Showing posts with label Foreign Jul 2018. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foreign Jul 2018. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Jet Airways announces summer sale till August 4

Muscat: Jet Airways, India’s premier, full service international airline, continues its summer offers with one week of up to 30 per cent savings on international travel.

Guests travelling to Bangkok, Colombo, Dhaka, Hong Kong, Kathmandu and Singapore can enjoy substantial savings on their Premiere as well as Economy class bookings.

Tickets booked under the week-long fare sale till August 4 will be valid for immediate travel making it an attractive proposition for guests booking last minute and those planning their future travels.
31/07/18 Muscat Daily

Air France-KLM appoints Jean-Noel Rault as GM for Indian subcontinent

Air France-KLM has appointed Jean-Noel Rault as its new general manager for Indian subcontinent.
Rault, who succeeds Max Smits, will be assuming charge of the new position tomorrow,the firm said in a release today.
Prior to this, Rault was heading Air France-KLM's business in Canada as the vice president and general manager.
Air France-KLM operates up to 2,300 daily flights, mainly from its hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol.
31/07/18 PTI/Economic Times

Brussels Airlines announces special airfares

Chennai: Brussels Airlines has announced special airfares for economy class travellers to more than 70 European destinations in a sale from July 30 to August 10 for travel till December 2018.
The limited period sale will allow passengers to travel to destinations within Europe at a price starting as low as Rs 39,000, inclusive of taxes, said a press release.
The special fares are applicable to all Brussels Airlines flights on Mumbai-Brussels route and its network of more than 70 European destinations. These fares will offer considerable savings for guests and are available for return bookings.
30/07/18 Times of India

US may soon allow laptops, liquids in carry-on bags at airport security checkpoints

The United States may soon allow passengers to keep liquids and laptops in their carry-on bags at airport security checkpoints, if screening technology being tested at select airports is widely adopted.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Monday announced the plan to test computed tomography (CT) scanners for carry-on bags, with up to 40 units expected to be in place at US airports by the end of year.

The X-ray scanning equipment creates 3D images that can be analysed on three axes for explosives and other threats. The CT technology is similar to what is used for medical imaging.
31/07/18 IndiaTV News

Keralites availing amnesty in UAE to fly home for free

Abu Dhabi: Illegal UAE residents from Kerala who wish to avail of the upcoming visa amnesty to exit the country will be flown to India for free, the south Indian state's Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, announced on Monday.

"Those who wish to apply for it should get in touch with the nine (amnesty) centres that will be opened there (UAE). The state-run Roots-Norka will coordinate for their smooth return ... They will be brought home for free and safely. The first batch of arrivals will take place in the middle of August," said Vijayan.

Norka resident vice-chairman K. Varadarajan told Khaleej Times that the entity would provide free air tickets to Malayalees availing of the amnesty. "The air tickets are expensive during this season and we understand many people won't be able to afford it. So our first priority is to make sure that expats can return home safely.
31/07/18 Anjana Sankar/Khaleej Times

AirAsia Bumper Sale! Upto 40% Discount For International And Domestic Flights.

New Delhi: The Malaysian Budget carrier AirAsia announced a discount sale under a limited period offer. If you have the desire to travel, but are worried about burning a hole in your pockets? You can now take a deep breath as some of the famous airlines of the country are offering heavy discounts on their domestic and international fares as they come at loggerheads with each other aiming to increase the sales.
AirAsia is now offering a hefty discount on international as well as a domestic flight which can go upto 40 percent. Significantly, a major chunk of the air fares comprises fuel surcharge, airport fee, taxes and other charges.
AirAsia is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and AirAsia.
If one wants to avail the offered discount, then the person can book the tickets till 5 Aug 2018. The travel needs to be from 31 Jul - 30 Nov 2018.
30/07/18 ABP Live

IndiGo connects India with two new routes

IndiGo, India’s largest carrier by one-way seat capacity in 2018 according to OAG Schedules Analyser, has commenced year-round operations from its base in Chennai (MAA) to Kozhikode (CCJ) and Tuticorin (TCR) on 26 July. The routes span a distance of 502 and 528 kilometres respectively, and both are operated by the LCC’s 74-seat ATR 72s. Kozhikode will be served daily, with Tuticorin being connected three times a day. SpiceJet is the sole competitor on both routes, operating six weekly frequencies to the former and twice-daily to the latter. At the launch, N. Subramanian, Airport Director at Tuticorin, outlined the target demographic for the route: “The airport caters to passengers from Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari districts. As flight tickets cost around ₹3,000, it would attract passengers taking second class (seats in trains) and omni buses.”
31/07/18 anna.aero

Monday, July 30, 2018

Naqvi flags off batch of Haj pilgrims from Mumbai

Mumbai:  Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi flagged off the first batch of Haj pilgrims from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai on Sunday.
This is the first year when Haj pilgrimage is taking place without being provided any subsidy, the minority affairs minister said.
Besides Maharashtra, pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh were also among those who left from Mumbai.
"The Union government, in co-operation with the Saudi Arabia Haj Consulate, Haj Committee of India and other agencies concerned, completed preparations for Haj 2018 well before time to ensure a smooth pilgrimage," he said.
29/07/18 PTI/Times of India

25 flights to ferry 7, 232 Hajis this year

Hyderabad: The first flight carrying Haj pilgrims will depart from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on August 1, said Telangana State Haj Committee chairman Mohammed Masiullah Khan on Sunday. This year, 25 flights will carry 7,232 haj pilgrims from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Karnataka to Saudi Arabia.

The flight is scheduled to fly to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia at 7.30 a.m. and the first batch of pilgrims would be driven to the airport by a Telangana State Road Transport Corporation bus from the Haj House early in the morning. “The hajis (pilgrims) should report to the Haj House 48 hours before their scheduled flight departure,” he said.
29/07/18 The Hindu

Airfare to bleed passengers during peak Onam season

Thiruvananthapuram: Get ready to shell out extra from the pocket if you are an air passenger from the Middle East wishing to celebrate Onam with family. The Civil Aviation Ministry, in reply to a question by the MPs from Kerala, has made it clear it would not take any steps or intervention to reduce the air fare during the festival season along with providing additional flights to clear the extra rush.

Further, Kochi- headquartered budget carrier Air India Express, which operates around 264 flights between Kerala and the Gulf in a week and is the largest service provider in the route, said it would not operate any additional flights in the current season. Last year, Air India Express had operated 18 additional flights between Sharjah and Kerala during the festival season of Onam & Eid.

Speaking to Express, a senior Air India Express official said the AIE used to announce additional flights during the peak season based on the booking pattern in advance. But this time, the company is not planning to deploy additional flights during Onam considering the market dynamics of the airline which claims it has already increased its number of services in the summer schedule than winter schedule. The low-cost and other scheduled airlines used to effect a steep hike in airfares from various destinations in West Asia to the international airports in the state every year to cash in on the high demand from Non-Resident Keralites during Bakrid and Onam seasons.
30/07/18 Dhinesh Kallungal/New Indian Express

First Boeing Apache, Chinook helicopters for India complete inaugural flights

Boeing and India recently took a significant step towards modernizing the Indian Air Force’s helicopter fleet by completing the first flights of Apache and Chinook helicopters destined for delivery in 2019. India ultimately will receive 22 AH-64E Apache attack, and 15 CH-47F(I) Chinook transport, helicopters.

Boeing has been a long term strategic partner to India in the development of indigenous aerospace and defense ecosystem thereby contributing to the success of ‘Make in India’ initiative. This will support aerospace and defense programmes across the Boeing enterprise.

