India To Buy 2 More AWACS Worth Rs 5.7k Crore From Israel

New Delhi: India is finally close to approving the over $800 million (around Rs 5,700 crore) deal for two more “Phalcon” airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft from Israel, which comes soon after it inked a Rs 4,577 crore contract for air defence radars with the Jewish state.

Reinforcing Israel’s status as one of the top arms suppliers to India, the armed forces are also looking to induct additional “Heron” surveillance and armed drones as well as “Harop” killer unmanned aerial vehicles, which act as cruise missiles by exploding into enemy radars and other targets, from the country.
With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keen to visit India in mid-February, Tel Aviv is also pushing for a renewed deal for the “Spike” anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). This comes after India in late-2017 cancelled a proposed Rs 3,200 crore deal for 8,356 medium-range Spike missiles, 321 launchers and 15 simulators after DRDO said it could deliver a more technologically advanced man-portable ATGM within a couple of years, as was reported earlier by TOI.

In another mega contract worth an estimated Rs 12,640 crore, Israeli firm Elbit Systems is also competing with Nexter Systems of France for suppling India with 400 towed 155mm artillery gun systems, which is to be followed by another 1,180 such guns to be made in India.

But that is in the future. For now, India recently inked the Rs 4,577 crore deal with Israeli Aerospace Industries for 66 fire control radars, with maintenance transfer of technology. These 3-D surveillance and tracking radars will replace the aging Flycatcher radar systems present with the Army’s Air Defence Corps.

Then, IAF’s long-pending quest to induct two more AWACS, with Israeli Phalcon early-warning radar systems mounted on Russian Ilyushin-76 heavy-lift aircraft, is now being examined afresh by the finance ministry after being cleared by the defence ministry. “The Cabinet Committee on Security, of course, will have to give the final nod,” said a source.
31/01/19 Rajat Pandit/Times of India

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GoAir Connects Abu Dhabi

GoAir further expands its international footprint with the launch of direct flights on Kannur – Abu Dhabi – Kannur route effective March 01, 2019. Abu Dhabi will become the airline’s 4th international destination and 28th overall destination. GoAir recently announced the launch of its international operations out of Kannur to Muscat by the end of February.

GoAir will operate 04 direct flight services per week between Kannur – Abu Dhabi – Kannur and bookings are now open at an attractive all-inclusive one way fare starting from INR 6099. This sector will further strengthen the airline’s growing international network to the Gulf and travelers will now have the opportunity to experience affordable travel experience that GoAir is acknowledged with.

Speaking on the occasion, Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir said, “We are tremendously excited to be launching direct flight services to Abu Dhabi. Commercial and cultural links between India and UAE are flourishing and GoAir is committed to contribute in facilitating and enhancing the growth of trade and the strong demand for tourism. Kannur, an incredibly beautiful part of India, is now accessible from Abu Dhabi with direct flights and an affordable and convenient travel option.”
31/01/19 T3

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Rafale row: Rahul alleges PM Modi 'sold' IAF

New Delhi: Launching a fresh attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale jet deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday alleged that he "sold" the Indian Air Force and "stole" opportunities of the youth by giving away Rs 30,000 crore to his "friend" and businessman Anil Ambani.

The government, as well as Ambani, have strongly denied any wrongdoing in the Rafale deal.

Addressing the concluding session of the Youth Congress nationwide public outreach campaign 'Yuva Kranti Yatra', Gandhi said no one will be able to suppress the truth about the "Rafale scam" and it will come out finally.

"The entire country knows that Mr Modi stole opportunities of the youth to give Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani. No one can suppress the truth about Rafale, it will come out itself," he said.

"You have sold the Indian Air Force," he alleged, targeting Modi over the Rafale deal.

He said the prime minister spoke for one and a half hours in Parliament but when asked questions on Rafale, he could not look in the eye and kept looking elsewhere.

"The prime minister is trying to hide the truth," Gandhi also alleged.

"You (Modi) cannot sleep in the night. When you sleep, you see the picture of Anil Ambani, you see the picture of Rafale jet, you see the picture of IAF martyrs... this is happening due to the Congress and Youth Congress workers who have shown you the truth. The entire country knows that you have played with the future of the youth," he alleged.

Gandhi also said the Congress will not be on the backfoot and will instead play on the front foot. "Modi has to face the public in 2019," he said.

30/01/19 PTI/Times of India

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Air India resumes its services from New Delhi to Najaf in Iraq

Air India is resuming its services from New Delhi to the holy city of Najaf in Iraq after 25 years. Talking to AIR News, Indian Ambassador to Iraq Dr Pradeep Rajpurohit said, the services will commence from the 14th of next month, and it is initially being planned for twice a week. Najaf is a city some 160 kilometres from Baghdad. It is an important pilgrimage place considered sacred by Shia Muslims.
31/01/19 All India Radio

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Accused Deepak Talwar being probed in Air India case: ED

Lobbyist Deepak Talwar, who has been brought from Dubai along with the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case accused Rajiv Saxena, is being probed for his suspected role in the "irregular" seat sharing on Air India's profitable routes with three international airlines, according to agency sources.

"ED investigation has revealed that a company associated with Mr. Talwar allegedly received about Rs. 200 crore in a Singapore bank account. The transaction is said to be linked to bilateral agreements for seat sharing on Air India's profitable routes, which went in favour of Air Arabia, Emirates and Qatar airways, as alleged," said a senior official.
The seat sharing agreements allegedly caused huge losses to the national carrier.

The ED probe is based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in May 2017, following a Supreme Court directive to probe allegations of irregularities in Air India operations. However, Mr. Talwar is not named as an accused in the case.

The CBI had earlier registered an FIR naming Mr. Talwar and Advantage India, an NGO associated previously with him, for alleged violation of Foreign Contributions Regulation Act involving more than Rs.90 crore.

Mr. Talwar and Mr. Saxena were brought to India on board a special plane, which landed in Delhi in the early hours of Thursday. Subsequently, the ED took them into custody. They will be produced before a special court around 2.30 p.m.

A Non-Resident Indian, Mr. Saxena has been operating from the UAE for the past two decades.
According to the ED, Mr. Saxena was a beneficial owner of Interstellar Technologies Limited (Mauritius), a firm allegedly involved in the laundering of funds. It is alleged that AgustaWestland had paid more than 58 million euro as kickbacks through Tunisia-based Gordian Services Sarl and IDS Sarl.
31/01/19 Devesh K Pandey/The Hindu

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VVIP chopper scam: Another accused Rajiv Saxena extradited from Dubai to India

New Delhi: Rajiv Saxena, a co-accused in the Agusta Westland chopper corruption case, has been extradited from UAE to India, PTI quoted officials as saying on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, lawyers of Rajiv Saxena, Geeta Luthra and Prateek Yadav, told ANI that he was extradited illegally to India. In a statement to ANI, the lawyers said, “Rajiv Saxena was picked up by the UAE state security from his residence this morning at 9:30 am (UAE time) and illegally extradited to India around 5:30 pm (UAE time).” The lawyers further added, “There were no extradition proceedings started in the UAE and he was not allowed to access his family or lawyers or essential daily medicine. He was onboard onto a private jet from a private terminal at Dubai International Airport.”

India had also extradited Christian Michel, a British national and an alleged middleman, who is another accused in the Rs 36,000-crore corruption case from Dubai in December last year. Michel is currently in custody and undergoing a trial in the case.

Michel is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly organising bribes in exchange for a 2007 contract for the purchase of 12 luxury VVIP helicopters for use by top leaders, including the President, Prime Minister and former prime ministers. The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.
30/01/19 Indian Express

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Bigg Boss 12 contestant Karanvir Bohra detained in Moscow due to passport damage

New Delhi: Television actor Karanvir Bohra, who was last seen in Bigg Boss 12, has been detained in Moscow due to passport damage. The Naagin actor shared the news on Twitter and said that the Indian embassy in the capital of Russia is helping him resolve the matter.

Karanvir posted on Twitter, "So bummed... Waiting at Moscow airport because my passport is a little damaged. They are contemplating to deport me back to India. (Indian embassy in Moscow) I wished you would have told me that prior to issuing me the visa."

Soon, his tweet was noticed by the Indian embassy in Moscow as they replied through their official Twitter handle: "Embassy officials are in touch with Russian authorities regarding the issue." The actor flew to Moscow on Tuesday afternoon for the MacCoffee Bollywood Film Festival.
According to a source, the damage wasn't caught at the Indian airport. "Hence after Karanvir reached Moscow, it was noticed by the Russian immigration officials. While Karanvir has been at the airport for the last four hours, we hear that the Russian embassy, the Indian embassy and a lot of other people are working towards getting the issue sorted and having Karanvir enter the country and attend the festival he was originally there for," said the source.
30/01/19 India Today

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Record air traffic between Singapore and India in 2018

Singapore: With new connections, air traffic between Singapore and India, Changi’s sixth largest market, rose to 4.76 million in 2018.

Singapore is now linked to Northeast India via Guwahati, operated by Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines. The connection to Pune opens up a direct connection between Singapore and the second largest city in Maharashtra State, which is one of Changi’s top unserved points in India.

In a press statement on Wednesday, January 30, Changi Airport noted that the air link between Singapore and Amaravati’s Vijaywada Airport was also a significant milestone. It marked Singapore’s partnership with Andhra Pradesh to build the new capital city of Amaravati in Southeast India.
Overall, Changi Airport registered a strong performance in 2018, handling a record 65.6 million passenger movements, a 5.5 percent increase from the year before. December was once again the busiest month of the year, recording 6.13 million passenger movements, an increase of 4.5 percent.

 “2018 was another strong year for Changi Airport. We are pleased with the introduction of new city links, as well as the growth of long haul routes from Changi Airport,” said Mr Lim Ching Kiat, CAG’s Managing Director, Air Hub Development.

