Nelson lawyer considers her legal options in Koru lounge dispute

A Nelson lawyer who failed to have her travel ban with Air New Zealand lifted says she's considering her legal options.

Anjela Sharma was barred from using the airline's services in 2019 after a dispute over entry into Nelson's Koru Club Members lounge.

In a decision released yesterday, the Auckland High Court dismissed her application for a mandatory interim injunction to immediately remove the ban.

Justice Paul Davidson also dismissed an application to move the proceeding to the High Court in Nelson, where Sharma lives.
She told The Herald she was "considering her options" following the decision, but did not want to comment further.

The lawyer, who has flown with Air New Zealand since 1980, had been a paying Koru Club member since 1996. She is a paid-up member of the club until March 30 2020.

Sharma told the court she was dependent on Air New Zealand's services for work-related travel, to maintain contact with members of her family and for holidays and recreation.

"As a result of the respondent's ban, on 18 and 19 July 2019 she was forced to drive approximately 13 hours to attend one of her son's birthday celebrations in Invercargill," her statement said.

Air New Zealand barred Sharma from its services for a year from July 2, 2019, after a Koru Club Lounge dispute spiralled.
Sharma said she was travelling from Nelson to India in December 2018 with her family when they were challenged on their eligibility to be in the Koru lounge.

On her understanding, their business class tickets entitled them to use Air New Zealand's Nelson Koru Club Lounge, Sharma said.

They were allowed to wait in the lounge for the two hours before their domestic flight from Nelson to Auckland with Air New Zealand, before travelling on a business class flight from Auckland to India with Singapore Airlines.
But while waiting in the lounge, Sharma said staff challenged the family's eligibility to be in the lounge.

Sharma and her husband were Koru Club members, but none of their six children were. Members are allowed to bring a maximum of one guest under the Koru Club policy.

A later report said New Zealand staff who dealt with Sharma found her behaviour abusive and offensive.

"The report described the applicant and members of her family as being very
loud, disruptive, and intimidating during their dealings with the lounge hostess over
their entitlement to use the lounge.
25/02/20 NZ Herald

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Three CIS airlines to operate on Mumbai route

Mumbai: Mumbai airport operator MIAL on Monday said three new airlines, including Russia''s Aeroflot and Ural Air, are expected to commence services to the financial capital in the coming months.
While the two carriers would connect Mumbai with Moscow, Kazakhstan''s Air Astana would start services from Almaty.

"The introduction of new services to the the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region will see an increase in flights from three times a week to 18 a week in Summer 2020," the Mumbai International Airport Limited said in a statement.

Currently, the Mumbai airport connects to the CIS state of Uzbekistan through Tashkent – the capital and the largest city in the country with three flights per week, it said.

Moscow-based Ural Air will be connecting Mumbai with the Russian capital from next month and will be operating four weekly flights on the route.

It will be followed by Kazakhstan''s carrier Air Astana, which plans to launch four-times weekly services to the financial capital from capital airport Almaty, while Aeroflot is set to resume operations to the city with a daily flight, starting July 1, as per MIAL.
24/02/20 PTI/Outlook

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Amadeus And SpiceJet Strengthen Partnership In The Gulf

 Looking to the future of travel in the Gulf, SpiceJet, a budget carrier in India, and Amadeus recently organised a series of empowerment sessions for the region’s travel community held in Dubai, UAE.

More than 100 travel consultants participated in the sessions, which focused on how the Gulf’s travel industry can collaborate to better define and deliver offers to travel agents, corporates, and individual travellers.

A number of success cases were also presented during the sessions, including SpiceJet’s memorandum of understanding with Gulf Air and codeshare agreement with Emirates.

The sessions follow an agreement signed between SpiceJet and Amadeus earlier this year for a new distribution agreement that gives Amadeus’ global network of travel sellers access to unique content from the airline, including a range of fares and prices, through the Amadeus Travel Platform. The agreement marks the first time that SpiceJet is working with a distribution partner.
25/02/20 Travel Trade Weekly

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Donald Trump ditches standard Air Force One aircraft for trip to Agra

Ahmedabad: After addressing the high-decibel ‘Namaste Trump’ campaign-style rally at Ahmedabad, US President Donald Trump left for Agra where he will visit the iconic Taj Mahal.
Trump ditched the standard Air Force One, a Boeing 747 200B series VC-25 aircraft, for a smaller C-32 (Boeing 757) aircraft which served as the US President’s ride for the flight from Ahmedabad to Agra. 
The Air Force One often called “Flying Oval Office” is a fortress in the sky when it flies. The highly-customised presidential VC-25 aircraft, manufactured by Boeing, is one of the largest commercial airliner in the world.
After Agra, the US President will land in the national capital around 7.30 pm for the main leg of the trip.
24/02/20 TimesNowNews.com

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Coronavirus outbreak: Air India, Vistara, Singapore Airlines to reduce flights between India and Singapore

New Delhi: With India asking its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Singapore and screening passengers coming from there due to the coronavirus outbreak, flights connectivity between the two countries is now being slashed.
Air India has a daily on Delhi-Singapore-Delhi and Mumbai-Chennai-Singapore-Chennai-Mumbai sectors. “From Monday, the Delhi flight will operate five days a week and Mumbai four times. So the 14 times weekly is now nine times weekly with five flights being suspended,” said an AI official.
A Vistara spokesperson said: “We are continually reviewing the situation and due to low demand on Singapore route we are making some cancellations which will come into effect next month. Affected customers are being contacted and offered alternatives.”
GoAir is suspending Singapore flights due to slot issue. “GoAir was offered unviable time slots which we operated with an understanding that these slots will be reviewed no sooner we commence our operations into Singapore. However, despite repeated appeals GoAir was not offered any alternate slot. GoAir had no choice but to temporarily suspend its flight operations from Singapore to Kolkata from February 7, 2020, and between Singapore and Bengaluru from 08 February 8. Based on better slot offerings at commercially viable timings, GoAir remains committed to re-launch services to Singapore,” said a GoAir spokesman. IndiGo will announce on Tuesday.
24/02/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Coronavirus: Evaluate airlifting China consignments, Centre asks industries

New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has reached out to several industries asking their views on airlifting consignments from China, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to disrupt business. However, the move may not be practical or feasible, given the challenges involved.

The direction from the Ministry of Civil Aviation came following a finance ministry-led meeting to address supply chain issues of the Indian industry. Following that, a note was sent to associations of various industries, asking for their requirements.
However, ministry officials confirmed that no final call has been taken regarding the flight. “We haven’t planned any flight till now. The idea is to check what the industry wants and decide if such a flight is feasible or not,” said a ministry official.

The India Manufacturers’ Association of Information Technology (MAIT) has welcomed the move.

Almost two weeks after the official reopening date, many factories across China remain shut, which will cascade down to manufacturing in India as its supply of raw material and equipment is disrupted, MAIT added.

As MAIT and others speak to their member companies, there is no clarity on whether such a move will fructify.
25/02/20 Arindam Majumder & Neha Alawadhi/Business Standard

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The significance of American Airlines’ proposed Seattle-Bengaluru flight

A very American-Indian piece of news got lost in the endless excitement over US President Donald Trump’s visit to India.  Last week, American Airlines said it would launch a daily non-stop flight between Seattle and Bengaluru from October.
Binoy Prabhakar (CNBC TV18) writes why this flight is so important >>

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2 addl flights will push up cargo volume: Exporters

Trichy: Exporters in Trichy airport exuded confidence that the introduction of two more flight services to Abu Dhabi and Doha will help them handle more volume of cargo. The old terminal at the airport was converted into an international cargo complex and was commissioned for operations on November 21, 2011.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs approved and notified the airport as an air cargo complex. Ever since the airport started to handle cargo, the terminal has been witnessing increase in handling cargo consignment when compared the previous year.

Export of perishables commodities like vegetables, fruits, flowers constitute 90% of the total volume of consignments handled here. Singapore, Dubai, Sharjah, Kuala Lumpur and Colombo are the main destinations. The remaining 10% of export included are non-perishables like garments, leather etc.
Air India Express, Air Asia, Scoot Air, Malindo Air, Sri Lankan Airlines and IndiGo Air have been providing 91 services per week to Dubai, Sharjah, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Colombo. The total volume of cargo handled in 2009-10 was 1,349 and it started going upward year by year. In 2018-19, the total volume of cargo handled registered as 6,932 tonnes. It was 6,787 tonne till January 2020. As two months are remaining to complete the financial year 2019-20, the terminal is likely to touch a volume of 8000 tonne, airport authorities said. It will be a reality when the newly launched flights - Abu Dhabi and Doha - accommodate significant volume of cargo, they said.
25/02/20 D Vincent Arockiaraj/Times of India

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Alliance Air announces daily flights between Chennai and Jaffna from February 27

Chennai: Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, will start operating daily flights between Chennai and Jaffna from February 27 onwards.

Earlier, in November 2019, the airline inaugurated commercial flight operations between Chennai International Airport (MAA) and Jaffna International Airport (JAF) thrice a week (Monday, Wednesday and Saturday).

Following an overwhelming response from passengers, the airline has now announced that it will start daily flights to and from Chennai and Jaffna on all days of the week. “Vanakkam Sri Lanka! Alliance Air flights foray into Jaffna all seven days of the week,” a statement from the airline read.
Flight 9I 101 will depart from Chennai at 1045 hrs and arrive in Jaffna at 1200 hrs on all days of the week. On Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Sunday Flight 9I 102 will depart from Jaffna at 1245hrs and arrive in Chennai at 1410hrs. On Tuesday & Saturday Flight 9I 102 will depart from Jaffna at 1245hrs and arrive in Chennai at 1355hrs.
The Chennai-Jaffna airfare costs about Rs 3,190 and the Jaffna-Chennai airfare is Rs 3,990.
Commercial flight services between Chennai and Jaffna which were stopped when a civil war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government broke out in 1983.
The inaugural ATR-72 aircraft of Alliance Air which ferried Ashwani Lohani, the Chairman and Managing Director of Alliance Air, CEO CS Subbiah and few Indian Journalists to Jaffna was greeted with a water cannon salute after touchdown.