“We look forward to delivering this phenomenal capability to India,” said David Koopersmith, vice president and general manager, Boeing Vertical Lift. “From coastal operations to high-altitude mountainous missions, these aircraft will play vital roles with the Indian armed forces.”
30/07/18 Stat Times

Lufthansa faces delays at its German hubs, many Indians among those affected

New Delhi: Passengers flying to, from and through German carrier Lufthansa’s hubs of Munich and
Frankfurt are facing serious delays and uncertainty of their flights since last Saturday (July 28) morning. From India, Lufthansa has two daily flights to Munich and four to Frankfurt and desi travellers have taken to Twitter to express the hardships they are facing.
An unidentified woman made it to Munich Airport terminal 2’s security hold area reportedly without going through security or passport checks on Saturday morning due to which this terminal was closed for some time, causing delays here over the weekend. Frankfurt is having bad weather, said Lufthansa. Former Indian Army chief General V P Malik was among the passengers stranded in Germany over the weekend. He tweeted from the handle @Vemdalik1 on Sunday morning: “Travelling through Frankfurt. Total chaos at airport.
Thousands stranded. Lufthansa staff most unhelpful. Even discourteous. Business cl(ass) passengers being sent from pillar to post. Refusing to provide accn (accommodation) to passengers whose flights cancelled today (Sunday).”
29/07/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

The World's Loneliest Airport Has India, Sri Lanka In a Tough Spot

New Delhi: Sri Lanka and India seem to be on the opposite sides of the table on a crucial issue of bilateral ties.
Earlier this month, Sri Lankan civil aviation minister Nimal Siripala de Silva had told the Parliament that the government had asked the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to submit its business plan to operate the loss-making Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.
However, India’s minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha on Sunday told Parliament that there was no proposal under consideration for the AAI to buy a controlling stake in the airport. Sinha also clarified that there were no plans for the AAI to build a flying school and a maintenance, repair and overhaul unit at the airport.
The airport, dubbed the world’s loneliest, was built with high-interest commercial loans from China. The AAI is reported to have a 70 per cent stake, while Sri Lanka’s CAA will invest 30 per cent. The airport was officially inaugurated in March 2013 but the lone flight operating from there was also stopped in May this year due to losses.
30/07/18 Aishwarya Kumar/News18

Public representatives weigh in on fate of Mattala Airport

Colombo: What steps will the government take in the future, regarding the Mattala International Airport?

Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera had on an occasion stated that there is no proposal whatsoever to sell the Mattala airport. While Minister Amaraweera maintains that a decision has not been taken, leaders of the government he represents seem to have different ideas.

Both PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and subject minister Nimal Siripala de Silva had openly stated previously that they are in talks with India on the Mattala airport while Minister Eran Wickramaratne on the 19th of this month stated that the agreement for the Mattala airport would be a 40-year agreement.

India’s State Minister of Civil Aviation Services, recently said in the Lok Sabha that the Indian Aviation Authority had not taken a decision regarding investing in Mattala. Given this contradiction, is there any truth to the statements that have been made by members of our country’s government from time to time?
30/07/18 News First

Three international teams line up for Jamaican airport PPP

Three teams are in contention for a public–private partnership deal to take over the operation and expansion of Norman Manley International Airport near Kingston, Jamaica.
The winner will finance, develop and maintain the airport, the second largest in Jamaica after Sangster International, which serves the tourist resort of Montego Bay.

A request for proposals was issued by the Ministry of Transport to eight prequalified bidders in June 2017. The three that responded are:

Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico
A team led by Corporación del Este, a subsidiary of Dominican developer Grupo Puntacana. This team also includes China Harbour Engineering and local companies Corporación del Kingston, GBG Energy and Jamaica Producers Group
A team led by Egis Projects, a French engineer that specialises in international transport PPPs. Its team includes Jamaican investment adviser GK Capital Management, Kingston finance house Sagicor Investments Jamaica and Razel-Bec, the civil engineering arm of France’s Fayat Group.
Among the prequalified teams that did not submit final bids were Vinci Airports, GMR Infrastructure of India, Zurich Airport International, Cedicor of Argentina, the Korea Airport Corporation and A-Port Chile.
30/07/18 Global Construction Review

India to send back seized turtles to Sri Lanka

Indian forest department  plans to send back a consignment of exotic turtles to Sri Lanka, mostly red-eared sliders, that was seized from a passenger at airport recently.

According to sources, officials are planning to send it back to Sri Lanka as it came from there, the Indian Express reported.

Sources added that SriLankan Airlines also failed to notice the consignment carrying the turtles during security check with the reptiles kept in different boxes inside a stroller bag.Last year, Customs caught hold of another Sri Lankan passenger with 3,000 red-eared sliders at Chennai International Airport. In many such cases, the Forest department was helpless in taking tough action against such illegal importers as these non-native species are not listed under the scheduled lists of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
30/07/18 Daily Mirror

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Ramco Aviation signs Fighter Jet Maintenance Software deal with a leading Defense Contractor

New Jersey: Global Aviation software provider, Ramco Systems has secured an order for Ramco Aviation Suite v5.8 from one of the leading Defense Contractor. The client also operates and maintains advanced tactical aircraft used to train pilots of defense establishments. Ramco’s comprehensive functionality for fleet management and deep understanding of industry have helped secure this order.

Ramco’s one stop solution will enable the client to manage its fleet of advanced fighter jet aircraft by deploying a unified enterprise application for Maintenance, Engineering, Supply Chain, Safety, Compliance, and Quality while delivering simplified user experience via Mobility, Hubs and Advanced visualization dashboard.

Ramco’s Aviation Suite will enable high productivity and automation of fleet sustainment by moving away from manual recording of data and enabling access to real-time information. The application will ensure high aircraft.
29/07/18 India Education Diary

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Mattala Airport Deal Will Embroil Sri Lanka in India-China 'Regional Power Games': Rajapaksa

Colombo:  Sri Lanka's proposed deal with India over the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport will "unnecessarily" embroil the island national in India-China "regional power games", former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Friday.

The Sri Lankan government earlier this month had announced that it would go ahead with the deal with India to jointly operate the airport in the southern Hambantota district. The country has also entered a 99-year lease with China to develop an industrial park and an oil bunkering facility at the Hambantota port.

"We are opposed to the selling of national assets," Rajapaksa said while in Tangalle town of his home district Hambantota. "Our country will be unnecessarily caught in regional power games due to this," he added.
27/07/18 PTI/News18

New Singapore option with Sikkim flight debut

Dum Dum: Low-cost airline IndiGo will start a daily flight from Calcutta to Singapore in mid-September, coinciding with SpiceJet flying to Sikkim just ahead of the Puja season.

The average return fare for the Singapore flight could be around Rs 16,000, almost half the market baseline of Rs 30,000.

"IndiGo will operate an Airbus A320. The flight will take off at 6.55pm and land in Singapore at 1.45am local time. On the return journey, take-off will be at 1.40pm and arrival at 3.25pm," an official of the airline said.

The only airline that currently directly flies to Singapore daily from the city is Singapore Airlines.
28/07/18 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

Women monitor ‘dozing’ cops on CCTV, flee police station

Kolkata:  They were locked inside a room that housed the CCTV monitor. And they knew exactly what was happening in and outside the police station. They took advantage of that, and gave the cops the slip.
Two woman—one Bangladeshi and one Indian—who had been arrested at Kolkata airport on Monday evening walked out of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport police station around 5am on Friday, when the cops on duty were apparently too sleepy to react.
Along with these two, a third woman, also a Bangladeshi national, had been arrested, but she failed to escape.  The Bangladeshi women, Tanjila(20) and Mastura (26), both residents of Comilla, were set to board a SpiceJet flight from Kolkata to Delhi on July 23, when a CISF jawan smelt something suspiscious and accosted them. These two were found to be travelling with fake names and forged Aadhaar cards and were suspected to be victims of a trafficking racket. The Indian woman, Tasleem (24), who lived at Nirmal Vihar in Delhi, had claimed she was taking the two to Delhi to work as domestic help, but the police suspect she was trafficking them.
28/07/18 Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India

Friday, July 27, 2018

Manila-bound flight diverted to Hyderabad due to medical emergency

A Manila-bound Philippines Airlines flight was diverted to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here early this morning due to a medical emergency, sources said. A woman passenger complained of breathing problem on board the aircraft and the pilot sought permission to land at the airport here, the sources added.