“Later this year, Jewel Changi Airport will open its doors to the world. With aviation facilities, retail offerings and play attractions, Jewel will augment Changi Airport’s status as an air hub. Terminal 1’s expansion will also be completed, increasing the airport’s handling the capacity to 85 million passengers per annum.”
30/01/19 Connected India

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Chinese man held at IGI airport with memory cards worth Rs 36 lakh

New Delhi: A 33-year-old Chinese man was arrested at the IGI Airport for smuggling 47,983 4GB and 8GB memory cards into the country concealed in a voltage regulator. The cards are worth over Rs 36 lakh.

A resident of Fujian, the man told the officials that he had wanted to sell these memory cards in Delhi markets. The accused admitted to have got a similar number of memory cards in his two earlier visits to India. “The value of the total smuggled goods comes to Rs 1.07 crore,” the official statement said.

On Sunday, another man coming from Riyadh via Muscat was allegedly found to be carrying six gold bars and gold granules, weighing 871 grams and having a market value of Rs 28.18 lakh. The gold was concealed inside an emergency light being carried by the passenger, official said, adding that the accused has been arrested.
30/01/19 Times of India

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British citizen airlifted from MIA

Mangaluru: British citizen Ann Maud Lewis Smith who was due to be airlifted back home in an air ambulance on Saturday, finally departed from Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) on Monday.
Efforts to airlift Ann, who had arrived in this coastal city on board a cruise ship 10 days ago and subsequently, fell sick, failed when the air ambulance that reached MIA hit a technical snag minutes before take-off on Saturday.
The alternative air ambulance arranged by Air India Sats reached MIA from Sharjah at 12.30am on Monday and took off at 1.45am, V V Rao, airport director, MIA said, adding as per the flight plan filed, the relief aircraft was scheduled to stop at Karachi for refuelling. The original air ambulance that was summoned to take Ann and her husband developed technical snag minutes before it was due to take off on Saturday and a replacement aircraft had to be called in.
29/01/18 TImes of India

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Airbus India reaps Indian talent for global projects

While Europe’s aerospace giant Airbus has had long standing relationship with India, the company is now looking at India as one of its major hubs for design and development and also talent sourcing.

Talking of the partnerships Europe and India have had as well as the present and upcoming endeavours, president and managing director, Airbus India , Anand E Stanely, tells Media India Group, “There is a partnership on multiple facets. We are moving onto space collaboration. There have been multiple satellite projects together, where we have exported the satellites, launched satellites, so it is a partnership.”

Through Airbus India, Indian presence in aeronautics has expanded to multiple European countries such as France, Germany, Spain, UK.  “And today it has evolved in a much more sophisticated way on two fronts- one is in terms of talent. We have always seen the training and the talent came in from Europe but today we are seeing the reverse also happening. Every year we are sending over 20 people from India – Airbus employees- to Europe, who are going and holding some fairly high skilled positions right from data scientists, to positions in Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things to machine learning,” Stanley tells us on the sidelines of the recently concluded Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gujarat.

“The main reason we are in India is because of the talent. We have 5,000 engineers in India who are doing design and development work.  The latest A330 neo aircraft was launched last year had majority of its design work done in India by Indian engineers,” he adds.

The second space that is holding Airbus in India is the digital arena,  where a lot of work is now being done in India and is being collaborated and coordinated all over the world.

“We are thinking of India as a base for Airbus and the collaboration really is fantastic,” says Stanley.
29/01/19 Surbhi Kapila/MiG

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Airfare in Kannur-Gulf sector comes down

GoAir has announced new direct flights to Muscat and Abu Dhabi from the Kannur International Airport from February 28 and March 1 respectively.

The announcement was posted on the website of the airline company on Tuesday.

As per the flight schedule released by the GoAir, it will operate direct services from Kannur to Abu Dhabi on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The fares start at Rs. 6,099.
The services from Abu Dhabi to Kannur are on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and the starting fare is Rs. 7,999.

From March 31 to October 26, the airline’s Abu Dhabi-Kannur services will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
GoAir will also operate services three days a week in the Kannur-Muscat route. The Kannur-Muscat flight services will be operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The opening fares start at Rs. 4,999. Its Muscat-Kannur services are on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The fares start at ₹5,299.
GoAir already operates domestic services from Kannur to Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.

With the announcement of GoAir’s flight services in the Abu Dhabi-Kannur and Muscat-Kannur routes, the fares saw steep decline which will be a relief for people from the region working in the Gulf countries.

The fares of the Air India Express in the Kannur-Abu Dhabi route reached as high as Rs. 30,000 forcing passengers from north Malabar region to opt for Kozhikode or Kochi airports.
29/01/19 The Hindu

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World's fastest growing airlines: Two Indian companies makes it to top 10

Thai Lion Air has emerged as the world's fastest growing airline in 2018, according to a research done by Routesonline. Two Indian companies have also made it to top 10 in a list that was formed after the route information provider used flight data from OAG to judge capacity for 2018 compared to 2017. All of the top 100 airlines had more than 1 million available seats every month during 2018. Here is the full list:
1. Thai Lion Air
Thai Lion Air, an associate company of Indonesia Lion Air, bagged 1st place. The airline was responsible for last year’s worst air disaster – grew its capacity by 40.7 per cent in 2018, carrying more than 13.5 million passengers during the year.
2. Vietjet
In second place was Vietjet, Vietnam’s second-largest airline, which grew capacity by 27.1 per cent with more than 20 million passengers.
3. Jet2
UK carrier Jet2, which carried more than 13 million passengers last year, had a capacity spike of 26.7 per cent in 2018, putting it in third place.
4. Go Air
4th place was grabbed by the Indian airline company, Go Air which increased its capacity in 2018 to 14,720,400 (24.7%).
5. Indigo Airlines
IndiGo airlines stood 5th, another Indian aviation company has increased its air capacity to 74,570,054 (24.3%) in the year 2018.
6. Spring Airlines
Spring Airlines remained 6th as it took a jump of 21.5 per cent in its capacity in 2018 to 22,518,540.
7. Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is the seventh with 2018 capacity increment to 54,574,295 (20.9%).
8. Citilink Indonesia
Citilink Indonesia bagged 8th place to increase its capacity in 2018 by 20.3 % at 18,255,600.
9. Eurowings
9th place was fetched by Eurowings, as it surged its 2018 capacity to 36,731,238 (18.5%).
10. Frontier Airlines
The last in the top 10 list was Frontier Airlines with over 18 per cent jump in capacity 2018 at 23,412,340.
28/01/19 ZeeBiz

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How Indians turned Dubai airport into the world's busiest airport in 2018

Dubai International Airport on Monday said it has retained its position as the world's busiest airport for the fifth consecutive year in a row in 2018 with Indian travellers emerging as the largest source of traffic for the airport which registered a record footfall of over 89 million.
Annual traffic at the major transit hub rose slightly to 89,15 million passengers, up just over 1.0 per cent on the number who used the airport in 2017, it said in a statement. Although the figure was a new record high, it missed on the 90.3 million passengers the Dubai airport had projected for 2018. "2018 was yet another remarkable year for Dubai Airports," said CEO Paul Griffiths.
According to the latest figures, a total of 89,149,387 travellers used the airport in 2018. India remained the biggest source of traffic for the airport, accounting for more than 12.2 million travellers. Most of them coming from the Indian cities of Mumbai, Delhi, and Cochin.
Saudis came second over 6.4 million passengers, overtaking travellers from the United Kingdom. About 6.3 million British nationals used the airport. 
It overtook the crown of the world's busiest hub for international travel from London's Heathrow in 2014. The airport also handled over 408,000 flights last year, about 0.3 per cent down from the previous year.
29/01/19 ZeeBiz

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Elderly Chinese couple among four arrested by customs for smuggling gold at Delhi airport

New Delhi: Four people, including an elderly Chinese couple, were arrested by the customs officials in separate cases for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold and memory cards worth lakhs of rupees at Delhi airport, according to an official statement issued Tuesday.
In the first case, a man was intercepted after his arrival from Hong Kong on Sunday.

A detailed personal and baggage search of the passenger resulted in the recovery of 47,983 assorted pieces of memory cards (of 4 GB and 8 GB) concealed inside a voltage regulator being carried by him, the customs department said in the statement.

The market value of the seized items is assessed to be Rs 35.9 lakh, it said.

During further enquiry, the accused admitted to have brought similar quantity of memory cards in his two earlier visits to India.

"Thus the total value of the total smuggled goods comes out to be Rs 1.07 crore," the statement said, adding that the passenger has been arrested.

Another man was stopped for checking by the customs officials after his arrival from Riyadh via Muscat on Sunday.

He was allegedly found to be carrying six gold bars and gold granules, weighing 871 grams and having a market value of Rs 28.18 lakh, the statement said.

The gold was concealed inside an emergency light being carried by the passenger, it said, adding that the accused has been arrested.

29/01/19 PTI/Times of India

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Indian charged with possessing child porn in Australia

Canberra: A 32-year-old Indian national has been charged in the Australian city of Perth after he was allegedly caught at an airport with two phones containing child pornography videos and other objectionable material, the media reported.

The unidentified man was due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday, 9News.com reported.
Australian Border Force (ABF) officers said they discovered the content on his mobile phones and other objectionable goods during a baggage search after he arrived at Perth Airport on a flight from Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. His phones were then seized and his visitor's visa was cancelled.
The man was later charged with one offence related to possessing child pornography and one of importing objectionable goods, the report said.
He appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Sunday and was remanded in custody to re-appear on Tuesday.

ABF Regional Commander for Western Australia Rod O'Donnell said they were concerned about the increasing number of visitors being found in possession of objectionable material.