“This flight is special in many ways. Apart from being Alliance Air’s maiden international foray, it has connected Chennai to Jaffna after a gap of 41 years. Flyers coming into Chennai from Delhi, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Dubai, Trivandrum & Muscat have the option of connecting onwards to Jaffna over Chennai making air travel more convenient,” the statement added.
25/02/20 Indian Express

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Thrice-weekly Mumbai - Doha AI service takes flight

Doha: Air India started thrice-weekly operations on the Mumbai — Doha sector using the state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft with effect from Friday.
The flight AI 969 departs Mumbai at 10.20am and reach Doha at 11.15am. Flight AI 970 leaves Doha at 12.45pm and reaches Mumbai at 6.45pm.
Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner has two configurations with 18 business class and 238 seats in economy.
Air India had earlier recommenced Delhi — Doha — Delhi operations after a gap of 12 years in October last year, connecting the two capitals.
In quick succession, Air India has also introduced a flight on the Mumbai-Doha sector connecting the Qatari capital with India’s commercial capital.
23/02/20 Gulf Times

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Communicating with India over delay in grant of permission to IAF flight: China

Beijing: China on Monday said Indian and Chinese officials were in "communication" over the delay in grant of permission to India's special flight carrying medical supplies to Wuhan and to evacuate over 100 Indians stuck in the city worst affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak that has claimed over 2,500 lives.

India has announced its plan to send Indian Air Force's biggest plane C-17 Globemaster with medical supplies to China and to evacuate remaining Indians numbering over 100 from China's coronavirus-hit Hubei province.

It has also offered to evacuate nationals from the neighbouring countries, depending on the space availability.

"Competent authorities of the two countries have maintained communication and coordination on this matter," Chinese Foreign Ministry said in reply to question from PTI over the delay in granting the clearance for the plane.

The brief reply did not say when the flight will be cleared.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry's fresh statement came after the two countries were locked in a verbal spat over the delay for the special flight from India to bring the stranded Indians home.
24/02/20 PTI/New Indian Express

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Daily flights to Chennai from Jaffna

Alliance Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, will operate daily flights to Chennai (MAA) from the Jaffna International Airport (JAF) from Thursday, February 27, the airline said yesterday.
Alliance Air already operates three flights per week on this sector. The airline, which was restricted to domestic operations in India, expanded wings globally and commenced commercial flight operations from Chennai International Airport to Jaffna International Airport and back from November 11, 2019, days after the latter airport opened for international traffic. Several other Indian airlines have also expressed an interest in operating to Jaffna and Batticaloa (BTC), which has also been upgraded to international status. Moreover, local private carrier Fits Air operates a Colombo Ratmalana (RML)-JAF flight for passengers seeking to connect to the Chennai Alliance Air flights.
24/02/20 Daily News

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International airlines flying into and over India begin offering IFC

International airline clients of Panasonic Avionics’ Ku-band satellite-supported inflight Internet service are flipping the switch on their IFC systems when flying into and over India now that the entertainment and connectivity giant is availing of Nelco Limited’s license with the Indian government.

A number of non-Indian airlines have already started to “go live” with Internet for passengers, a Nelco spokeswoman told Runway Girl Network after Panasonic issued a statement confirming an agreement with the Tata Enterprise company which sees Panasonic become the first satcom provider to begin IFC operations under Nelco’s Department of Telecommunications license for inflight and maritime connectivity.

Panasonic is using capacity from the GSAT-14 satellite, which was constructed by India’s ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization), and launched in 2014, to ensure that passengers on board Panasonic-connected flights can enjoy a full suite of connected services while flying over Indian airspace or into India.

Nelco does not have an exclusive partnership with Panasonic. However, together with Panasonic, it appears to have first mover advantage, despite the stated plans of multiple other providers. “There were many learnings from our partner Panasonic,” said the Nelco spokeswoman. Panasonic also beat its competitors to the punch in China, where it was the first to receive the green-light to provide service in and over China.
23/02/20 Neelam Mathews/Runway Girl Network

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Pakistanis and Indians can now get Saudi visit visa on arrival and can also perform Umrah

Dubai: Saudi Arabia has introduced one-year multiple entry visit visas for Pakistanis, Indians and all other applicants who have a valid UK, US or Schengen visa stamped on their passports.

The new multiple-visa will be valid for one year and the visitors will also be allowed to pefrom Umrah. However, they are not allowed to perform Haj.

Visitors can get visa on arrival at any international airport in Saudi Arabia but they must have a credit card to pay fee amounting to SR440 (Dh431) as cash is not accepted. They will be allowed to stay for 90 days at a stretch and can enter the Kingdon of Saudi Arabia multiple times during the validity period of their visit visa.
“It was an amazing experience when I visited Saudi Arabia last week,” said Ahmed Qureshi who went to perform Umrah with his family and landed at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah. “I paid fee at the immigration counter using my credit card and now all my family members have multiple visit visas valid for one year. It took just 15 minutes to complete the procedure,” he explained.

A reservation agent at the Saudi Airlines in Dubai told Gulf News that the new visa service started last month. “Anyone who has a valid UK, US or Schengen visa can obtain visit visa to Saudi Arabia on arrival. However, visa is issued to only those applicants who have used their US, UK or Schengen visa for at least once. You will not be given visa on arrival if you have US, UK or Schegen visa stamped on your passport but have never used it,” she explained.
23/02/20 Ashfaq Ahmed/Gulf News

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Lawyer fails to have her Air New Zealand flying ban removed

A Nelson lawyer has failed to lift her travelling ban with Air New Zealand after a dispute over entry into the Koru Lounge.

Anjela Sharma sought an interim injunction from the High Court at Auckland to overturn a one-year ban imposed by Air New Zealand.

In a judgement released on Monday, Justice Paul Davison dismissed the application and also declined the proceeding to be transferred to Nelson.

Sharma said she and her family were travelling to India from Nelson in December 2018, when an Air New Zealand staff member asked for proof they were allowed to be in the Koru Lounge.
The family had flown domestically from Nelson to Auckland on an Air New Zealand flight, and were flying with Singapore Airlines from Auckland to India on business class.

Sharma said, on her understanding, their business class tickets entitled the family to use the Koru Club Lounge at Nelson Airport.

While Sharma and her husband were Koru members, none of their children were. The Koru Club policy allows for members to bring a maximum one guest.

Sharma said they were permitted to enter and remain in the Koru Lounge during a two-hour wait until their departure, after they showed a hostess their travel documentation to India.
However, while in the lounge, Sharma said her family was challenged on their eligibility.

Air New Zealand staff who dealt with Sharma and her family said she'd acted in an "intimidatory and bullying manner".

Management then sent a report of the behaviour which described Sharma and members of her family being "very loud and disruptive" during their dealings with the lounge hostess.

"The report said that members of the applicant's family called the lounge hostess stupid and racist, and mocked and loudly mimicked her voice when she greeted other passengers entering the lounge," the judgment said.

At one point a member of security was called to the Koru Lounge and offered to call police.
"I feel Mrs Sharma uses bullying tactics to gain her own way every time she travels, we are always courteous and helpful to her, but she pushes the boundaries of decency every time she travels, and I would like to put a stop to her countless demands with us," the report said.

The staff member said in the report Sharma and her family were not welcome in the Nelson Koru Lounge in the future and sought action to prevent this type of action happening again.

Sharma claimed Air New Zealand wrote to her and alleged she and her family had been refused entry, entered the lounge without permission, and the family was loud and aggressive.

She said the airline issued a warning that she'd be banned if she didn't follow the rules.

In March 2019, Sharma sent an email to former Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxton disputing there was any justification for the warning letter.

Sharma continued to send communication and tried to check-in on a flight and accused a Nelson staff member of lying and being "on a venomous mission" against her, the court decision stated.

An email was sent to Sharma on behalf of Luxton stating her correspondence had been "distasteful and insulting".
Air New Zealand imposed a one year ban on July 2, 2019. Later that month, Sharma filed the proceeding to the High Court stating the airline was in breach of its contractual obligations to her as a passenger who had booked and paid for several flights she had not yet flown.
24/02/20 Catrin Owen/Stuff

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Malindo Air pleads not guilty for data breach charges

Malaysian airline Malindo Air has been taken to court for data breach incident, which occurred last year and saw the personal data of some of its passengers hosted on a cloud-based environment being compromised. The airline has also pleaded not guilty in its court charges in Malaysia under the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, and is challenging the authorities on the nature of the charges.

Malindo Air said in a press statement that it believes the charges against it are without merit and it intends to defend its position. The airline also affirms that it has always acted with the utmost professionalism in dealing with the data breach incident. The release added that Malindo Air has extended co-operation to all investigating agencies in Malaysia and 22 other international personal data protection authorities in countries that Malindo Air flies to.

Malindo Air said it has provided constant updates to all its passengers as well as all relevant authorities. All practical and reasonable steps had also been taken and put in place to ensure the protection of its customers’ personal data.It added that no payment or credit card details were leaked in the breach. Additionally, the airline said the court has also reprimanded the prosecution for one of the charges that was vaguely drafted, and then orally amended.

The data breach incident occurred in September 2019, and it was later found out that the breach was a result of two former employees of eCommerce services provider, GoQuo, improperly accessing and stealing the personal data of its customers. The two former employees are based in GoQuo’s development centre in India, and the airline reported the matter to the police in Malaysia and India. Malindo Air later confirmed that the data exposure has since been contained and all its systems are fully secured.
24/02/20 Marketing

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US backup planes at Jaipur airport for Donald Trump in case Delhi weather fails

Jaipur: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) Jaipur is geared up to receive Air Force One carrying US president Donald Trump in case weather plays truant in Delhi on Monday.