After landing, doctors at the airport treated her and declared her fit to fly, they said, adding that the Riyadh-Manila plane then took off to the Philippines.

“The flight was diverted to Hyderabad at 2.30 am due to medical issues with one woman passenger on board. She was treated at the airport and the aircraft took off again at 5.30 am,” the sources said.
27/07/18 PTI/Financial Express

India "not considering" Mattala Airport deal

India’s Civil Aviation Ministry, in a surprise revelation, has said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is not considering any proposal to acquire a controlling stake of 70 per cent in Mattala International Airport in a joint venture partnership with the Sri Lankan government.

Indian media quoted Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha as stating that “no such proposal is under consideration at present".

He was replying to a question raised by the Lok Sabha BJP member Poonam Mahajan as to whether the AAI is considering purchasing a controlling stake in the Mattala airport, thereby gaining ownership of the airport, the Business Standard web site reported.

According to Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva’s statement in parliament recently the AAI has been asked to submit its business plan for operating the Mattala Airport.
27/07/18 Bandula/Sunday Times

Indians no longer require airport transit visa: France

New Delhi: France has announced that Indian passport holders will no longer require an airport transit visa while transiting through the country.

“I’m pleased to announce that, with effect from 23rd July 2018, holders of Indian passports will no longer require an Airport Transit Visa (ATV) while transiting through the international zone of any airport in France #ChooseFrance,” tweeted Alexandre Ziegler, France’s Ambassador to India.
France forms part of the Schengen Area comprising 26 European states.
27/07/18 PTI/Business Line

Massive pilot shortage scripts big windfall for expats

Government has extended the permission for foreign pilots to work in Indian carriers by two years and has shifted the deadline to phase them out from this year-end to December 31, 2020. This decision came as it became quite clear that India is facing a severe crisis of pilots, especially commanders and this will continue for a while, according to a report by Times of India.

There are 290 expat pilots out of the total 7,000 pilots with the domestic airlines. Speculation is also there that the 2020 end would not be the fixed deadline as compared to the increasing number of flights as there are not adequate number of Indian pilots.

“At present, scheduled Indian airlines have over 7,000 pilots for their combined fleet of over 600 planes. This year itself the shortage is of over 250 pilots. Given the order books of our airlines, 1,100 aircraft are supposed to join in 7-8 years that will require over 10,000 additional pilots,” said CAPA  India head
27/07/18 ZeeBiz

Israeli Airline Drops Plea Against Air India Flights Via Saudi Airspace

Jerusalem: Israel's national carrier El Al said it has withdrawn its plea filed in the top court against the government decision to allow Air India to fly over Saudi Arabia's airspace on Delhi-Tel Aviv route, something it had claimed gives its competitor an unfair competitive edge.
Local media reports said Israel's High Court of Justice had urged El Al to drop the petition it filed in March this year, days after Air India's inaugural flight landed in Tel Aviv on March 22.

In a statement to the Tel Aviv stock exchange, the airlines said its decision was made following a hearing on the matter on July 18. No further details were provided, but it seems the airlines decided to pay heed to the court's request.

El Al had filed an urgent petition to the court against the Israeli government, Transportation Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority, claiming that granting the Indian airline permission to fly the route, which significantly reduces the cost and flight time, gave a foreign company an unfair competitive advantage and violated the state's commitment to Israel's national carrier.
27/07/18 PTI/NDTV

Pilot shortage: DGCA extends expats' permits

New Delhi: With India facing a severe shortage of pilots, especially commanders, the government has extended permission for foreign pilots to work in Indian carriers by two years by shifting the deadline to phase them out from this year-end to December 31, 2020. India currently has 290 expat pilots in its total pool of over 7,000 pilots with desi airlines and the new 2020-end deadline fixed by DGCA is unlikely to be the final one as Indian carriers are inducting turboprops in large numbers for which there are not enough Indian pilots. In fact, the number of expat pilots here is expected to shoot in coming months.
“At present, schedule Indian airlines have over 7,000 pilots for their combined fleet of over 600 planes. This year itself the shortage is of over 250 pilots. Given the order books of our airlines, 1,100 aircraft are supposed join in 7-8 years that will require over 10,000 additional pilots,” said CAPA India head Kapil Kaul. These numbers are only for schedule airlines, with the pilot requirement for charters, regional connectivity players and private jets being separate.
Kaul added these are conservative estimates and the requirement of pilots may further increase when Indian carriers increase their wide body operations — with currently only Air India and Jet operating twin aisles. Vistara has placed an initial order for 6-10 wide bodies and this number expected to increase from the Tata Group airline alone significantly in coming time.
27/07/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

AirAsia says Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines ops flew 13% more passengers in 2Q18

Kuala Lumpur: AirAsia Group Bhd said today total passengers carried by its Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines operations increased 13% in the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 (2Q18) to 10.88 million from 9.61 million a year earlier due to higher capacity.

Budget airline AirAsia Group's Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines operations are collectively known as consolidated aircraft operating certificates (AOCs). AirAsia Group said the consolidated AOCs' financial and operational results are consolidated for financial reporting purposes.

In a statement today, AirAsia Group said capacity or number of seats flown recorded by the consolidated AOCs rose 17% to 12.72 million seats from 10.83 million seats.
"AirAsia Group consolidated AOCs posted a strong load factor of 86% and 17% increase in seat capacity during the quarter under review. Despite the significant increase in capacity, load factor was only down marginally by 3 percentage points as compared to the same period last year.
27/07/18 Edge Markets

Duo held at airport for fake visas

Bureau of Immigration officials at the Kempegowda International Airport on Tuesday caught two women from Nepal who were scheduled to fly to Sharjah in the UAE with fake tourist visas.

The duo have been identified as Dhimal Mina, 25, a resident of Urlabari in Morang district, and Tamang Rabina, 22, a resident of Topgachchi in Jhapa district of Nepal.

According to officials, the passports they submitted were genuine. However, the women were not able to answer some of their questions such as the purpose of their visit and where they were planning to stay in Sharjah, following which immigration official examined the visas that permitted them to travel to India.
27/07/18 The Hindu

Thursday, July 26, 2018

1st Haj flight took off with just 18 pilgrims

Hyderabad: As the Haj 2018 season is set to begin within a few days, city historians and aviation heritage experts recall the unforgettable memories of India's first Haj flight carrying 18 pilgrims from Begumpet airport in Hyderabad 72 years ago. Two Deccan Airways Dakota aircraft left Begumpet airport in October 1946, the first on October 22. Even Hakimpet airport ferried Haj pilgrims from the city.
To Hyderabad goes the credit of introducing India’s first Haj flight way back in 1946. There were no flights from other major cities to Jeddah. The most sought-after mode of transport was by sea. Deccan Airways, which was one of the leading airlines in British India, organised regular chartered flights for Haj. There were Haj
flights in 1949 soon after the Police Action. During 1948 the flights of Deccan Airways were grounded due to political uncertainty, but resumed once the new government is in place,” INTACH city convener and aviation expert P Anuradha Reddy told TOI. Since Hyderabadi Hajis were on India’s first flight, they took the opportunity to visit several Islamic holy places in Syria, Egypt and Iraq.
The first flight was piloted by Captain Cox with Junior captain Munshi as second in command. Radio officer Nasir and flight engineer Lord provided technical support. Archival data reveals that the VIP in the flight was Khan Bahadur Nawab Ahmed Nawaz Jung. The 21-seater Dakota took off from Begumpet at 10.10 am on October 21, 1946 amidst slogans of Allahu-Akbar (God is the greatest). “There was huge traffic jam near the airport as thousands of people from Hyderabad and its twin Secunderabad turned up to witness the historic Haj flight,” said Anuradha Reddy, who authored a book on aviation history of Hyderabad.1st Haj flight took off with just 18 pilgrims.
26/07/18 Syed Akbar/Times of India