"Visitors need to be aware that possession of objectionable material is viewed very seriously under the Australian law," he said.
29/01/19 Tribune

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11 return flights serving food stocked from India; will save Rs 49 crore annually: Air India official

New Delhi: Air India has started serving food stocked from India on 11 return flights from eight foreign cities, and it plans to save around Rs 49 crore annually through this measure, a senior official said Monday.
The 11 return flights are Copenhagen-Delhi, Stockholm-Delhi, Birmingham-Amritsar, Birmingham-Delhi, Vienna-Delhi, Madrid-Delhi, Singapore-Delhi, Singapore-Mumbai, Bangkok-Delhi, Bangkok-Mumbai and Shanghai-Delhi, the Air India official told PTI.
"When the aircraft departs from here (India), the food is stocked in chillers to keep it fresh. So, when the aircraft is returning from a foreign city to an Indian city, this food is served to customers," the official said, assuring that it remains "fresh and tasty".
"According to our estimates, we will be able to save Rs 48.97 crore annually on catering costs on these 11 return flights," the official said, adding that the national carrier is planning to replicate the measure on "all flights where it is feasible to do 'return catering'".
Air India spends around Rs 600 crore to Rs 800 crore annually on catering costs and it plans to cut down on this expenditure.
The official told PTI that according to the airline's estimates, it would be able to save Rs 17 crore per year through "return catering" on Stockholm-Delhi and Copenhagen-Delhi routes.
"Through 'return catering', we will be able to save Rs 19 crore on Singapore-Bombay and Singapore-Delhi flights. On Shanghai-Delhi flight, we will save Rs 1.94 crore per year. On Vienna to Delhi flight, we will save Rs 4.38 crore per year," the official said.
"On Birmingham-Delhi and Birmingham-Mumbai flights, we plan to save Rs 4.17 crore. On Bangkok-Delhi and Bangkok-Mumbai flights, around Rs 1.87 crore will be saved," he said.
However, on Madrid-Delhi flight, the airline is estimated to save only Rs 61 lakh annually through "return catering".
28/01/19 PTI/Economic Times

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Indian Air Force to acquire 15 HAROP killer drones from Israel

In a bid to enhance its unmanned warfare capability, the Indian Air Force is planning to acquire around 15 more HAROP attack drones which can crash into high-value enemy military targets to destroy them completely.

The Air Force already has an inventory of these drones which are equipped with electro-optical sensors to loiter over high-value military targets such as surveillance bases and radar stations before exploding them.

"A proposal to acquire these attack drones is expected to be discussed by the Defence Ministry at a high-level meeting in the coming week to strengthen the fleet of such drones in the Air Force," Defence sources told ANI.
Once approved, the Indian Air Force would be exercising the option clause in the previous deal signed a few years ago with Israel which is the main supplier of all types of drones to the Indian Air Force including the surveillance machines including the Searcher and the Heron.

India is also discussing the Project Cheetah with the Israelis under which almost all the drones of the three services would be turned into high-quality attack drones and their surveillance capabilities would also be enhanced.
28/01/19 ANI/DNA

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Bringing home the dead: Govt ties up with Air India for a ‘flat rate’

New Delhi: For many Indian families whose loved ones died in foreign shores, transporting the mortal remains was a harrowing experience — not only did it take time, it was also very expensive.

The challenge was acute in the Middle East, where the Indian population has grown to almost 80 lakh, with a majority being blue-collared workers. Official estimates show about 10 Indians die in this region on an average every day, mostly due to natural causes and in road accidents.

But with Indian community leaders raising the issue over the years, and after many rounds of discussions between the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air India, a solution has finally been arrived at.

The government has reached an understanding with Air India that a “flat rate” will be charged from families of the deceased.

To begin with, it has negotiated the rate for the six Gulf countries (see box), where the estimated Indian population is significant: UAE (33 lakh Indians), Saudi Arabia (27 lakh), Kuwait (9 lakh), Oman (8 lakh), Qatar (6.5 lakh) and Bahrain (3.5 lakh).

Officials said the “flat rate” — for Air India direct flights from earlier this month — is almost 40 per cent lower than the average cost of transfer of bodies from these countries. The transport of bodies of children — less than 12 years old — will cost half the flat rate, officials said.
28/01/19 Shubhajit Roy/Indian Express

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AirAsia India seeks permission from civil aviation ministry to start overseas flights; plans to target Southeast Asian countries

Budget carrier AirAsia India has reportedly sought official permission from the civil aviation ministry to start overseas flights as it has completed four-and-a-half years of operations in the domestic sector, a media report said.

The airline is reportedly targetting Southeast Asian countries in the beginning, The Economic Times said, citing an aviation ministry official.

The report added that the airline's application will be considered by the group of ministers (GoM) headed by the Union finance minister.

Airlines were earlier required to fly for at least five years on domestic routes before being allowed to fly internationally.

In December last year, AirAsia India had announced the induction of 20th aircraft in its fleet, making it eligible to fly on international routes.

Airlines can operate in overseas markets by having 20 aircraft in the fleet or 20 percent of total capacity (in terms of average number of seats on all departures put together), whichever is higher for local operations, according to the 2016 civil aviation policy.

The CBI had launched a probe against AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes, Tata Trust executive and AirAsia India non-executive director R Venkataramanan for allegedly lobbying the government for international flight permits and violating rules that prevent foreign airlines from controlling an Indian operator.
28/01/19 First Post

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We Expect To Add At Least Seven Aircrafts To Our Fleet In 2019: Giam Ming Toh, Deputy CEO, Nokscoot Airlines

“Recent research shows that Indian travellers had traditionally gone on vacation in family groups with the key decision-maker being between 35 and 55 years old. But over the years, the profile has changed and the average Indian travelling abroad now tends to be young, flying alone and holidaying,” said Giam Ming Toh, Deputy CEO, Nokscoot Airlines.

With this, international air traffic from India has grown six times over the last two decades – from approximately 1 million in 1997-98 to 6 million in 2017-18, and is poised to grow further. India is expected to become the world’s third largest air travel market by 2024 when it overtakes UK. 
With the passenger demanding more from the airline, Toh feels that the passengers recognize different options, more so than ever before. “Airlines need to offer not only competitive fares but comfort features and good experience both on the ground and in the air,” he said. “At NokScoot, we deploy the spacious wide body jet that most full service airlines are using but at lower fare and with Thai hospitality onboard. NokScoot puts fun into budget travel. We offer a value choice to passengers with our fun and friendly culture. NokScoot always give choices. Passengers can tailor their travel to suit personal preferences, partaking of only those elements they want and not subsidizing the choices of others. Meals, preferred seats and excess baggage amongst many other items, will all be available for selection.”

Currently, NokScoot can accommodate a total of 3,320 incoming and outgoing passengers a week.  Subject to market demand and regulatory approval, the airline plans to ramp up frequencies on the Delhi service and plans are afoot to introduce one more route from India to Bangkok which will be announced in due course.

“NokScoot is a Thailand-registered carrier and a joint venture between Thailand’s low-cost carrier (LCC) Nok Air and Singapore Airlines budget subsidiary Scoot. Decisions to deploy aircraft are our own. Currently, we consider the B777-200 the right fit for our Delhi operation, though there are plans for NokScoot to add smaller B737-800 narrow-body jets which will allow us to serve a greater number of routes,” he said.
Speaking about the USP of the airline, Toh explained, “NokScoot is the Thailand-registered LCC operating B777-200 wide-body jets non-stop between Bangkok and It Nanjing, Qingdao, Shenyang, Tianjin and, X’ian in China, Taipei in Taiwan, Tokyo and Osaka in Japan and Delhi the newest route to debut on December 18 in India. B777-200 is spacious, offering more legroom, wider seats, efficient and pleasant in-flight services. We offer an unbundled product that allows the passenger to pay only for the services they wish to enjoy. Passengers can tailor their experience to their needs. Furthermore, we provide easy connectivity to Thai domestic routes operated by Nok Air.”

With India’s outbound MICE traffic being one of the fastest growing segments, Thailand is high on the region’s list of MICE destinations because it offers elements conducive to successful MICE and the opportunities to combine with leisure activities. The Kingdom has had extensive MICE facilities, supporting services, accommodations of various classes and types to easily fit one’s budget, great shopping, restaurants and globally-known street food, while Indian meals can be easily located in the city.
28/01/19  Vaishali Dar/Business World

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Oman ground handling signs three agreements with international airlines

Muscat: Oman Ground Handling company last week signed three agreements to provide services to three international airlines.
The agreements with Swiss International Airlines, Turkish Cargo and GoAir were signed at the Sundus Rotana Muscat.
Providing distinctive services for ground handling and continuous developments in terms of excellence and efficiency in the services provided, was the main reason for Oman Ground Handling for obtaining the tenders offered by the airlines.
Swiss International Airlines operates seven flights a week from Zurich to Muscat. Turkish Cargo recently started operating air cargo flights twice a week from Istanbul to Muscat. GoAir is a low-cost carrier based in Mumbai, India. Its operations will begin in Muscat on February 1. It will operate seven flights a week from Kannur International Airport in Kerala to Muscat International Airport.
28/01/19 Muscat Daily

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CISF detects 1 Kg gold bar at IGI Airport New Delhi

New Delhi: The Central Industrial Security Force on Saturday detected one Kg gold bar from a foreigner at Indira Gandhi International airport, Delhi, an official statement said here on Monday.
According to CISF, around 0600 hrs on January 26 at security hold area of Terminal-1, a CISF personnel detected one Kg gold bar from the hand bag of a Chinese passenger who was later identified as Ms Li Meng.
Ms Meng was supposed to travel to Dehradun with her co-passenger Rong Feng by Spice Jet
flight.
28/01/19 UNI

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Mehul Choksi not being sent to India, says Antiguan PM's chief of staff

Antigua and Barbuda have put to rest the speculation that India is sending a special long-haul flight to the Carribean islands to bring back fugitive Mehul Choksi.

In an exclusive telephonic conversation with India Today from St. John's, Lionel "Max" Hurst, Chief of Staff in Prime Minister Gaston Browne's office, said that his government is unaware of any Indian officials flying to Antigua and Barbuda for Mehul Choksi.