As a backup plan, a US Air Force Boeing 757 landed here on Sunday evening to ferry Trump in case there is a technical snag in his plane. In addition, a C-17 Globemaster landed here for the second day with some more equipment needed for ground-handling.

According to sources, at least 50 people including security personnel, officials of US embassy, technical surveillance experts and others are already in town to take care of arrangements.

Reliable sources from Jaipur airport said security personnel from the US arrived in the Boeing 757. The aircraft landed at 7.48 pm.

However, citing security concerns Jaipur airport authorities refrained from commenting much on the developments.

“We are not much aware on this. We have received a Boeing 757 aircraft of America at our airport. We don’t have any further directions or intimation about it,” said a senior officer at the airport.
24/02/20 Ashish Mehta/Times of India

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Air Force One lands in Ahmedabad, Modi welcomes Trump

Ahmedabad: US President Donald Trump arrived in Ahmedabad on Monday for the first leg of his India trip. The Air Force One plane carrying Trump and his wife Melania landed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport here at 11.37 am. It was scheduled to land at 11.40 am.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reached Ahmedabad over an hour before Trump did, was present at the airport to welcome the US president at the airport. In Ahmedabad, Trump will visit Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram, take part in a roadshow with Modi and jointly address over one lakh people at a cricket stadium, before heading for Agra to see the iconic Taj Mahal with Melania.
The US president and Modi will participate in a roadshow from the airport to Sabarmti Ashram and from there to the newly-built Motera cricket stadium, where over a lakh people are expected to be present for the 'Namaste Trump' event.
24/02/20 Kerala Kaumudi

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Cabinet okays Indo-Lanka MoU to upgrade Jaffna Int’l Airport

The Cabinet has approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of India to upgrade the Jaffna International Airport in Palaly with a Rs.300 million grant, Minister Prasanna Ranatunga says.

Through the financial grant it is expected to improve the facilities in the areas of airport terminal modification, electricity supply, solid waste management system and utility and transit services.

By now in the Palaly airport a Temporary aviation control tower is fixed. Airport Runaway lighting system is already under procurement.

Facilities at the Passenger Transport Terminal at the Palaly airport will also be upgraded. Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Prasanna Ranatunga to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of Jaffna International Airport with the Government of India.
24/02/20 Dinuli Francisco/Daily News

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Afghan national arrested for using fake UK visa in 2014: Police

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Sunday said it has arrested an Afghan national accused of using a fake UK visa in 2014 on his Indian passport which he had obtained in 2013 by allegedly using forged voter ID and other documents.
The District Investigation Unit (DIU) attached to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on February 20, arrested Charan Singh Sachdeva, 48, also known as Karan Singh, six years after an FIR was lodged in connection with use of fake UK visa.

According to the police, in June 2014, 11 people, consisting of two families, had flown from IGI Airport to Moscow, Russia where they procured a UK visa from an agent and tried to travel to UK via Turkey.

However, in Turkey the immigration authorities found something suspicious with their visas and on July 4, 2014 they were deported back to India.

On arrival here, they were quizzed by the immigration authorities and the passengers revealed that they had procured the visa from an agent in Moscow, police said.

Thereafter, their passports were seized and were sent to the British High Commission for verification of the visas.
24/02/20 PTI/Outlook

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IndiGo in talks with Jetstar, Qantas for codeshare partnership

New Delhi: IndiGo is in talks with Sydney-based Qantas Airways and its wholly owned subsidiary Jetstar Airways on codeshare agreements, which allows an airline to sell other airline's seats, officials said.

Currently, IndiGo has a two-way codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines and a one-way codeshare partnership with Qatar Airways.

In a two-way codeshare agreement, each airline on its distribution system can sell seats on other's flights.

"IndiGo is currently in talks with Qantas Airways and Jetstar Airways regarding codeshare partnerships. With Qantas, it is likely to be one-way but with Jetstar, it is likely to be a two-way codeshare agreement," said an IndiGo official privy to the development.

The official added that IndiGo's relationship with Qantas may be similar to that of Qatar Airways where it can sell 20 seats on each IndiGo flight connecting Doha with Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

"These 20 seats on each IndiGo flight are blocked for Qatar Airways. It means, as IndiGo operates two daily return flights on Delhi-Doha, Mumbai-Doha and Hyderabad-Doha route, total 240 seats are blocked daily for Qatar Airways' passengers," the official added.

In November last year, Qatar Airways had signed a one-way codeshare agreement with IndiGo that allows its passengers to book seats on the latter's flights connecting Doha with the three Indian cities.

A second IndiGo official stated that the partnership with Melbourne-based Jetstar would likely be a two-way codeshare agreement, similar to the one it has with Turkish Airlines.

In response to queries sent by PTI, Qantas Airways and Jetstar Airways said in a joint response, "We regularly explore new partnership opportunities to offer our customers more seamless travel experiences, but we currently have no updates to share."

With around 47 per cent share in domestic air passenger market, India's largest airline has been focusing on international traffic for further growth.
23/02/20 PTI/Times of India

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CONVID 19: Airports to screen passengers from 4 more countries

New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA has ordered screening of passengers from four more countries -- Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, as part of efforts to prevent spreading of coronavirus.
Now, fliers from as many as 10 countries would be screened at Indian airports.

Already, passengers travelling in flights from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore are being screened at Indian airports in the wake of the Novel Coronavirus 2019 (CONVID 19).

Cases of the virus infection have been reported in many countries, including India.

In a communication issued on Sunday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it has been decided to expand universal screening of all passengers arriving in flights from Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

The screening must be ensured immediately "once they step out of the specific locations at all the airports and getting the self-declaration form filled by the passengers as per the instructions of the health and family welfare ministry, it said.

In this regard, the watchdog said all airlines should make in-flight announcement in flights coming from these countries.
23/02/20 PTI/Outlook

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Coronavirus screening tightened at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: International Airport (CSMIA) has started screening passengers flying from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Nepal to Mumbai as well as those arriving from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Japan and South Korea.
The Ministry of Health has tightened screening and has issued an advisory requiring all passengers arriving from these countries to undergo screening for coronavirus infection. Health counters and thermal scanners have been stationed at the pre-immigration area for the arriving passengers by the APHO team.
Furthermore, the airport has ensured that alert messages are placed strategically across the terminal and that airlines have been sensitized and informed to follow the instructions of the Government.
 23/02/20 Deccan Herald

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US aircraft in city with backup gadgets for Trump

Jaipur: A US Air Force Globemaster landed here on Saturday with ground-handling equipment needed for the safe landing of US President Donald Trump in case Air Force One fails to land in Delhi because of weather issues on Monday.
Jaipur airport authorities including the Air Traffic Controller were on high alert when the US Air Force C-17 aircraft arrived at 9.30 am on Saturday. “It landed at our airport with ground-handling and other equipment required for landing of Trump’s aircraft,” said a senior officer of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Jaipur.
According to airport sources, equipment required for the landing of Air force One, a customised Boeing 747, was not available at the Jaipur airport. “As a precautionary and standby measure, the US authorities brought the C-17 aircraft to Jaipur with the necessary equipment for the safe landing of the US president,” an officer added.
After leaving the equipment, the aircraft took off at 10.30 am. “We were not informed if the aircraft had gone to Ahmedabad or to Delhi due to security reasons,” the officer added.
23/02/20 Times of India

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Coronavirus: India advises against non-essential travel to Singapore, will expand airport screening

India on Saturday advised its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Singapore in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The government said it was planning to start screening passengers arriving at Indian airports from Kathmandu, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Passengers from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and Japan are already being screened at 21 airports in the country for possible exposure to the novel coronavirus. So far, over 3.97 lakh flight passengers and 9,695 travellers at sea ports have been screened, the government said.
India has so far reported three positive cases of coronavirus infection. Eight Indians have tested positive on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, quarantined off the coast of Japan. The ship has more than 630 cases, accounting for the biggest cluster of infection outside China. There are 138 Indians – six passengers and 132 crew members – on the ship.
23/02/20 Scroll.in

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Coronavirus: Screening at Bangla border, Agartala airport

Agartala: The Tripura health department on Saturday reiterated that nobody in the state had contracted the novel coronavirus (nCoV) and health screening facilities have been installed at India-Bangladesh checkpost and Agartala airport.

Director of health and family welfare Dr Radha Debbarma said the health screening had been installed after the ministry of health issued an alert against nCoV and that the health department had been continuously monitoring people entering into the state from affected countries.

Debbarma said the health department has identified 22 people who recently returned from nCov-affected countries such as China, Singapore and Thailand, but no one has tested positive. The department asked the 22 people to stay alert and remain in touch with state-run isolation ward at Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC).
23/02/20 Times of India

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ITBP ready for second batch of evacuees from Wuhan

New Delhi: The make shift quarantine facility created by the IndoTibetan Border Police (ITBP) at its Chhawla facility here is getting ready for the second lot of Indian evacuees from the epicenter of deadly Novel Corona Virus Wuhan in China.
 “The ITBP Quarantine facility at Chhawla camp is again ready to house another batch of over 100 people who are expected to reach the Capital on Saturday”, ITBP spokesperson Vivek Pandey told UNI. These people will be taken from Wuhan in China on the return journey of the special plane which left here on Friday afternoon for Wuhan.
 “All pre-requirements of the ITBP centre have been completed. After first screening at the isolation bay at the Airport, these fresh arrivals will be taken to the Chhawla camp in the ITBP buses”, Mr Pandey said. All of them will be given all basic facilities required at the Centre as done with the previous lot of evacuees. Daily monitoring and checkups will also be undertaken by the ITBP medicos, he added.
 The Indian Air Force (IAF)’s largest transport aircraft, C-17 Globemaster has flown to Wuhan on Friday with medical supplies to aid China’s fight against the Covid-19 outbreak,which has killed 2239 people and infected more than 75,500 so far. On its way back, the aircraft is expected to evacuate around 100 Indians from Wuhan and the rest of Hubei province. The ITBP quarantine centre had successfully managed the first batch of 406 people, including seven Maldivian nationals, evacuated from Wuhan on February 1 and 2 by an Air India special aircraft. They were allowed to leave after they tested negative.
 21/02/20 Amresh Srivastava/UNI

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Coronavirus: Airlines in Asia Pacific region to lose USD 27.8 billion revenue in 2020

New Delhi:  The Novel Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) is likely to have an adverse impact on airlines operating in Asia Pacific region (APAC) with a potential 13 per cent full-year loss in passenger demand.

