development, Changi Airport Group said, “Together with our airline partners Jet Airways and Indigo, we are pleased to welcome two new non-stop links to Pune and Vijayawada. These new routes reflect India’s importance to Changi as a key growth market and further augment the airport as the region’s leading air hub. We hope that more Indian travellers will enjoy what Singapore has to offer.”
18/12/18 T3

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Gang who cheated people through Fb, WhatsApp busted

New Delhi: Cyber Cell has busted a criminal syndicate of cheats and arrested  Diarra Mallick alias Frank (from Ivory Coast), Okwuji Israel (Nigerian) and his friend, Rina (name changed), who used to befriend users via Facebook, most being women and induced them to transfer money in the pretext of sending high value gifts and foreign currency from overseas.

The crooks used to impersonate as foreigners, mostly successful entrepreneurs and businessmen through fake IDs to impress the women through Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp, and convince them to transfer money for clearance of gifts at airport sent by them, said DCP.

Vineeta (name changed) stated in the FIR that sometime ago, she has received a friend request on Facebook of some John Harry, who pretended to be working as an account manager with BMW at Glasgow, Scotland. One day, he told her that he has sent high value gifts and foreign currency for her which is stuck at Mumbai airport for custom clearance. Subsequently, she paid around Rs 6.40 lakh in four installments to various cheats impersonating as customs and airport officials to clear the gifts and foreign currency amounting to 50,000 pounds, he said.
17/12/18 Prateek Chauhan/Tribune 

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Congress Demands Parliament Action Against PM Modi Over Rafale Deal

New Delhi: After the centre requested the Supreme Court to fix a "factual error" in its judgement that gave the government a clean chit on the Rafale deal for 36 fighter jets from France's Dassault, the opposition said that the ruling BJP allegedly gave "wrong information" in the documents asked by the top court.
Congress MP Sunil Jakhar moved a privilege notice in the Lok Sabha against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, while the opposition moved a privilege motion against Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in Rajya Sabha.

"I have given a breach of privilege notice against the government and in particular against Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad as it was the Law Ministry that gave the go ahead for presenting the affidavit before the Supreme Court," Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

This is the first time that a government has provided wrong information to the Supreme Court, he added.

On Friday, the Supreme Court had rejected any corruption in the Rs. 59,000-crore Rafale jet deal and dismissed all petitions asking for an investigation.

On Friday, the Supreme Court had rejected any corruption in the Rs. 59,000-crore Rafale jet deal and dismissed all petitions asking for an investigation.

The Congress has been relentlessly alleging that the government scrapped the previous deal to sign a new one to help Anil Ambani's company bag an offset contract with Dassault. The costs jumped in this deal, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi alleged.

But the court, while dismissing the need for a probe, said, "There is no evidence of commercial favouritism to any private entity."
The bench had based the judgment on a CAG or Comptroller and Auditor General report that it said had been examined by the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC). However, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who heads the PAC, clarified that he had not received any such report.

Amid uproar over the CAG report, the centre on Saturday said the Supreme Court misinterpreted that the Comptroller and Auditor General had examined the pricing of the jets and submitted its report.
17/12/18 Suni Prabhu/NDTV

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Lion Air to resume search for victims of Indonesia crash

Lion Air announced Monday it was funding a multi-million dollar search effort using a Dutch company for the second black box and missing victims from doomed flight JT-610.

The Boeing 737 MAX vanished from radar 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta on October 29, crashing into waters off the north coast of Indonesia's Java Island and killing all 189 people onboard.

Authorities called off the grim task of identifying victims of the crash last month, with only 125 people officially identified after tests on human remains that filled some 200 body bags.
Following requests from victims' families, Lion said it had allocated 38 billion rupiah ($2.6 million) to hire a Dutch company to continue the search with its ship the MPV Everest.

"The search operation will focus on the latest coordinates of the crash... with an operational time of 10 consecutive days in December," the airline said in a statement.

The MPV Everest, a 142-metre long vessel with state-of-the-art remotely operated vehicles, will arrive near the crash site on Wednesday.

Bad weather had delayed its trip from the Malaysian port of Johor Baru.

News that the hunt for the wreckage would continue with the new vessel was welcomed by Evi Syamsul Komar, whose nephew was aboard the flight.
17/12/18 PTI/DNA

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Rafale deal: BJP to hold 70 press conferences, says Congress conspiring against Modi

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold 70 press conferences across different parts of the country on Monday to "expose" the Congress for "plotting conspiracy" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government by raking the Rafale deal.

The BJP said the Congress is trying to "mess up" the country's defence, news agency ANI reported.

The announcement to hold these 70 press conferences on Monday came just after the central government on Saturday filed an application before the Supreme Court, seeking correction in its December 14 order where the court had ruled that there was nothing wrong with the Rafale deal.