Emphasising that Choksi now is an Antiguan citizen, Hurst said, "Our understanding is that Mr Choksi has surrendered his Indian citizenship and as a consequence, he may no longer be a citizen of India. Hence, Antigua and Barbuda could not deprive him of his citizenship because he would then become a stateless person and we would not be allowed to do that."
According to some media reports on Saturday, Indian agencies had commissioned a long-range Air India Boeing to bring back fraudsters Mehul Choksi and Jatin Mehta who have found safe havens in Antigua and Barbuda and Kitts and Nevis, respectively. According to these reports, officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) were to fly non-stop to the Carribeans to bring back the absconders.
While there is still no clarity on the case of Jatin Mehta, Mehul Choksi had early this week surrendered his Indian passport to the Indian High Commission in Guyana. He has also challenged the matter of his extradition request by India in the Antiguan courts.
Lionel Hurst said that since the matter lies with the courts, it is now a decision that is out of the ambit of the "political directorate". He added that the decision could take a long time since Choksi has the right to appeal any adverse decision against him in the higher courts.
27/01/19 Geeta Mohan/Business Today

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Mehul’s lawyer says he is not being extradited

The lawyer of absconding businessman Mehul Choksi, who is an accused in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, has told The Sunday Guardian that no process to extradite him to India has begun.

Speaking to The Sunday Guardian from Antigua and Barbuda on Saturday evening, David Dorsett, Choski’s lawyer, termed the news of his client’s extradition as “incorrect”.

“This is incorrect. No extradition proceedings have begun as far as I am aware. Mr Choksi has challenged the constitutionality of certain sections of the Extradition Act and the matter is still going on in the court,” Dorsett said.

Earlier this week, Choksi had surrendered his Indian passport to the Indian High Commission in Guyana, following which the government had stated that it was pursuing his extradition from Antigua and Barbuda through diplomatic and legal channels.

Quoting government sources, Indian media on Saturday had reported that Indian agencies had commissioned a long-range Air India Boeing to bring back Choksi. According to these reports, officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) were flying to bring back the absconder from the Caribbean country. No “absconder” was named in these reports.
In July last year, the Antiguan authorities had confirmed that Choksi was residing in the Caribbean islands and that he had obtained his Antiguan citizenship in November 2017, months before the PNB scandal broke out. Choksi had fled India in January 2018.
26/01/19 Abhinandan Mishra/Sunday Guardian Live

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Jet Airways launches huge sale on flights from Dubai

Jet Airways has launched a huge sale on flights, with discounts of up to 50 percent available.

The Indian airline is offering fares from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to destinations including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Singapore.

Both economy and premiere classes are included in the sale, if you fancy a bit of an upgrade.

Offers are available from now until Wednesday January 30, so you'll need to be quick to get hold of discounted seats.

The sale is available via all booking channels and includes codeshare partners such as Air France and KLM on routes from India.

There are also discounts on excess baggage fees of up to 20 percent when tickets are booked via the airline's website and mobile app.

Meanwhile, another Indian airline has revealed plans for new services from Sharjah to the city of Surat, with fares set to drop.

The route is the first international service to Surat International Airport and it's set to start on Saturday February 16.

Flight prices to Surat start from Dhs529 (single trip), and you can book your ticket right now by visiting airindiaexpress.in.
27/01/19 Scott Campbell/Timeout Dubai

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Indian tourist flow to Singapore to surge in coming yrs: One Faber Group

New Delhi: Singapore can expect a rise in tourist arrivals from India with the Indian government focussing on improving airport infrastructure in tier II cities, which will lead to increased flight frequencies between the two nations, said One Faber Group.

The Singapore-based lifestyle services brand expects a huge influx of tourists from India, particularly millennials interested in leisure travel.

"More airports mean more opportunities to target weekend travellers to regional countries. With India's plans to invest in the building of 100 airports over the next 10-15 years, the India tourism market is expected to grow exponentially, especially with the millennial market," Mount Faber Leisure Group Director (Sales and Business Development) Patrick Lee told PTI.

He also added that now airlines are also increasing flight frequencies from India to Singapore to offer seamless connectivity from various airports.
India's tourist arrivals to Singapore is growing from strength to strength. We hope to see rapid an increase in Indians visiting Singapore. We are exploring opportunities to deepen trade engagement in tier II cities with key India travel agents, Lee added.
27/01/19 PTI/Business Standard

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Long-range Air India plane to bring back Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi: report

Top government officials have confirmed that the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre is moving ahead at a quick pace with its plan to bring back economic offenders from the West Indies.

The officials told IANS that the government has commissioned a long-range Air India Boeing plane to carry out this important mission. Sources said that senior officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will take off from India to the West Indies with an aim to bring these fugitives back to India.

It is to be noted that fugitive billionaire businessman Mehul Choksi and promoter of Winsome Diamonds, Jatin Mehta, have made use of a paid citizenship programme provided by some Caribbean nations in order to escape facing law in India.

Jatin Mehta acquired the citizenship of St Kitts and Nevis some years ago, while Mehul Choksi recently managed to get citizenship of Antigua and Barbuada. It is to be noted that these islands provide visa-free travel to 132 countries.

According to investigators, Indian economic offenders are now easily acquiring the citizenship of Caribbean nations through investment. The investigators rued the fact that lack of extradition treaties with these island nations have made these places a safe haven for fugitive rich Indians.
It is learnt that the main targets of this mission are Choksi and his fraud-accused nephew Nirav Modi. Indian agencies may pick up Choksi from the Caribbean and it is likley that Nirav Modi, who is currently hiding in Europe, would be sequestered on the return route from Europe.
26/01/19 Zee News

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Etihad hires turnaround expert Alvarez & Marsal as it weighs Jet Airways bailout

New Delhi/Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways has appointed turnaround specialist Alvarez & Marsal to conduct due diligence on Jet Airways Ltd as it weighs bailing out the cash-strapped Indian carrier, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Executives from Alvarez & Marsal are camped in Jet Airways' offices in Mumbai and are taking stock of the airline's operations and looking into its financial health and records, one of the sources said.
Executives from Alvarez & Marsal are camped in Jet Airways' offices in Mumbai and are taking stock of the airline's operations and looking into its financial health and records, one of the sources said.
An Etihad spokeswoman declined to comment. Alvarez & Marsal and Jet Airways did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
25/01/19 Aditi Shah/Stanley Carvalho/Channel NewsAsia

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Soaring through global skies

The year 2018 was a fantastic year for SpiceJet, India's favourite low-cost carrier. It marked remarkable achievements and excellence for the brand. Throughout the year, SpiceJet maintained great on-time performance, had one of the lowest cancellation rates and registered a passenger load factor (occupancy) of over 90 per cent. To be specific, for 44 consecutive months the load has been highest in the country, which is a record of sorts.

Heading towards expansion in a big way, SpiceJet inducted 10 of Boeing's newest and most-advanced 737 MAX8 aircraft, in addition to five of the new 90-seater Q400's and two freighters. The airline flew to eight new destinations and opened another nine routes under UDAN or the regional connectivity scheme flying more than 19 million passengers in the calendar year. In fact, between October and December 2018 alone, there has been an addition of 16 brand new planes which equals to 30 per cent expansion of the fleet.

The brand also achieved one of the biggest projects in the history of Indian aviation. SpiceJet launched a dedicated air cargo service, the first by any Indian carrier. The intent behind the same is to offer world-class cargo service to industry majors in India. SpiceJet also pioneered several unique initiatives like operating India's first-ever BioJet fuel-powered flight, thereby paving the way to reduce the carbon footprint of the country.

The expansion also involved launching new routes, both Indian and international alike, and SpiceJet did not disappoint its patrons on this front. The brand introduced several new routes, including five direct flights to the temple town of Shirdi, one of India's holiest destinations. Further, special daily flights would be operated during the Maha Kumbh Mela between Prayagraj (Allahabad) and New Delhi with a host of other new non-stop flights and frequencies connecting to Ahmedabad, Bagdogra and Goa. Among international destinations, Hong Kong has been recently introduced with several other key routes in the pipeline.
26/01/19 Khaleej Times

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Chicago-bound Air India plane makes emergency landing in Kazakhstan

Yerevan: An Air India Boeing 777 carrying 341 passengers and 19 crew members route from New Delhi to Chicago made an emergency landing in Astana, Kazakhstan as one of the passenger’s fell severely ill, Kazakh aviation authorities said.

According to local authorities, the passenger is a woman who suffered an asthma attack. She was hospitalized in Astana and the plane resumed its route.
26/01/19 Armen Press

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India likely to get 70 percent stake to airlift Mattala

Sri Lanka is to give India 70 percent of the stake in the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) in a move that appears to strike a balance with the Hambantota Port being given to China. In terms of a Cabinet Paper now being prepared for approval, the new deal is to be a joint venture between the Airport and Aviation Services of Sri Lanka (AASL) Ltd and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

The draft Cabinet Paper is still undergoing changes based on discussions between the two sides, sources said. There are no moves to call for fresh bids for the management of MRIA and talks are going on, as the Sri Lankan Government prefers a joint venture with India. “India is a single investor and would possess the required expertise to revamp the now virtually dead airport,” said one aviation source.

India remains on board but will not settle for anything less than a 70 percent stake owing to the burden of managing a loss-making airport.
“Given the fact that Mattala has been a loss-making project from the beginning, it would actually be safer for Sri Lanka to settle for a 30 percent stake in the joint venture rather than going for the traditional 51:49 split,” the source said. “That way, we will be absorbing a smaller portion of the losses.”
27/01/19 Abdullah Shahnawaz/Sunday Times

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China reacts cautiously to Indian Navy's new air base in Andamans

Beijing: The Chinese military has reacted guardedly to the Indian Navy's move to launch a new air base in the strategically located Andaman and Nicobar islands, saying the area is part of India and it is a normal move by it to establish a military base there.

The Indian Navy on Thursday commissioned the new air base -- INS Kohassa -- in the Andaman and Nicobar islands as part of efforts to expand operational presence in the Indian Ocean where China has been increasing its military presence.

The Indian Navy has been bolstering its presence in the Indian Ocean in view of China regularly sending warships and submarines to the region.

Referring to the launch of the Indian naval base, a report in official Chinese military website said on Friday that some foreign media are provoking the situation, saying India intends to "confront China".