According to International Air Transport Association (IATA), the decline could translate into a $27.8 billion revenue loss in 2020 for carriers in the region, home to some of the fastest growing airlines in the world.
Most airlines across the globe have either suspended their operations to China or have drastically reduced their frequency as the pandemic so far has claimed over 2,200 lives and spread to many countries. Bulk of the fall would be borne by carriers registered in China with $12.8 billion loss in its domestic market alone, said IATA.

However, the Coronavirus scare could also hurt growth prospects of Indian airlines, especially IndiGo which sees China as a key focus market. IndiGo and Air India have extended suspension of all their flights to China, including Hong Kong for the next three months.

While IndiGo has suspended flights till June 14, Air India’s suspension extended till June 30. SpiceJet, which operates daily services to Hong Kong, had earlier suspended flights till February 29. IndiGo has daily flights on the Delhi-Chengdu, Bengaluru-Hong Kong and Kolkata-Guangzhou route, while Air India flies to Beijing and Hong Kong.
22/02/20 New Indian Express

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China Denies Delay In Granting Permission To Special Indian Flight To Wuhan

Beijing: China on Friday denied any delay in allowing a special Indian flight to the coronavirus-hit Wuhan city to deliver medical supplies and evacuate remaining Indians from there, saying the concerned departments of both the countries were in touch to finalise the schedule.
India on February 17 announced that it will send Indian Air Force's largest plane C-17 Globemaster with medical supplies to Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus, and bring back its nationals as well as citizens from all neighbouring countries who were still stuck there on the return flight.

The special flight to Wuhan is reportedly awaiting clearance from China.

India evacuated 647 Indians and seven Maldivians by operating two Special Air India flights to Wuhan earlier this month.

Asked why there is a delay in granting permission to the third Indian flight, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told an online press briefing on Friday that China has assisted India earlier to evacuate a large number of Indians from Wuhan and Hubei province.
"The competent departments on the two sides are still in communication on the arrangement for the remaining 80 people that India plans to fly home. There is no such a thing as China delaying giving flight permissions," he said.
Mr Geng said the Chinese government attaches high importance to the lives and health of all foreign nationals in China.
21/02/20 PTI/NDTV

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Chinese wall stopping evacuation of Indian nationals from Wuhan

China is "deliberately delaying grant of clearance" for a special Indian flight to the coronavirus-hit Wuhan city to deliver medical supplies and evacuate remaining Indians from there. Beijing is allegedly "creating a roadblock" for India's evacuation efforts.
 “The Government of China is yet to grant clearance to the flight carrying relief supplies to China which will also bring back the remaining Indian nationals from Wuhan. Chinese side continues to maintain there is no delay (even on friday), the day the flight was supposed to go, but inexplicably the clearance has not been given,” sources told ET.
 “It may be recalled that PM wrote to Chinese President Xi Jinping conveying solidarity of people and government of India with people and govt of China in meeting the challenge of coronavirus outbreak and offered to provide whatever assistance we could to China. Government of India then put together relief supplies in pursuance of this commitment as a token of our solidarity, particularly in this 70th year of anniversary of diplomatic relations. These supplies have been offered even as India faces tremendous shortage itself, given our ethos of helping others, especially neighbours in their hour of need. Items being supplied are gloves, surgical masks feeding and infusion pumps and defibrilators based on the requirements as indicated by the Chinese side,” sources said.
 22/02/20 Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury/Economic Times

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Air India Inaugurates Mumbai – Stansted Route

Air India has inaugurated its second long haul route to London Stansted Airport. The route sees a Boeing 787 Dreamliner flying between Mumbai and London three times per week.
India’s flag carrier is slowly showing that London Stansted can be a gateway to the world. Last year, the airline launched the airport’s second current long haul flight. Now, the airport, which is home too low-cost carrier Ryanair, has two long haul carriers flying to three destinations. This will increase even further when El Al returns to the airport for the first time in over a decade later this year.
The arrival of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner yesterday indicated the start of a new beginning for flights between Mumbai and London. The route to London Stansted becomes the second operated by Air India to the London low-cost hub. Last year Air India also launched flights from Amritsar to London Stansted using the Boeing 787.
The service between Mumbai and London Stansted will operate three times per week. A Boeing 787 will depart from Mumbai for the service on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
21/02/20 Tom Boon/Simple Flying

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Covid-19 outbreak: Air India pilot recounts his experience leading the Wuhan evacuation missions

“An eerie silence prevailed, with no sight of humans anywhere.” That’s how captain Amitabh Singh described the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the global novel Coronavirus outbreak.

Read what Singh had to say to Quartz about the challenges the crew faced and the first reactions of the stranded citizens when they got to know they were finally going home >>

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China delays India’s third flight to Wuhan even as it clears flights from Japan & France

New Delhi: The Chinese claim that there is no delay in clearing third relief flight from India to Wuhan appears to be false as India first requested for flight on February 13 and the flight plan was submitted on February 15.
 The date of flight proposed originally was February 20. The delay therefore appears deliberate, sources told ET. In between the following flights have taken off from Wuhan 16 Feb for Japan; 19 Feb for Ukraine and 20th Feb for France.
 “Indian nationals are waiting to be brought back from Wuhan. The uncertainty is causing anxiety and mental stress. China should grant clearance to the relief flight which can bring the Indian nationals back,” a source quipped.
 22/02/20 Dipanjan Roy Choudhury/Economic Times

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United Airlines Enters Codeshare with Indian Carrier, Vistara

United Airlines has entered into a codeshare agreement with Vistara, the full-service Indian airline, to expand travel options for customers.

In addition to providing access to 68 Vistara-operated flights to 26 destinations throughout India, the codeshare also allows MileagePlus and Vistara's loyalty program members to earn and redeem miles when flying on either of the airline's route network, beginning Feb. 28.

Vistara is a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, and the carrier is preparing to grow its fleet by adding more than 50 narrow-body and wide-body aircraft, including Airbus A321neo and Boeing B787-9, in the next three years.

“The U.S. continues to be one of the biggest source markets for foreign travelers into India and the region, and this partnership allows us to provide a seamless travel offering for customers to and from the U.S.," said Vistara's Chief Commercial Officer, Vinod Kannan.
21/02/20 Daine Taylor/Travel Market Report

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Russia meets Mumbai: Aeroflot, Ural Airlines mulls launching weekly flights

Mumbai: Indian and Russian carriers plan to introduce new flight services from Mumbai and Delhi to Moscow. Aeroflot and Ural Airlines plan to launch Moscow-Mumbai services in summer schedule. Kazakhstan's Air Astana will begin four weekly flights between Almaty and Mumbai increasing connectivity to Central Asia as well. Currently Uzbekistan Airlines has two flights weekly to Mumbai. By July, Mumbai airport will have eighteen weekly flights to Russia and Central Asian countries.
IndiGo and Vistara, too, are planning flights between Delhi and Moscow to tap growth in trade and tourism. "We do plan to start flights to Russia sometime during the course of this year. The exact timelines are yet to be finalised," IndiGo said in a statement. "We will be sharing details about our new international destinations at an appropriate time," a Vistara spokesperson said.

The new flights come against the backdrop of the Indian government's move to boost air connectivity with Central Asia and tap thd interest of Russian investors in India. Russian companies and government-backed funds have showed interest in the high speed rail projects in Gujarat and revival of Jet Airways.

Around 450,000 people flew between India and Russia in twelve months ending December 2019, a growth of around ten per cent over the previous year. Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have seen 24 and 50 per cent year on year growth in passengers to/from India, respectively7. Tajikistan's Somon Air which launched two weekly flights to Delhi last December sees lot of tourist and student traffic from India.

"Around 80 per cent of Russian tourists visit Goa and the rest visit Kerala, Delhi and Agra. The new flights will bring more tourists to Mumbai but will largely benefit outbound travel as Indians are now exploring new destinations," said H S Duggal, managing director of Minar Travels which specialises in inbound tourism.
22/02/20 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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After US incident, Indian aviation ministry tells flyers that the seat is not a sleeper berth

New Delhi: India's aviation ministry has asked flyers to be considerate towards other people's space. The message from the civil aviation ministry comes after a video of a man punching a reclined seat in front of him went viral in the US.
 "A little bit of basic good manners and respect are always worth a thumbs up. Your seat is not a sleeper berth. Don't be inconsiderate of other people's space,” said the tweet from civil aviation ministry's handle.
The tweet was shared under the ministry's campaign to promote responsible travelling and etiquettes of flying. On February 9, Wendi Williams tweeted from her handle @steelersfanOG a video which shows that the passenger sitting behind her punched her seat repeatedly on an American Eagle, a subsidiary of American Airlines, flight.
 “Here’s a great jackhole! He was angry that I reclined my seat and punched it about 9 times - HARD, at which point I began videoing him, and he resigned to this behaviour. The other jackhole is the AmericanAir flight attendant who reprimanded me and offered him (a complimentary) rum!” “It is a good initiative by the ministry to tweet this.
While reclining economy seats is an issue globally, our authorities must tackle something uniquely Indian — the habit of passengers to stand up as soon as the aircraft comes to a halt after landing. Our crew has to keep announcing during taxi to terminal, asking passengers to remain seated and not to open overhead bins to take out their bags as that could hurt other flyers,” Times of India quoted a senior pilot as saying.
 22/02/20 Economic Times

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China delays clearance to IAF flight with relief supplies

New Delhi: The Chinese government is 'deliberately delaying grant of clearance for the evacuation flight' which was to fly to Wuhan with medical supplies and bring remaining Indians back, sources said on Saturday.