The Modi government has been accused of misleading the Supreme Court in this case. To clear things, the government has filed an application stating that the pricing aspect of the Rafale deal, examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), has not been probed by the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) as yet.
16/12/18 India Today

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Two Nepalis held with 33 kgm gold in Kolkata

Kathmandu: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, India, has arrested two Nepalis with 33 kilograms of undeclared gold from West Bengal, which Nepali authorities said could be the precious metal that had disappeared mysteriously.

The DRI said, “On the basis of specific intelligence, its officers intercepted a Maruti Swift VXI car with two occupants — Nepali citizens Rakesh Prasad and Hem Prasad Sharma — at Dankuni Toll Plaza along the Delhi-Kolkata Highway on December 12.” While searching the car, 33 pieces of gold bars weighing one kg each were found. The gold bars were concealed in a false compartment behind the dash board and inside a cavity of the vehicle’s gearbox.

The DRI said the gold bars were of foreign origin. Indian officials also confiscated INR 54,760 from one of them. This seizure has led Nepali authorities to suspect that gold intercepted by the Indian DRI officials could be the consignment of the ‘lost’ gold allegedly smuggled by the racket of Chudamani Upreti aka Gorey.
16/12/18 Himalayan Times

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Amelia Earhart’s non-stop flight from the Red Sea to India was marked by British obstructionism

On June 15, 1937, Amelia Earhart, the pioneering aviator, and her navigator, Fred Noonan, landed at Karachi airport in their specially modified Lockheed Model 10 Electra plane. They had been flying for over 13 hours and travelled more than 1,800 miles from Assab, in Eritrea. By doing so, they’d completed the first ever non-stop flight from the Red Sea to India, as Karachi was a part of then.

Earhart had flown from Assab that morning and had used Aden as a checkpoint along the way. Permission had also been given to land at the British enclave should it be necessary. From Aden, however, the Americans were restricted to flying a course along the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. This restriction has often been attributed to Saudi refusal to grant permission to fly over its territory, but the region in question was not, and still is not, part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The flight would have passed over the Hadhramaut, at the time under a loose British protectorate, and the territories of the sultan of Muscat and Oman, where British influence and control was strong. In December of the previous year, the United States embassy in London had written to the Foreign Office giving details of Earhart’s plans for a round-the-world flight and requesting permission to fly through and land in British territories along the way. The matter was passed on to the government of India, who agreed to the flight, with certain restrictions, but envisaged complications with the stretch along the South Arabian coast.

Civil aviation was in its infancy at the time and the British had been developing an air route along the Arab side of the Persian Gulf from Baghdad. For various strategic and pragmatic reasons the British had gone to some lengths to establish control over the air space in the region, securing agreements with the Arab sheikhs that gave them a good deal of authority over the management of air traffic.
15/12/18 John Hayhurst/Scroll.in

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SC verdict on Rafale: Dassault Aviation welcomes decision rejecting demand for probe into deal

New Delhi: Dassault Aviation on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court's ruling on the Rafale fighter jet deal, rejecting demands for any probe into the multi-billion dollar contract.

"Dassault Aviation welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court of India rendered today dismissing all petitions filed on the Rafale Contract signed on 23 September, 2016," the company said on Friday.

Dassault Aviation has won a Rs 58,000 crore deal to supply 36 Rafale jets to India. The Congress has been alleging massive corruption in the deal, a claim stoutly rejected by the government.
"Dassault Aviation takes note of the Supreme Court conclusions establishing the absence of any irregularities in the decision making process to purchase 36 Rafale, pricing of Rafale jets and selection of Indian offset partner," the company said in a statement.
15/12/18 PTI/First Post

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VVIP chopper case: CBI seeks further custody of Christian Michel for 5 more days

The CBI on December 16 urged a Delhi court to grant it further custody of Christian Michel, alleged middleman charge-sheeted and arrested in the graft-tainted AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, for five more days.
The 57-year-old British national was produced before Special Judge Arvind Kumar. The probe agency told the judge he needs to be confronted with various documents in the case.
The court is likely to pronounce an order on his further custody shortly.
Michel was arrested in the UAE and extradited to India on December 4.
The next day, he was produced before the court which allowed his five-day custodial interrogation by the CBI which was later extended to five more days.
15/12/18 PTI/moneycontrol.com

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FIA Urges Indian Government to Initiate Air India Flights Between Atlanta and Indian Cities

The Federation of Indian American Associations of Georgia, representing nearly 200,000 Indian Americans in the state, formally sought the assistance of the government of India in establishing direct flights between Atlanta and major Indian cities.