Air India will refund passenger bitten by bed bugs on flight

Under heavy fire for questionable hygiene in its business-class cabins, Air India on Wednesday said that it will refund a woman passenger who had complained of bed bugs on one of the airline’s premium international routes.
Saumya Shetty had paid a whopping $10,000 for three business-class tickets on AI’s Newark-Mumbai flight on July 18, as she was travelling with three kids, including an infant and a toddler.
She lodged a complaint with the cashstrapped carrier demanding a full refund for the 17-hour ordeal she was put through and attached pictures of her bite-riddled arm as proof.
Although Air India’s apology took almost a week to come, as a face-saving measure – one it is calling a ‘goodwill gesture’ – the airline has offered to refund Shetty’s entire base fare which amounts to more than $8,000.
26/07/18 Mumbai Mirror

Nepal citizens fail to show papers, barred from flying

Varanasi:  No Nepalese passenger could fly to Sharjah from Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in the city in the last 10 days after the Nepal government urged the airport authorities to strictly scrutinise travelling documents of its passengers in order to put a check on trafficking of girls and women to Gulf countries.
"Not a single passenger from Nepal could produce required documents for travel in the last 10 days, hence they were not allowed to board the flights. Earlier, five-25 passengers, mostly girls and women, used to fly for Sharjah everyday. There is a daily flight to Sharjah from Varanasi airport," Air India manager at Varanasi Atif Idris told TOI on Wednesday.
"Earlier, we had no written order to prevent any Nepalese passenger from boarding the Sharjah flight. But after we received guidelines from the Nepal government, we are not allowing passengers to go without valid documents," he added.
26/07/18 Binay Singh/Times of India

Air India grounded 2 of its planes after passengers complained of being covered in gruesome bedbug bites after flights

Air India temporarily grounded two aircraft operating between Mumbai and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after passengers complained of being bitten by bedbugs last week.

Business class passengers on board Flight 144 reported bedbug bites on two separate segments last week.

Air India was not immediately available for comment on the matter. However, in a statement to NBC News , the airline said that it is "deeply concerned with a few reports of 'bugs' causing inconvenience to its esteemed passengers."

"The issue has been viewed seriously and every possible step is being taken to closely inspect and further strengthen our system at every level to ensure that such isolated incidents of passenger discomfiture do not affect our consistent performance," the airline added.
26/07/18 Brian Pascus and Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

AirAsia sale offers international flight tickets in just Rs 2,510

Low cost airlines, AirAsia is offering international flight tickets at a starting price of as low as Rs 2,510. AirAsia offer is valid July 29. The offer is applicable for the travel period from November 1 2018 to August 13 2019, AirAsia's official website mentioned.

For its domestic flyers, AirAsia is also offering 'Last Minute deals', flyers can book tickets for Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad among other metros. The flight tickets starts at a price of Rs 1,390. The offer is available till July 29 for the travel period till October 31, 2018.

Besides, AirAsia India has also introduced daily direct flights between Bengaluru and Amritsar, which will start from 26 July. The flight tickets start from Rs 3,599. The tickets can be booked till 29 July 2018.
26/07/18 DNA

El Al Drops Suit to Block Air India Flights to Israel via Saudi Airspace

El Al Airlines said Wednesday it had withdrawn its lawsuit seeking to restrict any new flights to the country via Saudi airspace until it could also use the shortened route. El Al said its decision followed a hearing in the High Court of Justice on the matter on July 18. The statement did not provide further details, but justices had urged the airline to drop the suit. Israel’s flag carrier filed the suit in March claiming unfair competition after Saudi Arabia opened its airspace for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel by Air India. Although the move signaled a thawing of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Riyadh has shown no sign of allowing an Israeli carrier to use its airspace. Instead, El Al must take a more circuitous path to avoid Saudi Arabia, which it says adds two hours to flight times and increases costs.
26/07/18 Harretz

Afghan native smuggles out foreign currency; fifth time on same flight

Kochi: Customs officials are trying to unravel the mystery of an Afghan currency smuggler who preferred to fly the same flight for more than five occasions. Kabul native Siddiq Yousafi, 33, smuggled out foreign currencies for more than five occasions by flying the same airline from New Delhi via Kochi to Dubai!

Yousufi was intercepted by the Customs officials while trying to board a flight from Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), Nedumbassery. He had caught a Dubai-bound flight from New Delhi via Kochi. However, due to technical issues, there was a 24-hour delay at CIAL and the passengers were asked to board the next flight. Before boarding from CIAL, Customs seized currencies worth `10.86 crore from his baggage.

“One of the interesting factors in this case is that the Afghan national has been using the same Air India flight which starts from New Delhi and reach Dubai via Kochi. We are enquiring whether the accused was receiving any help from flight crew or if there was an aide who would board the flight along with him from Kochi. We also have to check whether anyone supporting the smuggling gang is deployed at New Delhi airport when the same flight takes off from there. We have evidence that he was involved in currency smuggling multiple times. While returning from Dubai, he prefers different flights,” a Customs officer said.
26/07/18 Toby Antony/New Indian Express

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

IndiGo eyes growing Bangladesh tourists

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Harsh Vardhan Shringla has said their increased interest in the airlines routes between Bangladesh and India is in tandem with the progress made by trade, commercial and people-to-people ties between the two countries.
At a launching ceremony of IndiGo flight on Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka route on Tuesday, Shringla said when it comes to the civil aviation sector, both of the countries will need to keep pace with the rapid growth and changes that are being observed in their bilateral relations.
IndiGo, the largest low-cost carrier of India, is set to make a debut in Bangladesh on August 1 this year.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shajahan Kamal attended the function as the chief guest.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Md Mohibul Haque, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), Air Vice Marshal M Naim Hassan and Chief Commercial Officer IndiGo William Boulter also attended the function.
25/07/18 Dhaka Tribune

Rajitha says Mattala to India and Hambantota to China is a balancing act

Minister Rajitha Senaratne stated that the reason as to why the Mattala Airport is being given to India, while the Hambantota port is given to China, is to balance out a possible diplomatic conflict.
He also said that, while the decision to build the Hambantota port and the Mattala Airport was a correct one, the problem lies within the fact that they were built without a proper plan.
He further says that, Rs 26,500 million had been used to built the Mattala Airport and Mattala would receive flights had a free trade zone was also built parallel to it.
25/07/18 Charunya Rajakaruna/Ada Derana

Air India fumigates planes after bed bug complaints on Newark airport flights

Air India says the airline is "deeply concerned" about complaints of bed bugs infestation on flights between Newark Liberty International Airport and Mumbai and the company has taken steps to clean its planes.

The airline told NBCNews.com that "experienced experts have carried out extensive service on the aircraft from fumigation to overhaul of the upholstery/ seat covers/carpets but described passengers' grievances as "isolated incidents."

Passengers on at least two different planes that offer service as flight 144 reported they found bed bugs. Children, including an 8-month old, were among those bitten, passengers reported.

"Air India is deeply concerned with a few reports of 'bugs' causing inconvenience to its esteemed passengers," the statement went on to say. "The issue has been viewed seriously and every possible step is being taken to closely inspect and further strengthen our system at every level to ensure that such isolated incidents of passenger discomfiture do not affect our consistent performance."
25/07/18 Jeff Goldman/nj.com

Airlines asked to reduce dependence on foreign pilots: Government

New Delhi: All the scheduled and non-scheduled airlines in the country have been asked to reduce dependence on foreign pilots whose number at present stands at 266, the government informed Parliament today.

“To overcome the shortage of pilots, all scheduled and non-scheduled airlines have been advised to develop their own in-house strength to reduce the dependence on foreign pilots,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha informed the Rajya Sabha today.