However, China continues to maintain that there is no delay, Even though on Friday, the day the flight was supposed to go to Wuhan, but inexplicably the clearance was not given.

Indian Air Force's largest plane C-17 Globemaster was scheduled to fly to Coronavirus affected city Wuhan on Friday to evacuate Indians but it was delayed citing technical issues.

IAF's plane was to carry medical supplies to China and then to evacuate remaining Indians from Wuhan.

On Friday, the Globemaster could not fly as it could not get clearance from Chinese government.
22/02/20 IANS/daijiworld

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Vietjet offers 50% discounts on new routes from India

Mumbai: Vietnamese carrier Vietjet Friday announced discounts up to 50% on all routes with a booking time till Feb 29.
The tickets are valid for travel between February 20, 2020 to April 27, 2020.
“Further expanding the international flight network, Vietjet connects many new, attractive and safe destinations with unique and beautiful culture such as Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka (Japan), Bali (Indonesia) and especially New Delhi and Mumbai, the two biggest hubs of India, with amazing destinations in Vietnam such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, etc.
Equipped with a modern, fuel-efficient fleet, Vietjet's eco-friendly flights will bring new and emotional flying experiences to people and visitors at an altitude of 10,000 meters,” said the airline's vice president Nguyen Thanh Son..
21/02/20 Economic Times

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CCI approves stake sale in GMR Airports to France's ADP

New Delhi:  The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the sale of 49 per cent stake in GMR Airports to France's Groupe ADP through the green channel mechanism.
Green channel is an automatic approval system, whereby a combination is deemed to have been approved by the CCI upon receiving the filing of the notice for the combination by the parties concerned.
"The Competition Commission of India (CCI) received the following green channel combination of acquisition by Atropos de Paris SA (ADP) of equity share capital of GMR Airports Limited (GAL), and GMR Infra Services Limited (GISL)," an official statement said.
Late on Thursday, GMR Infrastructure Ltd (GIL) announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Groupe ADP to sell 49 per cent stake in its airports arm for an equity consideration of Rs 10,780 crore.
The CCI said that under the proposed combination, ADP would acquire up to 100 per cent of the equity shares of GISL directly and 49 per cent of the equity shares of GAL directly and indirectly.
ADP is an international airport operator based in Paris, and carries out the financing, designing, and operating infrastructure, for a network of 25 airports in 13 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.
Currently, ADP and its group have no operations in India, and do not have any shareholding or investment interest in any entity that carries on business in India.
22/02/20 IANS/Sify

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DGCA asks airports to screen passengers from Japan, Korea

New Delhi: Not ready to take any chance in the wake of the spiraling cases of coronavirus across the countries, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asked airports and airlines on Friday that passengers arriving in flights from Japan and South Korea must be screened once they step out of aerobridges in order to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus infection.

 Till date, only passengers arriving from four countries -- China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore - were being screened for possible

exposure to the respiratory virus at 21 identified airports in India.

 The Indian Embassy in Japan said on Friday that a third Indian crew on board a cruise ship off the Japanese coast has tested positive for the novel coronavirus as authorities confirmed that total 218 people have been infected with the deadly virus on the quarantined ship.

 Two crew members, out of total 138 Indians on board the cruise ship Diamond Princess, were tested positive for the virus earlier.

 In a circular, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stated, "Universal screening of all the passengers coming in flights directly from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore besides the flights from China and Hong Kong shall be ensured immediately once they step out of the specific identified aerobridge."
 "It is advised to place the suitable signages at strategic locations at all the airports and getting the self-declaration form filled by the passengers as per the instructions of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare," it added.
15/02/20 Pioneer

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Air India Express to fly to Delhi, Doha, Abu Dhabi soon

Tiruchy: Air India Express (AIE) is expecting to make a profit of Rs 500 crore this financial year, according to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) K Shyam Sundar. He was speaking in Tiruchy while announcing new destinations for the airline from the city.

The Air India subsidiary on Thursday announced direct flights to Doha, Abu Dhabi and New Delhi from Tiruchy. “We are planning to start operations to Abu Dhabi, Doha and Delhi from March 28. In a week, we would have four flights to Abu Dhabi and three flights to Doha,” said the CEO.

Currently, AIE operates flights to Dubai, Sharjah and Singapore from the city.

Officials said the airline is getting good traffic with its existing operations from Tiruchy. Officials said the airline would have daily flights between New Delhi and Tiruchy via Madurai next month.

“We have four weekly non-stop flights between Delhi and Madurai. We have decided to extend the service of this flight to Tiruchy. Therefore, the Delhi-Tiruchy flight would be via Madurai,” said Sundar.
14/02/20 Jose K Joseph/New Indian Express

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Etihad to add flights to India as coronavirus outbreak leaves spare capacity

Etihad has started adding more flights from India as it looks to utilise the capacity which is lying idle due to temporary suspension of most of its operations to China due to coronavirus outbreak.

For now, the airline is increasing the frequency of flights from existing points of network like Trivandrum on a sporadic basis but has decided to add a second frequency to Trivandrum and a third frequency to Chennai for the entire month of May as it looks for "short-term" re-allocation of spare capacity.

"It is a fluid situation and changing every day. We have suspended some operations but we are still operating to Beijing. We are still seeing where we can operate those assets in short term," a senior executive at Etihad said.

While the airline hopes that the situation which has arisen due to the outbreak of deadly coronavirus be resolved soon, it may look at re-allocating some of the spare capacity on a long-term basis, officials said.

"We are not completely dependent on China. We have opportunities in Saudi Arabia, India, North America among others," a senior executive said.

The airline provides direct connectivity to Abu Dhabi from 10 Indian cities, namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram or Trivandrum.

"These additional services will be operated by Etihad Airways A320 and will add 158 seats to each route. As a result of these seasonal changes, Etihad Airways will operate 21 weekly flights to and from Chennai, and 14 weekly flights to and from Thiruvananthapuram during this period," the airline said. The airline will also replace a narrow-body with a wide-body on one of the flights from Chennai.

The airline, which has completed 15 years in India, is confident that it will be able to offer a better service to passengers travelling to the US with its pre-clearance immigration facility at Abu Dhabi airport terminal.
14/02/20 Anu Sharma/CNBC TV18

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How Air India scripted history with its Wuhan evacuation

A lot of preparation was involved in the Air India’s first-ever medical evacuation; 647 Indians were brought back from the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak
The flights to and from Wuhan in China evacuated Indians stranded there after the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic in the first medical evacuation for Air India in over 70 years of existence. This will probably also be the last evacuation while the Maharaja is still owned by the government.
Ashwini Phadnis writes why Air India flights 1348 and 1349 will go down in history >>

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Coronavirus: Around 13K flyers screened at Jaipur airport

Jaipur: A total of 12,992 passengers have been screened at Jaipur International Airport in the wake of coronavirus alert coming in from 84 international flights till Friday.

In a release by the Directorate Medical & Health Services, it was informed that screening of all passengers has been going on since January 28. Five doctors and 5 paramedical nurses have been deputed at the airport.

Samples of 80 patients were collected out of which all 80 have been found negative. Till date, no patient has been declared positive for coronavirus here, confirmed health officials.

Additional Chief Secretary medical and health, Rohit Kumar Singh issued directions to all health officials to remain sensitive about the issue.

He also asked officials to identify tourists who have been coming from China and get their thermal screening done.

A total of 239 patients were under observation after coming from China, out of them 26 have completed 28 days of surveillance, 3 passengers have gone back to China, 6 to Phillippines and 204 are under surveillance.
14/02/20 IANS/Outlook

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SpiceJet Bangkok-Delhi passenger tests negative for Coronavirus

Delhi: A passenger suspected of suffering from coronavirus on a SpiceJet Bangkok to Delhi flight on Thursday and quarantined on arrival, has tested negative for the same.
"The passenger travelling who had been suspected of being infected with Coronavirus on Bangkok to Delhi SpiceJet flight SG-88 on Thursday, has tested negative for the same. The test results came Friday," said a SpiceJet spokesperson.
The passenger was quarantined on arrival at Delhi Airport. The Boeing 737 (VT-SYE) was disinfected before being released for next flight.
The crew had been quarantined at their homes to keep a check on their health. Airport officials say all other passengers were screened and none of them was found to be sick. Hence they were allowed to go to the city.
14/02/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Coronavirus outbreak: SpiceJet to suspend Hong Kong flights from February 16 to 29

New Delhi: SpiceJet will finally discontinue its daily Delhi-Hong Kong flight from Saturday (February 16). Air India and IndiGo had suspended their flights to Hong Kong earlier this month due to coronavirus outbreak. SpiceJet crew was reportedly very unhappy with the airline’s decision to continue flying to Hong Kong. “SpiceJet has decided to temporarily suspend its daily Delhi-Hong Kong passenger flight from February 16 to 29, 2020,” said an airline spokesman.
After SpiceJet’s decision, no Indian carrier currently has flights to mainland China and Hong Kong. AI had earlier suspended its Delhi-Shanghai and Delhi-Hong Kong flights. Similarly, IndiGo has suspended its three dailies to China — Delhi-Chengdu, Bengaluru-Hong Kong and Kolkata-Guangzhou.
Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific has reduced flights between India and the special administrative region of China — from 49 weekly flights to 36 till March 29, 2020. The airline has significantly cut its overall schedule for next two months due to reduced travel demand following coronavirus epidemic and the India reduction is part of that. Among Chinese carriers, Shandong Airlines and Air China have suspended their flights to India. China Southern has reduced flights.
14/02/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Coronavirus: Inside story of Air India’s daring Wuhan evacuation!