Ding Hao, deputy director of the Asian-African Military Affairs Office of the Foreign Military Studies Department under the Chinese People's Liberation Army's (PLA's) Academy of Military Sciences, said the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are overseas territories of Dominion of India and that it is a normal move for the Indian military to establish military bases there.
25/01/19 PTI/Business Standard

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For domestic airlines to expand overseas, Indian middle class must spread its wings

As Spicejet and IndiGo launched flights to Hong Kong from New Delhi and Bengaluru respectively, it heralded into a new era of medium-long haul operations for the low-cost carriers, aided by the newly inducted B737MAX8 and A320/A321 neo aircraft in their respective fleet.

News quickly followed of IndiGo signing up a codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines and planning for flights to Istanbul. Airlines in India are seeing steady offers for codeshare or interline partnerships by airlines around the world as everybody tries to have a pie of the world’s fastest growing aviation market.

A solid increase in outbound traffic, burgeoning middle class, growing income and millennial population eager to travel – the recipe is set for increase in travel from India. Traditionally, Indian carriers relied on eyeing a slice of the pie from the labor centric traffic from the gulf, primarily to the southern states of India and holiday and business traffic to South East Asia – primarily Thailand and Singapore. However, the headwinds for growth in Gulf, coupled with increased competition has made airlines look for options beyond the traditional markets.

With a large orderbook of planes, airlines must keep finding places where they can serve and serve profitably. And this is where every airline wants to take a leaf out of airlines from ASEAN. Last decade has seen airlines in ASEAN grow at breakneck speed. The low-cost carriers from ASEAN have thrived with tourists pouring in from China, Japan and South Korea. The steady rise of low cost carriers in the region led by Lion Air in Indonesia and AirAsia in Malaysia along with their subsidiaries and VietJet in Vietnam is a result of liberal visa policies and geographic location being within few hours flight-time of major markets be it China, Japan or South Korea. In addition to these, ASEAN has visa free travel pact amongst themselves, fueling demand for travel at short notice without additional expenditure towards visas. Carriers from ASEAN have successfully linked their hubs with traffic from China to Indonesia and India to Australia through their hubs at Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Jakarta.
The World Heritage sites in peninsular India lack infrastructure to handle direct flights from foreign shores and the golden triangle of Delhi – Agra – Jaipur sees seasonal traffic and concerns of pollution has not helped the cause. Kerala has seen worst floods in decades which has led to a setback leaving Goa as the only destination – which also has seen lackluster growth and is not comparable to destinations in ASEAN. There is limited traffic between the gulf and ASEAN states, limiting options for carriers in India to offer an effective hub linking the west with the east. For Indian carriers – the challenges are multi-fold.
The Henley Passport index ranked India at 79th position, while Japan is ranked first and South Korea joint second with Singapore. Japanese passport holders have visa free / visa on arrival access to 190 countries compared to 61 countries for Indian passport holders. Of these, not many are within the range of a narrow-body aircraft and those which are may not support regular flights. While India is constrained by a not-so-liberal bilateral agreement for frequency or seats, the Indian carriers are now coming of age to utilize their quota, which was traditionally only utilized by the foreign carriers.
25/01/18 CNBC TV18

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The Fight For Jet Airways

The crisis at Jet Airways, India's second largest private airline, has worsened into a face-off between Naresh Goyal, the airline's chairman, who owns a 51 per cent stake, and Etihad Airways, which owns 24 per cent. As the lenders, led by the State Bank of India (SBI), huddle to rescue Jet, which owes them Rs 8,000 crore, Goyal and Etihad's demands have confounded them. Etihad, the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, reportedly wants a complete exit of the Goyal family from Jet Airways.

Etihad CEO Tony Douglas also expressed concern about the imminent risk of Jet Airways being grounded due to delayed payments to its lessors-GE Capital Aviation Services, SMBC Aviation Capital and Jackson Square-from whom the airline leases aircraft. "Further, the business is unable to fund continuing operations from the end of this week, without immediate and substantial additional funding," Douglas wrote in a letter to Jet's lenders last week. Goyal has made a counter-proposal, offering to invest Rs 700 crore in the airline to pare some of its debt, on the condition that he be allowed to retain a 25 per cent stake.

Jet, meanwhile, has said that the company is working on various cost-cutting measures, debt reduction and funding options, infusion of capital and monetisation of assets. It also said that the SBI, in consultation with other members of the consortium, has been working on a "comprehensive resolution plan towards a turnaround of the company." Reports say the lenders have proposed a $900 million (around Rs 6,390 crore) resolution plan, comprising fresh equity infusion and restructuring of $450 million (around Rs 3,195 crore) of the airline's loans. However, this will leave Goyal with a considerably reduced stake. As options run out, he may ultimately have to agree to a reduced share.

For the July-September quarter of the present fiscal, Jet reported its third quarterly loss of Rs 1,292 crore, on account of high fuel costs, an appreciated rupee and price competition.
25/01/19 MG Arun/India Today

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The IndiGo juggernaut goes international

IndiGo has been perhaps the most important success story of current times in Indian aviation. While I don’t travel with them much because I still like my full-service airlines, I’ve been always in awe of them, given I’ve been interested in airlines and aviation since over 15 years now, and I’ve seen a couple of airlines such as Air Deccan and SpiceJet brought to their knees in this particular brand of aviation called no-frills carriers.

But combine big dreams with nice accounting and the ability to place big aircraft orders, and it will give you another story. IndiGo is that story. IndiGo, along with all of these traits, also has had a flawless execution of a business model where they induct planes with clockwork precision, establish their domination in any station they go to, and take a winner takes all approach by keeping airfares low, which either forced their peer group to engage in a fare war and bleed, or just pack up and leave, leaving the market to IndiGo. At the back of this approach is the ability to keep costs low as well, which comes together because they are a new-age airline and familiar with the new way of doing business while keeping cost low.

But there was a limit to flying all the popular routes, so last year, they changed track and started to open new virgin routes, many a times between tier 2 and tier 3 cities, such as Bangalore and Gorakhpur which was an unserved sector, chipping away market share from the other carriers.

IndiGo started flying abroad a few years ago. They flew to all the places Indians love flying to, such as Dubai, Bangkok and the works. The airline has over 200 aircraft in its fleet now, and has also launched a slew of flights to the Middle-East from various tier-2 cities such as Ahmedabad and the new Kannur airport, giving them direct connectivity, and hence compensating for some of the discomfort of flying no-frills by cutting the time and money required to fly via hub airports. And for the airline, they haven’t even put the pedal on the gas yet. As per the management statements, the airline will deploy 30 percent of its new capacity added over the current quarter (Jan-Mar 2019) to international flights.
25/01/19 CNBC TV18

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SBI, Etihad in co-branded card deal

Mumbai: SBI’s cards arm has partnered Etihad Airways in a bid to acquire customers of the UAE-based carrier. The partnership comes at a time when Etihad is in talks with Jet Airways to play a larger role.
The co-branded card will offer discounts of 8% and 10% on business and economy tickets, as an inaugural offer. After April, the discount on the business class ticket will continue but will reduce to 3% on economy tickets. Cardholders will also get a free international companion round ticket on annual spends of Rs 8 lakh. The card has two variants — Etihad Guest SBI and Etihad Guest Premier.Speaking to TOI, SBI Card MD and CEO Hardayal Prasad said, “We do not know what Etihad will do within India but as far as UAE traffic is concerned, they already have 20% market share. If everything falls in place, they have been always working together (with Jet), it will only go up,” said Prasad. He said that 41% of India’s direct international travel is to the Middle-East and the travel spends by Indian spenders has been going up in Abu Dhabi.

SBI Card has several co-branded cards, including one with Air India. Among full-service airlines, Jet Airways currently has a co-branded card with Citibank, while Vistara has partnered with Axis Bank. Co-branded airline cards are popular because of the interoperable rewards and air miles and add-ons, like free lounge-access. Travel is a key spend category for Indian consumers, with 33% of overall card spends in the SBI Card portfolio made within the travel industry.

“India is a key strategic market for Etihad Airways. With increased travel from our guests to USA, we believe this card also strengthens our existing travel benefits including — the US pre-clearance,” said Etihad Airways VP Commercial Partnerships, Yasser Al Yousuf.
25/01/19 Times of India

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4kg gold in washbasin of flight from Dubai

Pune: Innovation is the name of the game when it comes to — the more ingenious the method, the better.

Till recently, converting gold into paste, powder or liquid form and even hiding it inside armrests of aircraft seats or underneath life jackets was the preferred way to bring the shiny metal illegally into the country from abroad.

But now gold ‘carriers’ have hit upon a novel way to smuggle in the ingot — concealed inside aircraft washbasin.

On Thursday, Pune officials recovered 4kg gold bars, worth Rs 1.29 crore, hidden inside the washbasin of the rear toilet of .

The haul is one of the biggest by Pune customs in recent years and the first this year so far. Officials said the gold bars were covered with black adhesive tapes.

“The space underneath the aircraft washbasin is covered but can be opened. The person who concealed the gold knew how to open the cover and close it again. There have been several instances of gold being recovered from this particular flight, hence we were alert,” an official told TOI.

“It is known to all that the SpiceJet flight from Dubai turns into a domestic flight after it lands here and proceeds towards its onward journey to Bengaluru,” the official said. This makes the job of the ‘carrier’ easier.

The modus operandi involves hiding the gold at a specific spot on the flight and then informing an associate who takes the same flight to Bengaluru, collects it during the course of the flight and exits the Bengaluru airport. No customs checks are carried out on domestic routes, the official pointed out.

“While no person has been arrested yet, we suspect that the gold was meant for someone else. We had earlier investigated cases of gold being recovered from the aircraft but no connivance of the airline staff had come to fore,” the official said, adding that the bars were marked.
24/01/19 StandardRecorder

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Pakistan blocking Indian cargo to Afghanistan

In what appears to be a violation of civil aviation norms, Pakistan is reportedly stopping Indian flights to Afghanistan. Recently, Pakistan's civil aviation authority denied passage thrice in the last week of December to SpiceJet cargo flights to Afghanistan and then again on January 11 and 14.