Direct flights between Atlanta and Indian cities will make it more convenient and affordable for passengers travelling to India from the Southeast region of the U.S., Dr. Vasudev Patel, president of FIA Georgia, said in a memorandum submitted to Minister of State for External Affairs General (Retd.) Vijay Kumar Singh during his visit to Atlanta Nov. 25.

Singh, a press release noted, promised to assist the community in establishing direct flights through India’s state carrier, Air India.

“He said this is a very good suggestion and felt that the Atlanta region certainly deserves this type of service. He promised to work on it with us,” said Patel.

At present, Air India has direct flights from U.S. cities like Newark, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
15/12/18 India West

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Dassault Aviation says Rafale deal 'absolutely clean', welcomes SC verdict

Saint Cloud: Dassault Aviation on Friday welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court dismissing all petitions seeking court-monitored probe into the controversial Rafale fighter jet deal.

In a statement, Dassault took note of the apex court conclusions establishing the absence of any irregularities in the decision-making process to purchase 36 Rafale jets, pricing of the jets and selection of Indian offset partners, including the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Defence, by Dassault Aviation.
"Dassault Aviation has proudly supported the needs of the Government of India and the Indian Air Force since 1953 and the induction of the Toofani aircraft. Fully committed in a strong relationship of mutual trust with India for over 65 years now, all resources of Dassault Aviation are entirely mobilized to make the Rafale, chosen by India in 2012 following a very complete competitive bidding process and evaluation, the spearhead of the Indian Air Force," the statement reads.

"The deal is absolutely clean in accordance with Indian laws and regulations, as I have stated before, and the first Falcon part is currently under delivery out of our facility in Nagpur" has declared Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.
14/12/18 ANI/Business Standard

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‘Our codeshare pact with Vistara is a big step ahead in our roadmap’

British Airways completed 30 years of operations on the Chennai-London route this year. The airline launched its first flight from London to Chennai on November 3, 1988 and at that time was flying the route twice a week. Now, it operates five flights a week on the route. In an interaction with BusinessLine, Robert Williams, Head of Asia Pacific and Middle East Sales at British Airways, talks about the airline’s plans for India.

What is the roadmap for British Airways in India?

We are 90 years in India, 30 years in Chennai, and in 2019, we will celebrate our centenary of flying.

We fly 49 times a week to five places in India now. We are always growing the global network. Increasing the network doesn’t necessarily mean more flights. We recently signed a codeshare agreement here with Vistara, and that’s a big step ahead now in our roadmap. Not only are we offering people seamless journeys on the routes that we fly, but also seamless connections to the other cities in India and to the many places that they fly.

We have been investing a lot recently, £4.5 billion in new products and services; that includes new aircraft. We have been bringing in our A380s and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

We are also investing in some of our softer sides, such as our catering proposition. We have signed a partnership with The White Company, a UK luxury bedding company, to make sure that our business-class passengers have the most comfortable journey they could get.

We have made sure that the food we offer has had a real re-imagination in all cabins. We always like to have a fine balance between the local flavour and being a global carrier as we are.

We have some customers here who appreciate that we offer local cuisine and local language entertainment. We have staff who can take care of our customers and speak the local languages.

At the same time, we make sure we are appealing to a global audience who want the latest global flavours, entertainment and the latest technological advances. We are rolling out Wi-Fi across the fleet; that should be complete next year.

Are global airlines such as yours also facing the cost pressures seen by carriers in India?

If I talk specifically about British Airways, our published financial results over the last few years show that we have been improving our performance year-on-year. We operate in a very competitive environment; it’s a good thing for our customers and for us because we keep innovating and investing.
14/12/18 Anand Kalyanaraman/Business Line

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India to buy 2 Mirage 2000 aircraft from France virtually free

As controversies over the Rafale refuse to die down, a delegation from the Indian Air Force is scheduled to head to France early next month to inspect two Dassault-made Mirage-2000 aircraft which will be France’s gift to India. while India has signed a deal with France for 36 Rafale jets which will be manufactured by Dassault Aviation, France has presented two Mirage-2000 fighter aircrafts which also be manufactured by Dassault aviation for a very minimal price.

The Mirage-2000 is a millennial aircraft which emerged as an important weapon in the Indian weaponry and was enormously used in the Kargil war as India thwarted her enemies. The defence ministry has cleared off the deal which comes across as virtually free, the Indian Air Force is set to send a team for inspecting the quality of the aircrafts. A squadron leader rank officer would be heading the Air Force delegation.