An “eerie feeling” crept into him when the first flight was landing,  Captain Amitabh Singh recalled, as all the roads and buildings were well lit but it looked like a “dead city” as no human beings were around. Disinvestment-bound Air India might have done many evacuations before, but the Wuhan flights were the first of their kind in terms of evacuating people in a medical emergency.

Read how the AI flight crew conquered fear and succesfully completed the evacuation >>

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Wuhan evacuation flights: PM Modi appreciates Air India, health ministry officials

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appreciated the 'high level commitment to duty showcased by the officials of Air India and ministry of health who conducted evacuation operation of Indian citizens stranded in the Chinese city of Wuhan."
Modi has issued a letter of appreciation to the officials involved in the evacuation operations, said a government statement, adding that the letter would be handed over to the crew by the minister of state for civil aviation.
Air India had conducted an emergency evacuation operation from Wuhan city, which is the epicentre of the widely spreading novel coronavirus.
13/02/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Air tickets of seven Chinese paragliders cancelled

Aizawl: Seven Chinese nationals, who were scheduled to take part in a paragliding championship in Mizoram, could not make it to the event, in view of the curbs imposed by aviation regulator DGCA to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus.
C Lalhminghlua, the president of Mizoram Aero-Sports Association (MASA) -- which has organised the tournament-- told PTI that the Chinese nationals were among the 58 paraglisers registered for the championship.

An international airline has cancelled tickets issued to the gliders, in the wake of the aviation regulator''s ban on entry of Chinese nationals and foreigners who have been to the neighbouring country on or after January 15, he said.

The central government has also temporarily suspended the e-visa facility for Chinese passports holders.

Lalhminghlua said that the turnout at International Paragliding Accuracy Championship, which was inaugurated on Wednesday, was less than what was expected, with just 23 of the 58 participants attending the event.
13/03/20 PTI/Outlook

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Ready to help IAF on Tejas and AMCA projects: Lockheed Martin ahead of Trump's India visit

New Delhi: US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has offered to help India in its multi-billion-dollar programme to develop a next-generation advanced multi-role combat aircraft and boost capability of the Tejas fighter jet.

The offer by the US aerospace firm comes ahead of President Donald Trump's maiden visit to India on February 24-25 during which both strategic partners are expected to further expand defence and military cooperation.
Vivek Lall, vice president of Strategy and Business Development for Lockheed Martin, said the company is "very open" to assisting India in the further development of the Tejas combat jet as well as the ambitious next-generation aircraft.

"We are very open to any requirement from the government of India or the Indian Air Force for any help for the Tejas as well as the AMCA (advanced multi-role combat aircraft) project," Lall told PTI in an interview without divulging specifics.

The indigenously developed Tejas has been a showpiece project of India being implemented by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).

Both HAL and ADA are now focusing on an upgraded version of Tejas to make it a world-class plane.

India is also working on an ambitious USD 5 billion projects to develop a fifth-generation medium weight deep penetration fighter jet to significantly bolster its air power capability.
13/02/20 PTI/New Indian Express

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3 IndiGo pilots, crew members from China flight kept under surveillance in Kol

Mumbai: At least three IndiGo pilots and crew members who operated flights to Guangzhou in China recently have been kept under “home surveillance” in Kolkata for a few days.
One of them had flu, but has not tested positive for novel coronavirus and has been cleared by the Airport Health Organisation, the airline is known to have told the director-general of civil aviation.

According to sources, these crew members had operated the Guangzhou-Kolkata and Kolkata-Kochi flights that ferried three Kerala students from Wuhan. The students had tested positive for the virus after their arrival.

“IndiGo said that they have no positive case of coronavirus. The crew laid off from the China operation is on house rest,” said Arun Kumar, director-general of civil aviation.

An IndiGo spokesperson said, “We are following all prescribed APHO guidelines and taking preventive measures for our crew operating flights to regions affected by coronavirus. Currently, none of our crew has shown any symptom and they are under constant observation.”

On January 30, the Indian government issued a notification advising a 14-day home rest for people who had travelled to China after January 15.

Dr Pankaj Tyagi, aerospace medicine and alcohol testing domain expert said, “Just one positive case can infect the whole crew and passengers. The risk of cross infection increases because of the way breathalyser tests are carried out in India.”
13/02/20 Times of India

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12 notable airlines have gone out of business in the last 14 months — here's the full list

"2019 has seen the fastest growth in airline failure in history," airline consulting firm IBA told Reuters last October.
The year 2020 looks to be off to a similar start, with Tuesday's news that Air Italy will shutter less than two years after starting operations.
Here are the commercial airlines that have been forced to close their doors and fold up their wings >>

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‘Singapore’s Changi airport was empty!’

Indians travelling abroad are thronging the Gulf transit airports of Dubai, Doha and Kuwait, staying well clear of the South East Asian (SEA) transit hubs of Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand as well Hong Kong in East Asia due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This, in turn, has pushed up airfares to the US or Europe via Gulf airports by 15-20 per cent, whereas there are no takers for flights via these South East Asian airports and Hong Kong.

Vyjanthi Krishnan was supposed to travel from Chennai to New York via Singapore to visit her children in June but cancelled the ticket and instead booked via Dubai. This is the case with thousands of others. Even those who are planning to come to India have postponed their trips, said travel agents.

There are no takers to the US via transit centres in South East Asia (SEA) such as Singapore, Malaysia and Bangkok. Everybody is opting only through Gulf airports, said Shanmugapriya Thyagarajan, Joint Managing Director, Embassy Travel and Tours. “There are a large number of cancellations of flights to the US or Europe for travel in June, July and August via SEA transit airports,” she told BusinessLine.

“Changi airport was empty,” said Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of budget airline SpiceJet. He was in Singapore recently.

Such is the concern that a customer who had booked a flight to Sydney via Singapore, which is the most convenient transit travelling point from Chennai, cancelled the ticket and asked to be routed via Dubai, which is quite a round-about route, she added.

People are also avoiding travel due to hassles and delays in international airports due to screening for the virus. “There could be a 30-40 per cent decline in international traffic,” she added.
13/02/20 TE Raja Simhan/Business Line

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Will Another Carrier Replace Jet Airways’ Flights To Manchester?

Manchester was one of many routes that saw its direct connection to India disappear with Jet Airways’ collapse. Now, nearly a year after the collapse, no airline has added the route, so will any of them do so?
While, on paper, Manchester seems like just another major city in the UK, there is something unique about it. The city is serviced by airlines from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Singapore, the US, and many more. Manchester Airport is the third-largest in the UK by passenger traffic, and sees more international airlines than Gatwick.

The reason Manchester is such a popular destination is due to the demographics of the region. The Manchester region is home to the largest proportion of Asian-British anywhere in the UK, meaning there is frequent traffic in and out of many of these Asian countries to Manchester and surrounding cities. Seeing this, it is unsurprising why carriers like Biman Bangladesh and Pakistan International Airlines fly to the city year-round.
With high passenger traffic between the routes, peaking during the summertime, it is quite surprising that any Indian carrier has not picked up where Jet Airways left off.

As of now, there is only one carrier that could fly this route: Air India. This is because India has no other international, long-haul airline in the market. This means that Air India is the only chance that one has. However, Air India with its current financial situation and its long-haul fleet already tied up in other destinations means there is very little probability of this route coming anytime soon. Air India also doesn’t seem to have much appetite for the route, seeing that it just added a service to London Stansted last month.
All of this could change with the entry of Dreamliners into Vistara’s fleet this month. Vistara is currently negotiating for slots in London along with other international airports. If Vistara thinks there is enough demand, it may choose to deploy one of its six incoming 787s to fly this route. The route also has no competition currently, meaning that Vistara will have a virtual monopoly over this large market, this is compared to other cities like London which already see three airlines servicing it.
13/02/20 Syd Sharma/Simple Flying

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Etihad marks 15 years of flying in India, set to increase flight frequency

Etihad Airways is celebrating 15 years of flying in India. The UAE-based airline operates in 10 cities in India and has 161 flights a week.

India is a major market for the company and it is always looking at means to grow its footprint in the country, Neerja Bhatia, VP-Indian Subcontinent, Etihad Airways, told CNBC-TV18.

“Last year we got a wide body into Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore and added a fourth frequency in Mumbai. So, yes, we are looking at opportunities to close the gaps and we would be doing an extra flight to Trivandrum which would make our offering twice a day," she observed.