India raised the matter with Islamabad with Ministry of External Affairs sending a note verbale to Pakistan.

The development comes even as New Delhi has been trying to connect landlocked Afghanistan with India and rest of the world.

Pakistan has been blocking the land route for trade between Afghanistan and India.

The India Afghanistan air corridor, launched in 2017, connects Afghanistan with Delhi and Mumbai. The Chabahar port being built in Iran with India's help also provides Afghanistan goods gateway to the world.
24/01/19 Sidhant Sibal/DNA

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Air India Express to start first direct Sharjah-Surat flight service from Feb 16

Air India Express will launch its first direct flight service from Surat to Sharjah on February 16 and will also expand services from Gulf to Kannur in Kerala. The carrier, the international budget arm of Air India, will deploy Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft on this route.
The flight will depart from Sharjah at 7:35 PM and arrive in Surat at 11:45 PM on Mondays and Saturdays, the airline announced in a statement.
From Surat, the flight will depart at 12:30 AM with arrival into Sharjah at 02:15 AM on Tuesdays and Sundays. This service will be upgraded to four flights a week in the summer schedule.
Surat-Sharjah will be the 47th non-stop direct connection of Air India Express between destinations in India and the Gulf region.
Air India Express is set to further expand its operations in its summer schedule 2019, which shall commence on March 31, 2019.
24/01/19 PTI/Economic Times

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Rafale: Do French Senate Documents Nail Modi’s Lie?

At a time when the Narendra Modi government is trying its best to spin more stories to save face on the controversial Rafale deal, new information coming out of France, some of which is already there in the public domain, raises some questions.

The “Rafale judgment” of the Supreme Court of India, in para 19 says, “The stalemate resulted in the process of RFP withdrawal being initiated in March 2015.” The apex court was referring to the Request for Proposal (RFP) for 126 MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft), in which Dassault was selected, and with whom negotiation was being carried out till announcement on Rafale made by Prime Minister Modi on April 10, 2015. The line regarding stalemate seems to have been quoted from an unsigned and undated ‘note’ submitted by the Government of India. In the note, which has been placed in public domain, the Modi government told the court in para 18: “As the contract negotiations reached a stalemate and RFP compliance could not be ensured, the process for RFP withdrawal was initiated in March 2015 and RFP for 126 MMRCA was finally withdrawn in June 2015.”

In this submission, the latter part is true because the 2016-17 report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence states ”The RFP for procurement of 126 MMRCA was formally withdrawn on 24th June 2015”. The Rajya Sabha was informed of the same by former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar towards July-end 2015. The government’s statement that “the process for RFP withdrawal was initiated in March 2015”, therefore, seems untrue, and an afterthought to cover-up Modi’s unilateral decision to announce the deal with France for 36 Rafale aircraft in flyaway condition.

On June 10, 2015, there was a meeting of The Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces held in the French Senate. The minutes of the meeting mention Senator Jean-Pierre Raffarin, who was the Chairman of the Committee, as saying: “As for India, the decision to purchase 36 Rafale was made during the visit of the Prime Minister of India. The technical discussions to conclude the agreement are taking place in best possible conditions.” The sentence “the decision to purchase 36 Rafale was made during the visit of the Prime Minister of India” is very important because it suggests that the French side was not aware of such a discussion before that. And clearly points at the unilateral decision taken by PM Modi.

Minutes of the meeting of the same Committee held on October 1, 2013 mention: ”For India, the RAFALE is part of an Indian aircraft fleet that already has its own equipment list, which requires aircraft adaptations. For Qatar, on the other hand, it is very close to that of France, which gives more flexibility for production management.” This point clarifies that the so-called “India-specific enhancements” were nothing new added by the Indian Air Force for this particular deal, as many people try to argue, but were a stated requirement in the 2007 RFP.

On June 24, 2015, Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier was in the French Senate, answering questions by senators on a discussion related to “Military programmes and other provisions related to defence (of France) from the year 2015 to 2019”. Senator Raffarin, who held different positions in the Senate, such as Deputy Speaker, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and the Armed Forces, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs, asked Trappier “Mr President, it is a pleasure to see you again, the day after the success of the Paris Air Show. This is very important for all of us. The commission was very attentive to your activity. The major Rafale sales contracts of 24 each to Egypt and Qatar, as well as the materialisation of 36 aircraft deal with India, confirm the competitiveness of this product. You may also tell us about the progress of the dialogue with India.”

In his detailed reply, Trappier said: “Negotiations are going on with India. The current contract is to deliver 36 produced in France against the 18 initial aircraft under the MMRCA contract. With regard to the additional 90 aircraft to arrive at the 126, as envisaged initially, nothing is certain today. But, in order to meet the requests of the Indian authorities’ "Make in India", it would be better to manufacture these future orders locally there.”

The above statement clarifies two things. a) As the Modi government told the Supreme Court, they did not initiate the process to withdraw the RFP for 126 aircraft in March 2015. If they had, as the CEO of Dassault Aviation, Trappier would have been aware of that decision because India was negotiating with Dassault, not the French government for 126 Rafale under the RFP. b) Trappier’s statement gives the impression that he was expecting India to place the order for 90 more Rafale to reach the six squadron they needed, as envisaged in the MMRCA RFP, and was not aware of the cancellation of the same till June 24, 2015. This suggests that the Modi government misled the Supreme Court and probably this was one of the reasons for the submission of an “unsigned and undated” note.
23/01/19 Ravi Nair/News Click

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Bengaluru: West Asia first, and Southeast Asia next: Made in India combat jet “Tejas” is going places, quite literally.

This fighter aircraft will demonstrate its prowess for the first time at Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA), Asia Pacific’s premier maritime and aerospace event in Malaysia, March 26-30, 2019. The two-seater trainer variant of “Tejas” is also likely to debut at this exhibition as many potential customers, including Malaysia, are keen to weigh up the military jet after it garnered rave reviews at the Bahrain air show in 2016. One West Asian nation sent a senior minister to Bengaluru in 2018 to check out this multi-role, light combat aircraft, and has reportedly sought extensive flight trials back home—an indication that an export order is on the anvil.
Sources in Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) said IAF pilots would fly the fighter and the trainer variant to Malaysia from the air force station at Sulur in Tamil Nadu where the No 45 Squadron (Flying Daggers) is based. HAL has commenced production of combat-ready fighter jets which meets all parameters of final operational clearance (FOC) beginning this month though a formal announcement on crossing the FOC milestone is likely to be made by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman during Aero India 2019 in Bengaluru next month. Around the same time as the maritime and aerospace exhibition in Malaysia, HAL will hand over the 16th jet to the IAF to mark the formation of the first complete squadron of ‘Tejas’ combat aircraft of the air strike wing. 
23/01/19 BR Srikanth/Asian Age

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Palali to be developed for regional flights

The government is to allocate Rs.two billion to develop the Palali airport runway in Jaffna as an initial step of using it for flight operations to regional destinations, particularly those in India, it is learnt.

The Northern Development Ministry is presently working out the Cabinet memorandum to be submitted for approval. The airport was widely used during the time of war to transport soldiers and military supplies.

Meanwhile, India offered to modernize the airport during the period of the former government.

According to the ministry sources, the Sri Lankan government will develop the runway. Later, the government is planning to seek assistance from India to develop it as an international airport to operate flights to regional destinations.
24/01/19 Daily Mirror

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Naresh Goyal wants the 'right price' to exit Jet Airways. Is that Rs 250 a share?

Naresh Goyal may be looking for the 'right price' to exit, at least partially, from Jet Airways, but he may not get more than Rs 250 a share, say industry executives.

The valuation is central to making a success out of the deal, and injecting liquidity into the struggling airline. Facing cash crunch, Jet has grounded aircraft, delayed salary payments, and faces a steep debt repayment schedule.

The airline's lenders, led by State Bank of India, had last week met senior executives of Jet and Etihad Airways. The Abu Dhabi-based airline owns 24 percent stake in Jet, and is the most likely to bring in more funds.
But Etihad has made an offer of Rs 150 a share, a marked climb down from the Rs 754.74 a share it had paid to Jet Airways in 2013 to get a 24 percent stake.

Jet's stock is now hovering around Rs 270 a share, and that doesn't give much space for Goyal to bargain. The airline at present has a market cap of Rs 3,112 crore. On the other hand, it has debts of over Rs 8,000 crore.

"Goyal is bargaining hard. But it is unlikely that he will get more than Rs 250 a share," said a senior executive from an airline.

While the valuation is high on the conditions list that Goyal has put, the Jet Airways founder is also seeking a board position for his family.

Sources told Moneycontrol that his son Nivaan Goyal could get a board position. Nivaan had joined Jet Airways in 2011 as a trainee. Anita Goyal, Naresh Goyal's wife, is a director and part of the airline's board.
23/01/19 Prince Mathews Thomas/moneycontrol.com

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Jet Airways deal: Goyal eying Rs 200 a share, Etihad looks at Rs 150/share

Contrary to speculation that a restructuring proposal of Jet Airways is hanging because promoter-chairman Naresh Goyal is unwilling to bring down his controlling stake below 51%, sources said that the latter is amenable to a deal where he sells his shares not below Rs 200 a piece and his stake does not go below 25%.

As reported earlier, Jet’s 24% stake partner Etihad Airways is willing to increase its stake to 49% along with an immediate infusion of $35 million but it has said that it will not pick up the shares at more than `150 a piece. Shares of Jet Airways closed 1.21% down, at `273.10 on Tuesday on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Etihad also wants that it be exempt from the mandatory open offer.

Etihad CEO Tony Douglas had put his conditions in his letter to the chairman of State Bank of India which is the lead lender to the cash-strapped airline. Douglas also wants that Goyal’s holding should come to around 22% and he and his family should have no role in the running of the airlines.
In response to Etihad’s proposal, Goyal also wrote to the SBI chairman stating that he was willing to pledge his shares and infuse `700 crore into the airline provided his stake does not fall below 25%. In case it falls below 25%, he should be allowed to raise it up to that level in future without having to go through the attendant open offer.