The Foreign Aircrew Temporary Authorisation (FATA) provision has also been extended up to December 31, 2020 to cover the shortage of pilots, the Minister said in a written reply. According to the reply, Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India has engaged the highest number of 55 foreign pilots followed by 46 pilots recruited by IndiGo. Jet Airways has 41 foreign pilots.
25/07/18 PTI/Financial Express

Five Indians arrested for smuggling gold in Nepal

Kathmandu: Five Indian nationals were on Wednesday arrested for being in possession of over 3 kg of smuggled gold, worth whopping Rs 14.7 million, at the international airport here, police said.
The accused had concealed the gold in their suitcases’ wheels.
“This was an innovative idea to smuggle the gold... It has been seen for the first time,” said Superintendent of Nepal Police Dinesh Raj Mainali.
The security unit at the Tribhuvan International Airport has arrested five Indian nationals with 3.36 kilograms of smuggled gold yesterday.
25/07/18 PTI/Tribune

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Reduce Air India airfare hike: CM Pinarayi Vijayan to Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu urging him to intervene to reduce the airfare hike by Air India in the Gulf sector.

In a letter to the Union Minister, Pinarayi pointed out that Air India has brought about a steep increase in airfare. The ticket rate for passengers brought by stretcher has been increased by three times as it went up to 25000 - 30000 Dirhams from 7500-10000 Dirhams, from July 20.

The Chief Minister pointed out that millions of Indians have been working in the Gulf countries. Majority of them are from the low-income group.
24/07/18 New Indian Express

Passenger Tweets Pic Of Bedbug Bites, Took Air India US To Mumbai Flight

Mumbai: A passenger who travelled Air India's Newark-Mumbai flight last week has posted disturbing photos of what she says are bedbug bites on her arm. Saumya Shetty is the second passenger in a week to complain about bedbugs on the same flight.
Saumya Shetty, who travelled business class with her three children, including a baby, and arrived in Mumbai last Wednesday, says she developed rashes all over her body. She alleges that despite her complaint to the flight staff, she was forced to sleep in the same seat and got a seat change only a short while before landing in Mumbai.

"Covered in painful bedbug bites all over my body thanks to business class of #AirIndia is this what you charge for?i only got moved to another seat in the morning when we were landing, it was disgusting! Mind you I was traveling with 3 kids," Ms Shetty said in a series of tweets tagging the media.

"Traveled business class thinking it would help with three kids. I'm covered with bed bugs bites and it's been a painful day so far," she posted.
24/07/18 Saurabh Gupta/NDTV

India will own 70% of Mattala Airport forever – Wimal

MP Wimal Weerawansa says that there is a plan to remove the Navy camp in Galle from its current location.

According to him, the relevant land will too be given to India, once the camp is removed from there.

India isn’t buying the Mattala International Airport based on commercial purposes, but to own the control of the Mattala Airport, said Weerawansa.
24/07/18 Charunya Rajakaruna/ADA derana

Bugged by bed bugs: Air India passengers complain of being covered in bite marks

Several Air India passengers flying out of New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport have complained of being bitten by bed bugs while in flight.

In a tweet by Pravin Toneskar, multiple bedbugs can be seen on the business class seats of the plane, which was en route to Mumbai – a nearly 17-hour flight.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, Toneskar said the seats were ‘infested’ and they had to downgrade to economy just to escape the bugs. The economy seats were allegedly damaged and most facilities were inoperable.

Air India reached out to Toneskar, after he lodged an official complaint, and offered an apology, assuring him that corrective measures would be taken.
Two days following this incident, another passenger Rohan, who was on the same flight, tweeted that his family was covered in bites and that he had paid about $10,000 for business class seats.
24/07/18 moneycontrol.com

Myanmar airline to launch charter flight services to India

Yangon: Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) has announced launching charter flight services between Yangon and India's Gaya in September, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday.

The charter flight services will run with Boeing 737-800 aircrafts three days a week until April next year in cooperation with 10 local tour companies.

The MNA has extended international network to Singapore, China's Hong Kong in 2015, Thailand's Bangkok and Chiang Mai in 2016 as well as Phuket in 2018.
24/07/18 Xinhua

India finalising negotiations for 48 additional Mi-17-V5 helicopters from Russia

New Delhi: India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) is concluding negotiations with Russia to acquire 48 additional Mi-17-V5 military transport/utility helicopters for USD1.1 billion for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Official Indian sources told Jane’s on 23 July that the deal for the twin-engine helicopters – 38 of which are earmarked for the IAF – is likely to be signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in early October for the annual bilateral summit between the leaders of the two countries.

The proposed deal also includes an offset obligation that requires all vendors to invest 30% of the overall contractual value of all military purchases over INR20 billion (USD290 million) into India’s defence, internal security, and aviation sectors.
24/07/18 Rahul Bedi/Jane's Defence Weekly

Monday, July 23, 2018

Jayant Sinha lauds Jet Airways’ response to medical emergency on Mumbai-London flight

New Delhi: Minister of State for Civil Aviation and BJP MP Jayant Sinha on Monday lauded Jet Airways for its adept response to a medical emergency onboard a London-bound flight. The aircraft which took off from Mumbai Sunday was diverted to Bucharest in Romania, where it remained stranded reportedly for more than four hours. The delay in the journey left the passengers disgruntled, with author Suhel Seth venting his anger on Twitter.

Whereas, another passenger Vivek Pandit, who is the director of a multinational management consultancy firm, described the incident in a different light.
Appreciating the response of the Jet Airways crew and the fellow passengers, he posted on Facebook, saying, “Amazing humanity, care and dignity on display at Jet Airways.”

A screenshot of his post was shared on Twitter, which drew a reaction of appreciation from Sinha today.

In response to Sinha’s tweet, Jet Airways said: “Thanks, Mr. Sinha. We’re really proud of our crew. They exemplify the service we strive to provide.”
23/07/18 Indian Express

High Court said to advise El Al to drop suit over Saudi route to India

The High Court of Justice has reportedly advised Israel’s national airline El Al to drop legal action against the state over its decision to allow Air India to fly over Saudi airspace on its new route to Tel Aviv.

The court urged El Al to drop the petition it filed earlier this year, the Calcalist business daily said Sunday, and gave the airline a week to respond to the request.

In March, El Al filed an urgent petition to the High Court against the government, Transportation Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority, claiming that granting the Indian airline permission to fly the route, which goes over Saudi Arabia — significantly reducing the cost and flight time on the New Delhi-Tel Aviv route — gave a foreign company an unfair competitive advantage and violated the state’s commitment to Israel’s national carrier.
22/07/18 Times of Israel

US watchdog flags flaws in India's air safety checks

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the USA, which carried out a five-day audit of India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has pointed out certain shortcomings related to regulatory and guidance material essential for ensuring air safety which will now have to be set right within the next 65 days.

DGCA said in an official statement on Sunday that "time-bound action will be taken" on the observations made by the FAA. It further said that the FAA, under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme, conducted the audit between July 16 and July 20 in areas covering aircraft operations, airworthiness and licensing of pilots and technical staff.

DGCA did not elaborate on the observations or the concerns flagged by the US regulator, but said the FAA team would come for a final consultation within 65 days wherein the DGCA shall present the action taken on the observations. The FAA conducts the audits to determine whether the civil aviation authority has the appropriate practices and manpower in place to oversee the safety of airlines that fly in and out of US airports.  Failure to meet the FAA norms would mean that more flights by India's commercial airlines would not be permitted to the US. Besides, existing flights that land at US airports would be subjected to more stringent checks which could result in delaying the turnaround time of aircraft.
23/07/18 Mail Today/Business Today

Embraer backlog, deliveries down in the second quarter

Deliveries by Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA fell in the second quarter from a year earlier and its backlog fell sharply as it dropped an order from an inactive customer, according to a securities filing on Friday.

The planemaker delivered 28 commercial jets to airlines in the three months through June, down from 35 planes a year earlier. Executive jet deliveries fell to 20 aircraft, from 24 jets a year before.

Embraer shares fell nearly 2 percent in Friday trading, pressured by a sharp appreciation of Brazil’s currency, which hurts the planemaker’s export-focused business.

Embraer’s firm order backlog, a gauge of expected revenue, fell sharply as the planemaker removed an order for 50 of its next-generation E2 passenger jets placed by Indian carrier Air Costa, which suspended service last year.
22/07/18 Brinkwire

After landing in Canada, two AAP MLAs questioned, sent back

Chandigarh: Two MLAs of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were Sunday denied entry into Canada and sent back to India shortly after they landed in the country on a private visit.