According to Bhatia, product differentiation and high-quality service are crucial to the airline's success.
13/03/20 CNBC TV18

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Five couples serve legal notice to GoAir seeking compensation for their monetary losses, 'harassment' after flight delay

Five couples, including a lawyer couple from Mumbai, who were on board the January 24 GoAir flight from Bengaluru-Phuket, which was delayed by eight hours after a mid-air turn back, on Wednesday sent a legal notice to the airline seeking compensation for their monetary losses, service deficiencies, and harassment.
 The notice, sent by Mumbai-based law firm Solicis Lex, on behalf of 13 passengers who travelled on that flight to Phuket, threatened to file civil and criminal proceedings against GoAir unless the airline gave them a refund and compensated them for inordinate delays and ruining their vacation.
 Among the 13 passengers were Hemal Kanani and Priyanka Rathi, who work with Solicis Lex. There were four other couples from Gujarat and three people from Bengaluru. GoAir flight G8 841 to Phuket had taken off in the early hours of January 24 from Kempegowda international airport in Bengaluru but had to return to Bengaluru due to a technical snag.
 “Around 5.15 am, we were given biscuits and flavoured milk as refreshments. Around 7 am, people started getting uneasy and shouted at the crew,” said Hemant Kanani.
 Around 8 am, the passengers were told that the duty hours of the pilots were over, and new crew would soon arrive to fly them.
 “Our flight was supposed to reach Phuket at 7.45 am, but we were still stuck at Bengaluru airport tarmac. The flight finally took off at 10.44 am Ahmedabad-based banker Bhavi Patel and his wife Gayatri were travelling with two other couples – Arjun and Chandni Patel and Niyati and Siddarth Patel.
“Arjun and Chandni were married just two days ago, and Gayatri and I were celebrating our first wedding anniversary. So, we had planned to give the newly married couple a party on landing in Phuket. But, due to mismanagement, we reached the hotel only in late evening of January 25,” said Patel from Ahmedabad.
13/02/20 Satish Nandagaonkar/Mumbai Mirror

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Expats elated over resumption of Air India service to Calicut from Sunday

Jeddah: Hundreds of thousands of Indian workers from the southern state of Kerala living in the western region of Saudi Arabia are delighted over the realization of their long-time demand for the resumption of direct flights of Air India, the national carrier, between Jeddah and Calicut. The flights will resume after a hiatus of nearly five years.

The Jumbo aircraft 747-400 with the capacity of 423 passengers will leave King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah at 11.15 p.m. on Sunday and will land at Calicut International Airport in Karipur on Monday morning. Hundreds of local people, led by K.M. Basheer, president of the Calicut-based Malabar Development Forum (MDF), will accord a rousing reception to the flight and the passengers.

Around two million Gulf expatriates from the northern Malabar region of Kerala use Calicut airport, which was the seventh busiest airport in India in terms of passenger traffic and is often touted as the gateway to Malabar. The airport was closed for wide-bodied aircraft since May 2015 for repair and recarpeting of the runway, forcing Air India, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Emirates to divert their flights to Kochi, 155 km away.

Air India and Saudia operated direct flights, using wide-bodied aircraft, between Jeddah and Calicut. Air India later started operating a connection service to Calicut via Mumbai.

The suspension of wide-bodied aircraft has affected hundreds of thousands of expatriates and their families living in the Gulf, especially in the western region of Saudi Arabia. The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which operates the airport, had undertaken a Rs1 billion overhaul of the extensively damaged tabletop runway.

After a long interval of 18 months, the airport was opened for round-the-clock service by the end of 2016 with a revised runway schedule, but services of large aircraft remained suspended. Among the airlines, Saudia grabbed the first opportunity to resume direct flight in December 2018 after the authorities gave the green signal following agitations and a legal battle to save the airport by the MDF and a number of mass organizations based in Kerala and their affiliated bodies in the Gulf.

Speaking to Saudi Gazette, R. Prabu Chandran, manager of Air India, western region of Saudi Arabia, expressed happiness over the decision to resume operation of the Jeddah-Calicut service.
13/02/20 Hassan Cheruppa/Saudi Gazette

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Growth in foreign tourist arrivals, earnings slowest in 10 years

Mumbai: Arrivals of overseas tourists in India and the country’s foreign exchange earnings from them grew at the slowest pace in a decade in 2019, government data showed.
 Tourism industry experts and airline executives attributed the slowdown to multiple factors, including street protests over the new citizenship law and elevated levels of pollution in northern India, including Delhi.
Several countries had issued travel advisories to their citizens over both issues. About 10.89 million foreign tourists visited India in 2019, an increase of 3.1% from the year before, the tourism ministry informed Parliament earlier this month, citing provisional data. The year before, arrivals grew 5.2%, while in 2017, the expansion was 14%, showed data from the tourism ministry and the Bureau of Immigration.
 Forex earnings from inbound tourists rose 8.2% to Rs 2.2 lakh crore in the past year. The growth was 9.6% in 2018 and 15% in 2017, according to figures from the ministry and the Reserve Bank of India. The government hasn’t made any assessment of the impact on tourism from agitations against the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA), minister of state for tourism Prahlad Singh Patel said in his reply to a query in the Lok Sabha on February 3. But travel industry experts said this was one of factors, especially towards the latter part of the year, that affected the plans of both leisure and business travellers.
“We saw a significant spurt in queries (from potential travellers) and we issued more advisories cautioning corporate travellers last year than we have done in the recent past,” said Neeraj Balani, the Indian managing director for International SOS, a global medical and travel security risk services company. It has clients from more than 1,000 cities in 90 countries. Without getting into specifics, Balani said global companies had cancelled meetings in India in the last few months of the year.
 13/02/20 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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American Airlines to offer new flights to India from an unlikely place: Seattle

American Airlines will become the first airline  to offer nonstop flights between the United States and Bangalore, India, in October, from an unlikely departure city.
American is adding the daily service to the southern India technology center not from Dallas, Chicago or one of its other big hubs, but from Seattle, where it has a small presence.
It's all part of an expanded partnership with Alaska Airlines announced Thursday, where the airlines will feed each other passengers and offer travelers reciprocal frequent flyer benefits to lure more passengers. Bangalore isn't the only new international flight planned from Seattle. American said it will offer nonstop service to London Heathrow beginning in March 2021.
Alaska, a mostly domestic airline with a loyal following in California and the Pacific Northwest, is based in Seattle. It's been battling American rival Delta Air Lines at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport since Delta established a hub there in 2014 and has aggressively added flights. Delta now considers Seattle its primary West Coast gateway to Asia, with nonstop flights to Japan, Korea and China, but none to India.
American's 16 hour, 20 minute flight from Seattle to Bangalore's Kempegowda International Airport will be Seattle's first nonstop flight to India and will mark American's return to the Asian nation after nearly a decade.
The carrier ended flights between Chicago and New Delhi in 2012. It will be American's second longest flight behind Dallas-Hong Kong at 17 hours, the airline said. Tickets go on sale in late February.

Seattle will be American's first international gateway in the United States outside of its hubs, and the expanded partnership reverses American's earlier decision to end key parts of its partnership with Alaska beginning next month.

"This is going to come as a bit of a surprise to the world,'' Vasu Raja, American's senior vice president of network strategy, said in an interview. "I'm not sure anyone has done anything like this.''

Why Bangalore instead of other destinations in India, such as New Delhi and Mumbai, which some of American's competitors already serve from other U.S. airports?

Raja said Bangalore is the the No. 1 destination the Dallas-based airline's top corporate customers have been requesting for more than two years. Big technology companies such as Dell and Texas Instruments and other large companies have a presence there, he said.
13/02/20 Dawn Gilbertson/USA Today

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If Pakistan Won’t Evacuate Its Citizens From Wuhan, India Should

India has efficiently and swiftly evacuated hundreds of its nationals from China due to the coronavirus outbreak that has already killed over 1,100 people there. Two special Air India flights evacuated 640 Indians and seven Maldivian nationals stranded in Wuhan — the epicenter of the coronavirus, now under a strict quarantine.
In contrast, the Pakistani government, in the words of Zafar Mirza, special assistant to the prime minister, has refused to evacuate its students “in the larger interest of the country, the region and the world.” Pakistan’s ambassador to China, Naghmana Hashmi, emphasized that China has better medical facilities to handle patients than Pakistan, which does not meet the required standards to treat such cases.
Shairee Malhotra writes why India should evacuate these Pakistani citizens too from Wuhan >>

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Coronavirus: Man Aboard Bangkok-Delhi Flight Isolated In Delhi; 3 Positive In Kolkata

New Delhi: A passenger aboard a SpiceJet flight from Bangkok to Delhi is suspected to have coronavirus and was quarantined after landing in Delhi on Thursday.

The passenger was seated on SpiceJet flight SG-88 operating between Bangkok and Delhi. He was seated on seat number 31F and was sitting alone in that row.
The suspected case of coronavirus has been quarantined by Airport Health Organisation (APHO), said a Spicejet spokesperson.

Two more passengers were tested positive for the novel coronavirus at Kolkata airport, confirmed Airports Authority of India. A total of three passengers were tested positive for the deadly virus in Kolkata as of now.

Both the passengers were admitted to Beliaghata ID Hospital, Kaushik Bhattacharjee, the Director of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport told PTI.

This came a day after two Indians tested positive on a cruise ship off the coast of Japan.

The Centre has advised screening of passengers at 21 airports, international seaports and border crossings across the country. According to the latest available official data, more than 1,700 flights and over 1.80 lakh passengers have been screened across airports so far.
Last week, a Chinese national was suspected to be infected after he fell ill onboard an Air India flight. Upon arrival at Pune airport, he was taken to a local hospital.
13/02/20 HW English

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SpiceJet crew quarantined after flying passenger suspected of coronavirus from Bangkok to Delhi

New Delhi: A person on board a SpiceJet flight from Bangkok to Delhi on Thursday was suspected of suffering from coronavirus, sparking infection fears. The passenger was quarantined on arrival at Delhi Airport.
The Boeing 737 (VT-SYE) was disinfected before being released for next flight. The crew has been quarantined at their homes to keep a check on their health. Airport officials say all other passengers were screened and none of them was found to be sick.
“On Thursday, a passenger travelling on SpiceJet flight SG-88 operating between Bangkok and Delhi was suspected of coronavirus infection. He was seated on seat number 31F and was the only passenger in that row. The said passenger was quarantined by Airport Health Organisation (APHO) after landing in Delhi,” said a SpiceJet Spokesperson.
13/02/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Vistara starts flights to Kathmandu

Vistara has added Kathmandu, Nepal as its fifth international destination. The Tata-SIA airline has started operations between New Delhi and Kathmandu, February 11 onwards.