“If he (Goyal) gets anything less than `200, he will push for some arrangement. In this case, he may push for an arrangement that kicks in a few years later— like for example an arrangement that possibly allows him to increase his stake in the future. I doubt he will do the deal at less than `200. The only option if Etihad goes, is for the banks to convert their shares into equity and think about the management without Goyal, which is very unlikely,” a source said.
23/01/19 Bhavik Nair/Financial Express

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Etihad, lenders mull emergency funds to fuel Jet

The fate of Jet Airways continues to hang in balance. Gulf airline Etihad and lenders to Jet Airways have been interacting over the past two days to discuss ‘emergency funding’ that Etihad would release to the cash-strapped airline.
The amount under consideration is around $35 million which would last the next few weeks during which Etihad, along with banks, plans to approach capital market regulator Sebi on the pricing for fresh equity — as laid down in Reserve Bank of India’s February 12, 2018, circular and the regulator’s rules on issue of capital and disclosure requirements.
“The situation is still fluid. No firm decision has been reached on the funding or its structure. But the reality is that the airline needs money at the earliest. If it goes south, everyone will have to pay — 22,000 employees, banks, promoters, minority shareholders and passengers,” a person familiar with the negotiations told ET.
“Etihad is working on a suitable structure to release the funds,” said the person.
The Gulf airline’s legal counsel is learnt to have advised the airline that RBI’s revised framework on resolution of stressed assets provides for certain relaxations which could enable Etihad to chip in equity.
One of the options for Etihad is to tap Jet Privilege Pvt Ltd (JPPL) for providing the emergency line. JPPL makes periodic payments to Jet Airways and the last payment was made in October when it reimbursed $35 million in line with its prepaid ticket purchase agreement, a much-needed cash infusion that helped Jet pay bills. At that time, the company had said it was a normal course of business.
Jet Airways owns 49.9% of JPPL. The rest (50.1%) is held by Etihad Airways, which also owns 24% of Jet Airways. While JPPL’s valuation is not known, a report by global independent consultant On Point, had pegged it at $1.13 billion.
JPPL was ranked at 31, ahead of Etihad’s loyalty business at 38 with a valuation of $765 million. Etihad bought its stake in JPPL in 2014, valuing it at $300 million. Memberships have trebled since then to 8.5 million from 2.8 million.
23/01/19 Sugata Ghosh/Economic Times

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UAE-India fares set to fall as Air India Express adds more flights

Dubai: India's budget carrier Air India Express has decided to 'consciously' reduce airfares from the GCC sector to Kannur after complaints from customers about exorbitant fares on those routes.

Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of a press meet announcing the airline's plans to launch services to Surat and expand operations from the recently launched Kannur airport, chief executive office of Air India Express, K Shyam Sundar, said Kannur-Sharjah services will be increased to a daily service from the present four weekly flights.

"After considering customer feedback that the fares to Kannur were considerably higher than other airports in the sector (Kozhikide, Mangalore), AIE has made a conscious decision to reduce flight fares by enhancing daily services from Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Kuwait, Doha, and Riyadh," he said.

"There will be two more flights on Mondays and Fridays, bringing the total flights on the Kannur-Abu Dhabi sector to five flights per week," he explained, "Price reduction is a function of demand and supply, as the supply increases the prices will come down. The price surge from Kannur happened simply because of the novelty of its launch. The seats were taken very quickly and the launch took place during the peak flying season (December)."
23/01/19 Dhanusha Gokulan/Khaleej Times

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Surat-Sharjah flight to take off from February 16

Surat:Air India Express officially announced on Tuesday the maiden launch of its international service Sharjah-Surat-Sharjah from February 16.

Addressing media persons in Dubai, Air India Express chief executive officer, K Shyamsundar stated that Surat-Sharjah will be the 47th non-stop direct connection of the airline between destinations in India and the Gulf. The service will start with two flights in a week and will be upgraded to four flights a week in the summer schedule.

The flight IX-172 will depart from Sharjah at 7.35pm to arrive in Surat at 11:45pm on Mondays and Saturdays. Flight IX-171 from Surat to Sharjah will depart from Surat at 12:30am with arrival in Sharjah at 2.15am on Tuesdays and Sundays. Sharjah-Surat service will be on Mondays, Wednedays, Thursdays and Saturdays starting from Summer schedule after March 31 and that in return direction it will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
23/01/19 Times of India

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Gulf airlines blocked from flying to new Kerala airport

India’s civil aviation ministry has deferred a decision on allowing Gulf carriers to fly to the newly opened Kannur International Airport in Kerala.

The decision dashes the hopes of airlines such as Emirates, Flydubai, Etihad and Saudia that they will be able to commence their direct flights to the Kerala airport soon.

Kannur Interntional Airport Ltd (KIAL) authorities had made a special request to the ministry for allowing airlines from the Middle East to operate daily two flights each to Kannur, outside the existing bilateral air services agreement between India and countries in that region.
At a meeting held in Trivandrum, KIAL’s request for sanctioning additional flights by Gulf and Indian carriers outside the existing bilateral airline seat limits is understood to have been turned down the request "for the time being".

“The civil aviation secretary, however, has agreed to review the proposal after about six months,” one of the participants at the meeting told Arabian Business.
Airline seat capacities have almost exhausted under the existing bilateral rights with several Gulf countries, constraining Gulf and Indian carriers to start direct fights to Kannur.
State-owned Air India Express is the lone carrier that currently operates international flights from Kannur to destinations such as Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and some other cities in GCC.

The civil aviation ministry, however, has agreed to consider the suggestions for including Kannur airport under the ‘open sky policy’ between India and the ASEAN countries, a move, if allowed, will pave the way for starting of flights from Kannur airport to destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
“We plan to take up the issue (of allowing additional flights by Gulf and Indian carriers) with the civil aviation ministry again sometime soon,” KIAL managing director V Thulasidas told Arabian Business.
23/01/19 James Mathew/Arabian Business

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Japanese carrier ANA Airline to start service from Japan to Chennai

Chennai: Japan's ANA Airlines is planning to start a direct service between Chennai and Japan in the second half of the current calendar year.

Speaking at the Tamil Nadu Global Investor Meet, which was inaugurated at Chennai on Wednesday, January 23, Japan's Ambassador Kenji Hiramatsu said that the seven-day service will start from October.

It will help not only to boost commercial tie-ups but will also help boost cultural ties and tourism between south India and Japan.

He said Chennai is the gateway of South India, and a major destination for Japanese investors. Today, some 201 Japanese companies out of a total of 1,441 are operating in India.

The Airline is currently operating direct Japan-Delhi and Japan-Mumbai flights.
23/01/19 T E Narasimhan/Business Standard

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Air Asia Passengers Go Without Food For Over 12 Hours

Bhubaneswar: Passengers of a Bhubaneswar-bound Air Asia flight reportedly had to remain without food for more than 12 hours.

According to sources, an Air Asia flight FD-112 carrying 150 passengers from Bangkok was on the way to Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. As the flight could not land at Biju Patnaik International Airport due to dense fog, it was diverted to Kolkata.

After reaching the airport, the passengers were asked to remain seated inside the plane for about two hours. The airline crews then asked them to move to the lounge of the airport to wait for the flight till weather improves in Bhubaneswar.
23/01/19 Odishabytes.com

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Naresh Goyal may step down from Jet Airways board, but on one condition

New Delhi: Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal could soon step down from the restructured board of the beleaguered airline provided UAE-based Etihad Airways, which holds 24 per cent stake in the airline, pays "right price" to increase its stake in the airline. Notably, Goyal had last week rejected the Etihad proposal to buy an additional stake in Jet Airways for Rs 150 apiece. After several failed attempts to secure funding, payment defaults to lenders and salaries to the Jet employees, the Jet promoter has reportedly decided to step down from the airline board if he gets the "right valuation" for the additional stake, a Times of India report said.

As per the rule, if new management takes over a company, it has to also offer 25 per cent additional shares for the general public. Goyal last week had told the SBI that he is ready to invest up to Rs 700 crore in the airline on the condition that his stake does not fall below 25 per cent but the Etihad proposal, which comprised strict conditions like demand for his resignation, didn't go well with him.

According to Jet Airways' shareholding pattern on the Bombay Stock Exchange, as of the quarter ending December 2018, Goyal owns 5,79,33,665 shares, amounting to 51 per cent stake in the company.

Goyal has been making all possible efforts to seek funds to keep the airline afloat, which is facing the pinch of high fuel price and intense global competition in the aviation sector. In its hunt for an investor, the Goyal-led company had earlier knocked on the door of India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, in October.
22/01/19 Business Today

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Ex-Airbus India chief, summoned by ED, in U.K.

New Delhi: Former Airbus India chief Kiran Rao, who has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), asking him to join the money laundering probe into alleged corruption in the 2005 deal for supply of 43 aircraft to the erstwhile Indian Airlines, is currently in the United Kingdom.

The ED has issued three summons to Mr. Rao for recording his statement.

Following a Supreme Court directive, the CBI had registered a case in May 2017 to look into the allegations of irregularities in the purchase of 111 aircraft worth about ?70,000 crore for Air India and Indian Airlines, which included the procurement of 43 aeroplanes from Airbus and the rest from Boeing.

Based on the CBI First Information Report (FIR), the ED launched the money laundering probe last year.The then officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation are also under the scanner. The agency is currently examining the price-fixation criteria of the aircraft, about which the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had not come across any information while going through government records.
21/01/19 The Hindu

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Pratt & Whitney Supports V2500s While Prepping For GTFs in India

The latest Boeing forecast predicts South Asian economies will grow 5.9% annually, air traffic 7.8% and aircraft fleet counts 7.4% through 2037. That means about 2,400 commercial aircraft will be delivered, a huge claim on airframe and engine support in the region, which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and, most prominently, India and Pakistan.