Kotkapura MLA Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Ropar MLA Amarjit Singh Sandoa were reportedly detained and questioned by Canadian immigration officials regarding the purpose of their visit. While initial reports said they were detained at around 9 am IST, it was learnt later that they had been put on an Air Canada flight to Delhi.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Sudeep Singla, AAP spokesperson in Toronto, confirmed that the MLAs were “sent back” after questioning. “What we have learnt is that both were to stay with the sister of Kultar Singh Sandhwan in Ottawa and she was waiting to receive them. However, after hours of questioning, she was informed that both were being sent back.”
23/07/18 Man Aman Singh Chhina/Indian Express

This isn't what you think but 1.85kg of smuggled gold-paste!

DRI officials stopped a smuggling bid at Hyderabad airport on Saturday and recovered around 2kg of gold that was being brought in from Colombo.
The man carrying the booty came under suspicion as his hand-baggage included two packages, weighing 1.85kg.
Upon inspection, the package was found to contain 1.12kg of gold-paste, out of which 1.10kg of pure gold was extracted, valued at Rs. 34.57L.
The suspected man came to Hyderabad from Madurai aboard a SpiceJet flight and was caught at the arrival hall of the airport.
He was responsible for transporting the gold to Chennai via Hyderabad, said Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials, adding that the smuggled good might be coming from Dubai, and Colombo was just a clone-stop to avoid investigators.
Ignoring the seriousness of the matter, Twitterati were cracking jokes as the gold-paste closely resembled human poop.
23/07/18 Pallabi Chatterjee/NewsByets/Yahoo

Gold biscuits worth Rs 22 lakh found hidden in plane loo

Pune: The customs officials at the Pune airport recovered six gold biscuits, worth around Rs 22 lakh, from the rear lavatory of the SpiceJet flight (SG52) that had
come in from Dubai on Saturday.
This latest recovery of smuggled gold comes after a two-month break. In recent times, smugglers have tried to sneak in the precious metal into the country in many
innovative ways and forms — even making a semi-solid gold paste. These tactics have, however, not worked at the Pune airport. Perhaps the smugglers are now
reverting to their old modus operandi of using gold biscuits. “The total weight of the gold biscuits is 699.9 gram, which is valued at Rs 21,90,750. It is after more than two months that the airport has seen another gold
smuggling attempt and the modus operandi is an old one. However, the catch shows that the officials at the Pune airport are vigilant and have not slipped during the
lull period,” a customs official said .
“When the customs officials were checking the flight after landing, they found the gold biscuits concealed in the flight’s rear lavatory’s oxygen mask panel. The
biscuits were double wrapped with black adhesive tape and a yellow cloth and then concealed,” Mahesh Patil, the deputy commissioner (customs) at Pune airport,
said.
23/07/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

Sunday, July 22, 2018

India emerges as a key player at Farnborough airshow

The rising potential of opportunities in the Indian skies has been clearly evident at the Farnborough International Airshow which saw $46.4 billion in deals announced on the first day and the $95.9 billion mark breached on the second day. Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways on Tuesday signed a formal agreement with Boeing to acquire an additional 75 latest single-aisle 737 Max aircraft valued at $8.8 billion.

Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Guardian, Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific and India Sales, for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said, “The fact that Jet Airways has ordered 75 additional 737 Max 8 at the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow confirms that Indian skies will continue to reflect double digit growth like in the past 4-5 years. This clearly reflects the fact that the Indian aviation sector will absorb a lot of single aisle and wide-bodied aircraft.” Apart from the deal with Jet Airways, Boeing seemed excited about making inroads into full service airline Vistara. “Coming from the Singapore Airlines stable, Vistara flies a lot of Airbus A-320 and Neos. That they have opted for Boeing 787 is good news for us,” Keskar added.

Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal said after the signing ceremony on the first day of the Farnborough show: “The order emphasises Jet Airways’ commitment to the growth and potential of the Indian aviation market.”
21/07/18 Kamal Shah/Sunday Guardian Live

New routes, airlines at Bahrain International Airport

Bahrain International Airport (BIA) announced 12 new routes for the regional hub, along with new carriers operating out of Manama.

Gulf Air, the national carrier, added eight new routes, with new direction services to Bangalore (India), Calicut (India), Abha (Saudi Arabia), Tubuk (Saudi Arabia), Alexandria (Egypt), Sharm El Shaikh (Egypt), Baku (Azerbaijan), and Casablanca (Morocco).

Azerbaijan’s flag carrier, Azerbaijan Airlines, also started its new direct service between Baku and Bahrain, operating twice a week between Heydar Aliyev International Airport and BIA.
22/07/18 Arabian Business

My bag was tampered with, valuables are missing: Flier

A Mulund resident who flew back to Mumbai on Friday from China on a Singapore Airlines flight has raised a complaint alleging that her bag has been tampered with and some of her valuables including some jewellery are missing.

Devanshi Thakker had taken the Singapore Airlines flight from Beijing to Mumbai via Singapore. However, when Thakker landed at Mumbai airport on Friday, she was informed that her baggage was still in Singapore due to some issues.

When the baggage was finally delivered by the airline staff at Thakker's resident in the central suburb, it was ripped, she claimed, and valuables including a watch she estimated at Rs 20,000 and some imitation jewellery was missing from the bag.
22/07/18 DNA

First batch of Haj pilgrims leaves for Mecca

Mangaluru: The first batch of 146 Haj pilgrims from Karnataka left for Madina and Mecca from Mangaluru International Airport on Saturday.

They were among 432 pilgrims from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Hassan and Chikkamagaluru districts who are scheduled to leave for the pilgrimage from the airport in three days from Saturday. They will go in three chartered flights.

This is for the first time the pilgrims are going on the pilgrimage without subsidy from the Union government.

As many as 1.73 lakh persons will undertake pilgrimage from India this year of which 6,624 are going through the Karnataka State Haj Committee.
22/07/18 The Hindu

Nationality question puts Sri Lankan native in a fix

Chennai: A writ petition filed in the Madras High Court has brought to light the plight of a 45-year-old woman employed as a waitress in Italy. She was made to shuttle between airports in India and Sri Lanka twice within two days last month due to doubts over her nationality. She has not been allowed to step out of the Anna International airport here since June 24.
Dismissing a writ petition filed by law student, P. Divya, demanding her mother’s release from the custody of immigration officials, Justice T. Raja pointed out that the petitioner’s mother Sayanthi Anandarajah was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, on December 7, 1973. She was issued a Sri Lankan passport on October 12, 1989, and it expired in 1994.
In the meantime, Ms. Sayanthi came to India as a refugee and got married to an Indian citizen named Premkumar in April 1992. She gave birth to three children, of whom the petitioner was the youngest. During the period of her stay in India, she obtained a voter’s identity card, Aadhaar card and ration card. She also got an Indian passport in 2004.
In 2007, she took up a job as a house help in Italy and visited India once in two years to meet her family. In 2013, she found a job as a waitress at a hotel in Italy and flew down to Chennai on June 23 to attend her eldest daughter’s marriage. However, immigration officials detained her at the airport after suspecting her nationality.
21/07/18 Mohamed Imranullah S/The Hindu

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Teen training pilot from India among 3 Killed in US mid-air collision

Washington: A 19-year-old trainee pilot from India was among three people killed when two small training aircraft from a flight school collided midair in the US state of Florida, authorities said on Wednesday.
The two small planes likely to piloted by trainers smashed into each other on Tuesday over the Florida Everglades near Miami, the Federal Aviation Administration said, the Miami Herald reported.
The two aircraft — Piper PA-34 and Cessna 172 — belonged to Dean International, a flight school in Miami that has a history of more than two dozen incidents and accidents in the decade between 2007 and 2017, Miami Dade County Mayor said.
Police confirmed at least three deaths and are investigating whether a fourth person was killed.
Police identified the three victims as Nisha Sejwal from India and Jorge Sanchez, 22 and Ralph Knight, 72.
Sejwal had enrolled in flight school in September 2017, according to her Facebook page.
21/07/18 Link

Fly to Bali, Kuala lumpur in just Rs 9,000: Check out attractive offers from AirAsia, Jet Airways and others

After an exhausting week, if you are planning to fly for a weekend getaway then you might want to check out all the lucrative offers, the budgeted airlines are offering. To make the most of the monsoon season, Indian airlines have come up with deals that are hard to miss. Starting with Jet Airways, the airline is offering 30 per cent discount on both domestic and international flights. The discount could be availed on the base fares.