The launch of this new service will enable passengersto have one-stop connections to and from other Indian cities including Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune, among others.

Vistara forayed into the international airspace in August 2019 with Singapore as its first destination, followed by Dubai, Bangkok, and Colombo.

Vinod Kannan, chief commercial officer, Vistara said, “We are very happy to inaugurate services to Nepal. Travellers to and from Nepal will now experience India’s only five-star airline that’s committed to making a mark with a world-class product and unparalleled service delivery.”
12/02/20 Sanchita Nambiar/Business Traveller

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London Gatwick Airport Wants More Indian Flights – Here’s Why

One of the main reasons Gatwick is courting Indian carriers is because of the opportunity for tremendous growth. Currently, the market has no Indian airline that flies to long-haul international destinations (barring Air India). This gap has long been filled by the big three Middle East airlines and some European carriers, further so after the fall of Jet Airways. All of this is poised to change in 2020.
Syd Sharma (Simple Flying) writes the other reasons too >>

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AI Express to resume Abu Dhabi flight from March

Trichy: Air India Express will resume its service to Abu Dhabi from Trichy international airport from the last week of March, after a gap of eight years, apart from launching new services to Doha, Delhi and Madurai.
With these new additions, the total number of international destinations from Trichy will increase to seven and number of services to 98( from 91). In terms of domestic services, it will increase to 70 from the existing 63.

It may be noted that among the tier-2 airports, Trichy airport connects all the major airports in UAE – Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, after Cochin and Ahmedabad airports, authorities said.

When contacted, a senior official from Air India Express at Trichy International Airport told TOI an official announcement will be issued within few days.

12/02/20 D Vincent Arockiaraj/Times of India

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GoAir plans to expand its global footprint; announces new daily flights to Doha

In a bid to strengthen its footing in West Asia, GoAir airline has announced direct flights between Doha and Mumbai starting March 19, 2020. The airline has made plans for daily operations of the new launches. GoAir will debut its presence in Qatar with the upcoming direct flights to capital Doha. Doha will be GoAir’s sixth destination in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries.
GoAir is owned by Wadia Group that has a strong presence in Indian markets with leading brands such as Britannia, Bombay Dyeing, Bombay Burmah, National Peroxide Limited,  old Bombay Realty and many others. GoAir is currently operational with more than 300 daily flights. The airline has earned passengers traffic of approximately 80 million since its entry into the Indian aviation market.
Currently, GoAir has its services available on  36 destinations including 27 domestic destinations such as  Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Kochi, Kolkata, Kannur, Leh, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Port Blair, Pune, Ranchi, Srinagar, Varanasi. The international destinations covered by GoAir are Phuket, Male, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuwait, and Dammam.
Managing Director of GoAir, Jeh Wadia said on the sideline of the launch  “With the introduction of flights to and from Doha, GoAir further consolidates its leadership position in the Gulf. I must share that our operations in the Gulf region have received an exceptional response and the launch of the Doha sector is in line with our aggressive growth plans. Qatar and India have always shared a special bond that is built on friendship, business and diplomacy. GoAir’s new flights to Doha will fulfil the aspirations of job seekers as well as business travellers to leverage Qatar’s burgeoning economy.”
11/02/20 Financial Express

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Air India Express starts Doha-Trichy service

Indian budget carrier Air India Express will launch a new service between Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Doha next month, it is learnt.
Starting on March 31, the service will operate thrice a week - on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, according to information available on the airline's website.
Flight IX 673 will depart Tiruchirappalli at 1.30am and arrive in Doha at 3.40am, while flight IX 674 will leave Doha at 4.40am and reach Tiruchirappalli at 11:55am, the schedule shows.
12/02/20 Gulf Times

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Air India’s humanitarian gesture wins hearts and jalebis

In the wake of fears of the Coronavirus, Air India has been lauded for sending two jumbo 747s to Wuhan, the epicentre of the epidemic in China. The airline evacuated more than 650 Indians from there in an operation described by the Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri as a “logistical nightmare”.

In a surprising and heart-warming gesture, a hotel in Chandigarh seems to have made special jalebis as a tribute for Air India’s humanitarian gesture. A post put out by an Air India pilot says that this special jalebi was made by Hotel Holiday Inn in Chandigarh “to laud all Air Indians who went beyond the call of duty to evacuate our countrymen from the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic. To fly into Wuhan, a city everyone wants to fly out of, risk own life to save Indians stranded there, is sublime display of courage”. A small gesture but nonetheless, enough to warm the cockles of one’s heart.

The Air India crew, five cockpit and 15 assigned to the cabin, did go through considerable risk and trouble to do the government’s bidding to evacuate Indians who were not infected. Besides, firming themselves up with complete protective gear–medicines, masks and overcoats–the first team also had five doctors, a paramedical staff, a team of engineers and security personnel. There was no interaction between the crew and passengers and no service took place. All food packets were kept in the seat pockets. The serious nature of the flight could be gauged from what the crew saw as the flight flew over Wuhan – empty streets and a deserted airport. This is not the first time the airline has done evacuations. Earlier, it had done so in Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait and Nepal, saving many lives in some of these war-torn countries.

And even as Twitter blamed private airlines for not doing their two-penny bit for the national cause, Sanjiv Kapoor, former chief commercial officer of Vistara tweeted: “Good job done by Air India. National carriers typically do this as they are taxpayer funded – Biman and Sri Lankan did it too for their citizens. Governments do have the right to charter aircraft from private airlines. In this case AI had the largest aircraft for the mission.”
11/02/20 Shobha John/India Legal

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Logistical nightmare: Indian envoy on evacuation of citizens from coronavirus-hit Wuhan

Beijing:  India's efforts to evacuate its citizens from the coronavirus-hit Hubei province and its capital Wuhan was a logistical nightmare since the entire operation had to be done in a region sealed from all sides, Indian Ambassador to China Vikram Misri said on Monday.

As the news of the outbreak began emerging in the middle of January, the Indian Embassy stepped up efforts to locate hundreds of Indians, mainly students, residing hundreds of kilometres apart in Hubei province and Wuhan - the epicentre of the virus outbreak, Misri said.

It was a logistical nightmare as data had to be collected about Indians stranded in the virus-hit areas while many left for home for the Chinese New Year holidays, he told PTI here.

India issued its first travel advisory on January 17 which was followed by more stringent measures including cancellation of visas for Chinese and foreigners travelled to China as the virus grew more virulent.

Misri said the embassy had to first locate the Indian citizens in Hubei province, establish contacts with them, receive their consent for a 14-day quarantine, followed by the most difficult part of the operation - to get approvals from China's central, provincial and local governments as the city and province were locked down from January 23.
10/02/20 PTI/New Indian Express

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Passengers shun Chinese carriers, Air India to benefit from traffic curbs

Air India’s (AI’s) non-stop flights to Canada and the US will get a fillip as the novel coronavirus (nCoV) outbreak curbs traffic flow via China and Hong Kong.
Over 5.4 million passengers flew between India and the US in the 12 months ended September 2019. Around 25 per cent of passengers flew non-stop between the two countries; the rest flew via hubs in Dubai, Doha, or Frankfurt.
Around 5.7 per cent of the India-US traffic and 8 per cent of the Delhi-US traffic travelled one stop via China and Hong Kong during the period. Hong Kong and China are popular transit hubs for Canada-bound passengers from Punjab because of low fares.
The suspension and curtailment of flights between India and China will help AI and other airlines increase their seat occupancy and market share, say travel agents and aviation experts. AI operates 36 flights per week to the US and Canada and earns around 12 per cent of its revenue from North American routes.
“We are seeing a shift in traffic flow from over the Pacific to over the Atlantic. About 10 per cent of bookings to the US and Canada via East Asia have been cancelled,” said Amey Amladi, chief operating officer of Akbar Group, one of the largest travel agencies in India.
“The main beneficiary will be Air India, followed by the Gulf and European airlines, which offer capacity and competitive fares — this being a lean season for travel,” he added.
“Before the outbreak of the nCoV, China Eastern Airline tickets to Toronto and Vancouver were selling like hot cakes — these were around 15-20 per cent cheaper than the rest. But now, customers are wary of Chinese carriers and are getting rebooked on Air Canada, Lufthansa, or other airlines,” said Amit Minglani, manager of Chandigarh-based Prompt Travels.
Four Chinese airlines operate flights to Delhi but following the virus outbreak, they are cutting down the flights. Air China and Shandong Airlines have suspended their India flights, while China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines have cut frequencies to Delhi.
11/02/20 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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UP couple stranded in Wuhan asks to be evacuated

Lucknow: An associate professor from Uttar Pradesh''s Etah district, who is stranded in Wuhan, has been requesting the Centre to immediately evacuate him and his wife along with 23 other Indians from the Chinese city which is the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The 35-year-old Ashish Yadav, who works at the Wuhan Textile University, and his wife Neha (30), currently pursuing a PhD in computer science, have been in touch with their families in Uttar Pradesh by sending them a video message almost daily.

A family member said: "Since Neha underwent a minor surgery in the last week of January, she was advised complete bed rest by doctors for a week. Therefore, they could not board the evacuation flight on the night of January 31."

There are 23 other Indian nationals in Wuhan, including students and working professionals. All of them are ready to pay the expenses to return home. They are regularly sending distress message to every possible authority for help, but there has been no response so far.

In a message to her family, Neha said: "We alerted the Indian embassy about our situation. Before the January 22 lockdown of Wuhan, we were told that since the coronavirus incubation period is just 14 days, the situation will normalise by first week of February. But the situation has now become critical.

"Just four days ago, the university authorities sent a team of 15 men, including policemen, doctors and nursing assistants, who inspected our health parameters, and warned us to get hospitalised if our body temperature rose above 37.5 degrees."
11/02/20 IANS/Outlook

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