Pratt & Whitney has been busy both helping to support V2500 engines and getting ready for support of the geared turbofan, says Palash Roy Chowdhury, managing director for Pratt in India. “The V2500 MRO network continues to grow as we enter the peak demand for overhaul services over the next several years,” Chowdhury says. IAE supports V2500 overhauls with 16 shops globally, with several located in Asia.

Current V2500 MRO centers include Pratt & Whitney’s Turkish Engine Center, Christchurch Engine Center and Shanghai Engine Center, which began overhauling V2500s in 2017. “The MRO network also includes other non-Pratt & Whitney network shops to ensure world-class service for every customer, no matter their location,” Chowdhury stresses.

Next up will be the GTF, crucial to the success of Pratt and many of its customers. More than 350 GTF-powered A320neos have been ordered by Indian airlines. And nearly a hundred of these GTF-powered A320neos had been delivered to Indian airlines IndiGo and Go Air by the beginning of 2019.

This is still a small count of young engines, so Pratt does not yet have a GTF MRO shop in India. But its growing GTF overhaul network now spans three continents and includes shops operated by the industry’s leading MRO companies in places like Singapore and Japan.
21/01/19 Henry Canaday/MRONetwork.com

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Air travel to get cheaper for Kerala expats?

Thiruvananthapuram: There is good news for Kerala expats travelling frequently. Soon, they will be able to fly from the country to any global destination at discounted rates. Norka-Roots, a public sector undertaking of the Non-Resident Keralites (NRK) Affairs Department, has entered into negotiations in this regard with major air carriers, including Emirates, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Indigo and others.

“We will soon ink a pact with Qatar Airways. Negotiations with Emirates, Kuwait and Indigo are progressing at the right pace,” said K Varadarajan, resident vice-chairman, Norka-Roots. In August, Norka had entered into a pact with Oman Air which assured seven per cent cut in airfare for their travel to or from India.
Varadarajan said once Norka and Qatar Airways enter into an agreement, the latter can offer NRK a 10 per cent cut in airfare, which could be availed for return flights also. “The offer can be availed by NRKs possessing the Norka-issued identity card. In our agreement with Oman Air, we didn’t have the space for bargaining. However, with Qatar Airways willing to provide a 10 per cent discount, we expect others to follow suit,” Varadarajan said. 

Norka-Roots CEO Harikrishnan Namboothiri said discussions were mainly being held with airlines offering services to Gulf countries. NRK Affairs Department feels the cut in airfare will provide some respite to those expats who travel three to four times a year.
22/01/19 Dileep V Kumar/New Indian Express

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IATA Rebukes India on CORSIA Snub

India’s refusal to join the International Air Transport Association-led Carbon Offsetting and Reporting Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) has led to surprise and consternation within the global trade group, IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac told AIN. “I would like India to join CORSIA, but frankly for the moment, I do not see things moving and do not expect it to during the election period,” he lamented. 

De Juniac’s comments referred to India’s federal elections scheduled from April to May this year, followed by state elections set to continue until the end of the year.

“It was a great surprise to us that India did not join CORSIA given it was part of the Paris climate change agreement,” added De Juniac.

Starting on a voluntary basis from January 2021, CORSIA's pilot phase requires reporting of the use of fuel and emissions of every commercial international flight. At a recent forum, Indian secretary of civil aviation RN Choubey said India had encountered difficulty committing to requirements of CORSIA adopted in 2016. “The main issue for negotiation is what should be the baseline and the reference to which we should regulate ourselves,” Choubey said.
21/01/19 Neelam Mathews/AINonline

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Brookfield, Macquarie among 7 global investors eyeing Indian airports: Report

Indian airports are the latest attraction among international private equity (PE) investors and airport developers, with as many as seven companies showing interest in the Centre’s airport-privatisation drive, reported Business Standard.

According to the report, German airport operator, AviAlliance; Australian AMP Capital; Canadian Brookfield Asset Management and PSP Pension fund; Sydney based Macquarie Group; French airport operator, Aeroports de Paris; and Italy’s Atlantia group have bought the bid documents for six airports.

Centre has decided to privatise and have a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement at airports in Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru. These are being privatised after Delhi and Mumbai airports were last privatised in 2006.

According to the request for proposal (RFP) floated by the government last month, the concessionaire will be responsible for “operations and management of the existing airport assets, as well as for designing, engineering, financing, construction and development of the further/additional air-side, terminal, city-side and land-side infrastructure for the airport”. The bidding criteria has been decided as the per-passenger revenue fee.
21/01/19 Moneycontrol.com

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Nepal, India air route talks keep going round in circles

Nepal and India made little progress at the highly anticipated air route talks held in Mumbai, India last week. Nepal has been badgering the southern neighbour to grant air entry points through the L626 Mahendranagar route and Nepalgunj to facilitate aircraft movement to the two upcoming international airports in Bhairahawa and Pokhara.

As a follow-up, high-level Nepali and Indian teams met during the two-day Global Aviation Summit held in Mumbai. Officials claimed making great progress, but little was achieved, according to people close to the discussions.

“As always, the Indian side convinced the Nepali delegation that it was positive about opening up the air entry points to Nepal,” a source privy to the matter said. “The Indian delegation said that they were trying to study the feasibility of the entry points Nepal has sought.” 

According to Indian daily The Hindu, India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has agreed in principle to grant air entry points through the L626 route in Mahendranagar. It said that pilgrims headed to Kailash Manasarovar from New Delhi would now be able to fly directly to one of the key entry points at Nepalgunj, and avoid the 11-hour drive from Kathmandu.

Director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Sanjiv Gautam, who met Indian civil aviation officials on the sidelines of the meeting, confirmed the development. “But until we receive confirmation in writing, we cannot say anything.”

This route is unworkable for the international airport in Bhairahawa as it only permits entry to low-level flights (below 24,000 feet). This is good for small planes like the ATR, but not large jets that are expected to use the new airports. During various discussions over the past years, India has reportedly ‘denied’ granting an entry point through Mahendranagar due to heavy traffic in Indian airspace.

Another development in Mumbai is the Bravo 345 route (currently Kathmandu-Bhairahawa-Lucknow) passing through the airspace over Bhairahawa. According to Gautam, Indian authorities said that they were in the final stage of making the route bi-directional. The Indian side has sent the new specified route proposal to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), but that too will not work for Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa which is expected to be completed this year, he said.
22/01/19 Eleven

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Passengers fight freezing cold on flight in Canada. Indian live-tweets 16-hour horror

New Delhi: In an unfortunate turn of events, numerous passengers had to battle extremely cold weather conditions and also survive on inadequate food, stranded on the tarmac of Goose Bay airport in Canada on Saturday.

Reason? One of the doors of the airplane was jammed and could not be shut. This resulted in passengers struggling in the -20 degree Celsius weather, with a flight attendant posted by the door to ensure security.

The flight was diverted due to a medical emergency and had to make a landing at Goose Bay airport. At Goose Bay, the unwell passenger was taken off the flight, but the plane did not take off. An aircraft door could not be closed.

Scores of passengers travelling on United Flight 179, going from Newark, New Jersey to Hong Kong, were stuck in freezing cold for nearly 16 hours. Due to the unavailability of custom officers at night, none of the passengers could get off the plane either.

The problem wreaked havoc in the passenger's lives, who took to Twitter to narrate their ordeal.
American professional wrestler Retesh Bhalla, better known as Sonjay Dutt (modelled after Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt), was among the many people stranded on board the United Airlines Flight 179. Dutt took to Twitter to share the good, bad and the ugly of his experience.

Dutt was travelling to Macau for a wrestling event, but after the nerve-freezing hours stuck on the plane, decided to return home. But not before sharing a photo of 'his home' those 12 hours.
22/01/19 India Today

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Teen sexually assaulted on Seattle flight; lawsuit says United Airlines did nothing

A lawsuit filed last week accused United Airlines of failing to protect a 16-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted on a July 2017 flight from Seattle to Newark, New Jersey.

Vijaykumar Krishnappa, 29, was sentenced to 90 days at a federal court in New Jersey earlier this month.

But the complaint filed in King County Superior Court says that United failed to take appropriate action when the victim called for help, even letting Krishnappa walk off the flight afterward, prompting the girl's mother to call But the complaint filed in King County Superior Court says that United failed to take appropriate action when the victim called for help, even letting Krishnappa walk off the flight afterward, prompting the girl's mother to call law enforcement so he could be arrested the next day.

"The conduct of United in this case is unconscionable from start to finish," said attorney Samuel Daheim, who, with Julie Kays, represents the victim and her mother in the case.

For its part, United issued a public statement indicating it cooperated with the criminal investigation and let the victim change seats.

The assault occurred July 23, 2017. The victim, from the Federal Way area, was about to fly alone for the first time to head for a young women's leadership conference at Princeton University, according to the lawsuit.

The girl was assigned a seat toward the back of the aircraft and the cabin lights were switched off as the crew prepared for takeoff. The teen expected to sleep throughout the flight.

However, the passenger next to her, later identified as a doctor from India working in the United States as part of a fellowship, began to touch her knee with his fingertips. The teen thought he was asleep and didn't think the touching was intentional, court documents say.

However, the touching escalated to his hand on her knee, then on her upper thigh and on her genitalia over her leggings.

The girl felt "trapped and afraid" in the dark cabin and thought Krishnappa might do something worse if she drew attention. But when he slid his hand beneath the waistband of her pants, she confronted him and summoned a flight attendant.

The lawsuit says that the flight attendant who responded did nothing to rectify the situation except to tell Krishnappa, "not cool, dude," and move the teen a few rows ahead, where Krishnappa could still see her.
The Seattle-based flight crew allegedly did nothing to investigate or document the incident and only gave the teen a bag of peanuts as she cried hysterically.

Upon landing more than four hours later, Krishnappa walked off the flight -- meaning, Daheim said, that United crew violated federal law by failing to report the assault to authorities.

The teen called her mother in tears to report what happened. Her mother booked a flight to come see her and contacted police, according to court records.

Krishnappa was arrested the next day.
The assault left the girl unable to participate in the prestigious conference and has since suffered social isolation, the complaint said.
22/01/19  Lynsi Burton/SeattlePI

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