Jet Airways offer is valid till July 23. “Up to 30% discount is applicable on base fare in Première and Economy from India to destinations across its international network on flights operated by Jet Airways and to select destinations in Europe on flights operated by Jet Airways and codeshare partners Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines,” Jet Airways mentioned on its official website.

About the travel period, Jet Airways said that it should be after 17 July. However, travel period to Manchester must start on or after 5 November, 2018.

Another low cost airline, AirAsia is offering discount upto 30 per cent on all its domestic flights. The offer is valid till July 22 for the travel period from July 27 till November 30, 2018. In its another offer, AirAsia is offering tickets to Bali, Kulalampur and other nations at starting price of Rs 3,999. This offer is also valid till July 22 for the travel period till January 31, 2019. Besides, it's also offering 30 per cent discount on the newly introduced routes between Bengaluru and Amritsar.
21/07/18 DNA

Abandoned Bangladesh plane shifted to other location

Raipur: The plane owned by United Airways (Bangladesh) Ltd, stranded in Swami Vivekananda Airport, Raipur since last three years, since its emergency landing, was on Friday shifted from the parking area to the west side of the airport. The drill was conducted by the Airports Authority of India with assistance from Air India in the presence of United Airways (Bangladesh) Ltd representatives.
Airport Authority of India personnel led by Rakesh Sahay Airport Manager, initiated the shifting work with the help of Air India on Friday, at 1.50 pm and the shifting work was completed by 2.30 pm. Inayat Hussain, Assistant Manager (Engineering) and Shubhankar Bannerjee Assistant General Manager (Kolkata) were present on the occasion as representatives from United Airways (Bangladesh) Ltd. Airport Manager Rakesh Sahay extended his gratitude to Air India for its valued assistance in executing the shifting work.
The space vacated by the stranded United Airways (Bangladesh) Ltd plane will create a parking space for aircrafts which will be arriving frequently in near future during election time and otherwise. Later the space will be used for laying parallel track for plane taxiway.
21/07/18 Hitavada

Rafale deal controversy: French government’s statement, what is says, what it doesn’t

Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s statement in Lok Sabha, during the debate on no-confidence motion against Narendra Modi government, that there was no secrecy pact between India and France over deal for purchase of Rafale aircraft, was countered by French government within hours.
The statement issued by the French government affirmed that a secrecy pact exists between the two countries. The statement, however, only said the agreement “legally binds the two states to protect the classified information provided by the partner, that could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment”.
However, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stretched the meaning of “classified information… that could impact security and operational capabilities of the defence equipment” to include the aircraft price.
Also lost in the noise was the aspect of shunting out public sector’s Hindustan Aeronautcis Limited, which has been making fighter aircraft for decades, and giving the contract to a private player with no background or experience in the field.
21/07/18 APN

Friday, July 20, 2018

Sri Lanka Will Not Allow Military Use of Mattala Airport by India - Minister

New Delhi: Amid stiff resistance from opposition parties, the government of Sri Lanka has clarified that India will not be allowed to use Mattala International Airport for military purposes even if ownership of the airport is transferred to the Airports Authority of India.

Sri Lanka's minister of civil aviation, Nimal Siripala de Silva, has informed Parliament that a joint venture would be formed to operate the debt-ridden airport where 70 percent of its shares would be bought by India while the other 30 percent by the Sri Lankan government.

Silva said that discussions are underway on the nitty-gritty of the proposal and that a technical evaluation committee and a negotiating committee on matters regarding national security and the job security of employees of the airport would recommend the future course of actions.

Earlier, Sri Lanka's opposition leader, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, made strong allegations that the Sirisena government was compromising the sovereignty of the country and national security despite knowing that airports play an important part in domestic and international wars.
20/07/18 Sputnik

Lufthansa and SAP kick-off the world's first “Aviation Blockchain Challenge”

Whether it’s information technology, automotive development, or civil aviation, blockchain drives decision-makers in numerous industries. After all, the underlying technology has the potential to fundamentally change processes and value chains. While the financial sector is, for instance, already offering initial applications, travel- and mobility-related players are only beginning to develop decentralized networks. Occasionally, solutions meant to have a lasting impact on the value chain of airlines do not reach market maturity.  It is with this in mind that the “Aviation Blockchain Challenge” announced by Lufthansa Innovation Hub and SAP.iO Berlin Foundry aims to explore the potential of blockchain technology in the aviation context.

"Blockchain is one of the game-changing technologies of our time, which we are systematically addressing as part of our digital strategy for the Lufthansa Group. We look forward to discussing innovative solutions and initiating experiments together with our partner SAP at the Aviation Blockchain Challenge. By combining our aviation industry expertise with the blockchain technology of a world market leader, we are creating the ideal worldwide framework for addressing blockchain entrepreneurs with an affinity for travel and mobility," explains Thorsten Dirks, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and in charge of Eurowings and Aviation Services.

Along with Thorsten Dirks, Deepak Krishnamurthy, Chief Strategy Officer & Executive Vice President of SAP, is co-sponsoring the first Aviation Blockchain Challenge: “SAP is excited to partner with Lufthansa on this startup innovation challenge to reinvent the traveler experience, airline operations and supply chain with Blockchain. With our industry leading SAP Leonardo Blockchain platform and Lufthansa’s market leadership and expertise in Aviation, we can foster a new innovation ecosystem that can potentially transform the entire travel industry.”

Winning teams can get access to Blockchain-as-a-Service from SAP in order to build or improve their MVP and can utilize Lufthansa Group's industry access to all major areas of the aviation ecosystem to push their projects forward. The offer is rounded out by a targeted mentoring program in which selected participants are supported by experts from the Lufthansa Innovation Hub and SAP.iO Berlin Foundry in the further development of their solutions.

Applicants can compete in three different categories:

1. "Traveler challenge"
In this category, ideas are sought along the entire travel chain that offer clear added value for travelers – from booking and purchasing flights to loyalty programs and airport identification. The overriding goal is to make the travel experience more efficient and seamless.

2. "Airline challenge" 
In this category, ideas are sought that improve airline specific operations and related processes, for example by optimizing the sharing of data across company and departmental boundaries.

3. "Supplier challenge”
This category is about ideas that have the potential to rethink maintenance and related aspects of the aviation supply chain – from document tracking and digitization to the transparent verification of documentation.

Interested applicants will find further information on the contest and the link to the submission portal on the website (http://aviation-blockchain-challenge.com). Applications can be submitted until August 31, 2018. The best three ideas per category will first be nominated for the mentoring program, which will start in September 2018. On October 23, 2018, teams will have the opportunity to pitch for a further collaboration at the Lufthansa Innovation Forum at Lufthansa's headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.
20/07/18 Lufthansa/Press Release

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Airport Authority Asked To Submit Plan To Operate Sri Lankan Airport

Colombo: Sri Lanka has asked the Airport Authority of India to submit its business plan for operating the country's loss-making Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in southern Hambantota, Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told his country's parliament today.

The minister's remarks came in response to the Opposition's question asking the government to disclose the details of the deal.

The $210 million facility, 241-km south-east of Colombo, is dubbed the "world's emptiest airport".

The airport was officially opened in March 2013. The only international flight operating from there was halted in May due to recurrent losses and flight safety issues.
The Mattala Airport was built with high interest commercial loans from China.
19/07/18 PTI/NDTV

Despite Oppn protests, Sri Lanka to hand over loss-making airport to India

Colombo: Sri Lanka will go ahead with a deal with India to handover the island nation's loss-making Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in Hambantota, the Joint Opposition said on Wednesday.