The Air Force team would be headed to Chateaudun French airforce base, which is near the French capital of Paris to have a first look at the aircraft. Although India has accepted the deal on papers and the team of airforce officers would inspect the planes. If everything executes as per plan, the Indian Air Force will have two more aircrafts in its fleet of 50-odd mirage aircrafts.
14/12/18 NewsX

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Tourism officials miss launch event of Singapore flight

Pune: With the city getting its direct flight to Singapore starting this month, several top officials from Jet Airway’s India and Singapore teams, the civil aviation secretary and MPs and Singapore Tourism Board’s regional manager were invited to be a part of the inauguration ceremony of the international flight. However, officials from the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) were not invited as there has been was no conversation between officials of the two countries to promote tourism in the state.
Raising his voice against this omission, a city-based aviation expert has written to the airlines as well as the aviation officials about how the MTDC and ITDC officials should have been a part of the interaction and the primary idea should have been to promote local tourism and not merely promoting tourism in Singapore.
Aviation expert Dhairyashil Vandekar told Mirror, “The importance of this route was well underlined by the presence of the important invitees at the inaugural function in Pune. However, I was disappointed to learn that MTDC officials were not invited. International flights are great drivers of economy and an opportunity to increase tourists from abroad will robustly contribute to our economic growth and also generate employment.
As an Indiabased airline I expected them to provide an equitable opportunity to our tourism departments as was given to the Singapore counterparts. I sincerely hope that Jet Airways will take a note of this and provide our local departments an equal opportunity at such events to be visible and to showcase themselves.”
14/12/18 Supriya Dedgaonkar/Pune Mirror 

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Air Italy connects Mumbai to Milan, targets 3 lakh flyers

One of Italy's newest airlines Air Italy has become the only commercial carrier to have a direct non-stop flight between Mumbai and Milan with the touch down of its inaugural flight on December 14.

The private airline with 49 percent control by middle eastern heavyweight Qatar Airways will have three flights a week from Mumbai in addition to three direct flights a week from Delhi that started last week.
A senior official from Air Italy said it is starting operations with the Airbus A330-200 aircraft and will look at Boeing 737 Max planes at later stages if there is need to expand operations in India.
The airline is offering 24 fully reclining flatbed seats in Business Class and 228 seats in Economy Class. Air Italy's Mumbai service offers connections to New York and Miami as well as domestically across Italy.
Air Italy has 15 aircraft currently and hopes to take the figure to 50 by 2022. The airline signed an interline agreement with Tata Group-promoted Vistara. It has a 'single digit' market share in Italy but a 40 percent share in Milan.
14/12/18 Moneycontrol.com

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LCA Tejas – The Made in India Fighter Jet To Be Equipped With Israeli Radars After US Engines

HAL Tejas, despite being Made in India continues to get foreign assistance. After its foreign build engines, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has now struck a deal with Israel Aerospace Industries to procure 83 ELM-2052 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars and ELL-8222WB electronic warfare (EW). The AESA and ES’s will be integrated with the HAL Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), according to media reports.

Elta was selected over two European defense contractors, Thales and Saab, to provide its systems to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The selection of Elta has been met with criticism by various Indian defense analysts. There is some concern that the IAF will not be able to procure the beyond-visual-range air-to-air (BVRAAM) Meteor missile for its fleet of Mark-IA LCA.

“MBDA, the European consortium that builds the Meteor, has repeatedly told the IAF that it would only fit that missile onto a fighter with a European airborne radar,” “Choosing an Elta AESA radar for the Tejas Mark-IA, therefore, rules out the Meteor and, with it, any hope that the IAF will buy the Mark-IA in significant numbers.”
13/12/18 EurAsian Times

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Cheapest India-US flight to end as Wow Air set to exit Delhi route in Jan

Mumbai: Iceland-based Wow Air, which introduced Rs 27,000 return fare between India and the US, has decided to pull out of the Delhi route barely a week after its launch. Wow Air, which is set for a change in ownership, has not announced when it will end Delhi flights. However, a report in Iceland Review said that the airline will suspend flights from January 20.
The airline had plans to fly four times a week between Delhi and Reykjavik and offer onward connections to the US. The planned suspension of the route comes as Wow Air negotiates a fund infusion with private equity firm IndiGo Partners. A Bloomberg report on Thursday said the airline plans to lay off 111 employees globally and simplify its operations. This includes a reduction of Wow's fleet to 11 aircraft. IndiGo Partners owns stakes in airlines in Europe, US and Latin America, including Frontier, Volaris and Wizz Air -- all of which operate solely an Airbus A320 fleet.
Wow Air will return all its Airbus A330s planes to the lessors. It uses these planes on the Delhi route and this would result in suspension of the route. According to industry sources, the suspension of the Delhi route is not linked to the demand or market potential of India. The Reykjavik flight has been seeing loads upwards of 80 per cent.

The schedule for December and early January will be unchanged. However, after that, there will be a new flight schedule and Wow Air will contact affected passengers, the Bloomberg report said. The airline did not respond to an email query from the paper.
13/12/18 Aneesh Phadnis & Bloomberg/Business Standard

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