The $210 million facility, 241-km south-east of Colombo, is dubbed the "world's emptiest airport" due to a lack of flights.

"We met the Minister of Civil Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva this morning to try and stop the sale of the airport to India. He told us that the government has taken the final decision to sell it," said Mahindananda Aluthgamage, a Joint Opposition legislator.

A delegation of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa-led Joint Opposition had toured the Mattala airport on Tuesday.
19/07/18 PTI/Business Standard

Hindustan Aeronautics chooses L3 Aviation Products for helicopter flight data recorders

Farnborouh: Avionics designers at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) in Bangalore, India, needed flight data recorders for miltary and civil helicopters. They found their solution from avionics supplier L3 Aviation Products in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Hindustan Aeronautics is choosing the FA2300 Modular Airborne Data Recorder/Acquisition System (MADRAS) for the HAL Advanced Light Helicopter and Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) production programs. The companies made the announcement this week at the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, England.
The FA2300 MADRAS is a line-replaceable unit (LRU) produced in Bengaluru, India, that provides high-speed recording of flight data and audio that are crucial for post-flight analysis and accident investigation.

MADRAS records data as quickly as 256 words-per-second for a minimum of 25 hours and has the capability to record four channels of high-quality audio for as long as two hours.
19/07/18 John Keller/Intelligent Aerospace

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Air Astana becomes 7-time best airline in Central Asia and India

The flag carrier of Kazakhstan Air Astana has been recognized for the 7th time as the best airline in Central Asia and India, the airline informed on July 18.
The award ceremony, held by the world-famous British consulting company Skytrax in London, brought together representatives of the leading airlines in the world.
In his speech, Peter Foster, President and CEO of Air Astana, thanked the passengers for choosing the airline.
It is noteworthy that Air Astana holds the Four Star rating of the Skytrax World Airline Awards.
18/07/18 Azernews

Airlines asked to pay for making Umrah trip a nightmare

The IV Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed Saudi Arabian Airlines to pay Rs 3,66,360 to a Bhatkal-based family that had visited Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.
The airlines personnel allegedly caused mental agony and huge loss to the family by preventing them from boarding the flight from Jeddah to Mumbai despite completing all the formalities.
Mohammed Usama and seven members of his family had gone to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, a religious pilgrimage, in June 2016. The family was to fly from Mumbai to Jeddah and thereafter visit Dubai and return to Mumbai from Jeddah in July 2016. He booked the air tickets for himself and other family members. He was to board the Saudi Arabian Airlines flight from Jeddah to Mumbai, which was scheduled to depart on July 16, 2016, at 12:05 am. The total cost of tickets was Rs.96,000.
He had also booked a connecting train from Panvel (Mumbai) to Udupi via Mumbai on July 17, 2016, and fare of the train tickets booked from Panvel to Udupi was Rs.7,360. All of them reached the Jeddah Airport at 10 am. At the counter, however, they were informed that there were some technical problems with the baggage processing machine and were requested to wait. They booked their luggage and were given boarding passes to enter the flight. When they approached the gate to board the plane, airlines personnel stopped them from entering the plane despite them having boarding pass.
Despite several requests to board the plane and expressing irreparable loss and mental agony if they failed to board the plane, Usama said the employees of Saudi Arabian Airlines were rude and adamant and refused to permit them to pass and board the flight even though the flight was delayed and had not taken off as yet.
18/07/18 Gururaj B R/Bangalore Mirror

Nigeria launches national carrier that it hopes will fly to China and India

Nigeria has released details of its new national carrier, Nigeria Air, which is due to be launched at the end of this year.

The Nigerian government will own no more than a 5 percent stake in the airline, which it is touting as “fully private sector led,” according to a tweet by Tolu Ogunlesi, a communications official.

Nigeria Air will begin by flying domestically in Nigeria and the broader West Africa region, aviation minister Hadi Sirika told CNBC via telephone on Wednesday. He added that the airline had looked at 81 potential destinations, including to China and India, to which it would expand routes “when the time is right.”

Sirika said that there was a “total absence of efficient air transportation” currently in Nigeria and across West Africa, and that the sector was not adequately serviced by private firms alone. He added that Nigeria Air was also designed to “provide employment for people.”
18/07/18 Justina Crabtree/CNBC

Three women from Sudan intercepted with gold at CIAL

Kochi: Three women from Sudan were intercepted by the Air Intelligence Unit of Customs for smuggling gold at Cochin International Airport Ltd, Nedumbassery, on Tuesday. The women who arrived in Air India Express from Dubai were carrying 2.6 kg of gold.

According to Customs officers, the arrest of the women would be recorded later on Tuesday. Two of the women had six gold biscuits each, while one woman was carrying five gold bars. It was hidden inside the rectum. They were also carrying gold ornaments. The total value of the gold smuggled by the trio is Rs 84 lakh. “These women are frequent travellers to India and we are verifying their travel details,” said a Customs officer.

The seizure was made following the directives of Customs commissioner Sumit Kumar. “The Sudan nationals had visited Mumbai on several occasions. They arrived in India posing as textile merchants. However, we have to identify the kingpin of the racket,” said an officer.
18/07/18 New Indian Express

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Indian airlines eyeing international skies

Kolkata: Indian airlines are moving towards the international market in search of better returns as the intensifying fight for a bigger share of the world’s fastest growing domestic market drives down profits, says a recent report by Reuters.

A data report from the travel firm Rome2Rio, says that, India is among the cheapest domestic airlines market in the world, with an average fare of 13 cents per kilometre flown, less than half the 27 cents per km average in China and the United States of America (US). Promotional offers on a two-hour flight from Mumbai to Delhi, such as, USD 50 one-way tickets, are easier to find, and for the airlines that are expected to take delivery for more than 500 aircraft in the next five years, the pressure on profits and fares are also increasing. The Indian airlines market is growing by 30 pc.

According to Reuters, since 2015, the profits of the global airlines have been strong, though the variations between regions are wide, therefore the Indian carriers are struggling to keep their profit constant, despite them enjoying almost 90 pc seat reservation in the domestic market and benefitting from a more than double of the domestic passenger numbers over the last four years.
Airlines including SpiceJet Ltd (SPJT.BO), Vistara, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd’s (INGL.NS) IndiGo are conversing so that they can buy or lease the widebody aircraft, and to boost profit they are firming up international growth plans.
17/07/18  Varsha Singh/Media India Group

US facing serious shortage of pilots with an increase in demand for air travel

The United States is currently facing a serious shortage of airline pilots, particularly at the regional airline levels, according to a report.

During this period, there has been a tremendous increase in the demand for air travel, the Federal Aviation Administration said in the report. The International Air Transport Association predicts that air travel will double over the next 20 years.

Major US airlines were not yet directly experiencing the pilot shortage, according to the report.

The Federal Aviation Administration said that the number has decreased by 30 per cent over the past three decades and there were about 827,000 pilots in America in 1987.

But smaller regional airlines are experiencing this first-hand. Their schedules have been reduced and some, such as Republic, have been forced into bankruptcy because of inadequate staffing.
17/07/18 India TV

Sikorsky announces sale of first S-76D helicopter in India

Mumbai: Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin firm, today announced the sale of its first S-76D helicopter in India, to the Maharashtra government.

The delivery of the maiden aircraft to the state government is scheduled for next year, it said in a release.

The announcement to this effect came during the Farnborough International Airshow, which commenced in southwest of London yesterday.
17/07/18 Outlook

Get up to 30% discount on flight tickets from UAE

Dubai: India's Jet Airways on Wednesday announced discounts up to 30 per cent on their international travel using the airline's vast network of destinations in India and beyond.

Effective July 17, guests travelling to India, Bangkok, Colombo, Dhaka, Hong Kong, Kathmandu and Singapore can enjoy substantial savings on their Premiere as well as Economy class bookings, the airline said in a statement.

Tickets booked under the week-long fare sale from July 17 to July 23 will be valid for immediate travel making it a wonderful opportunity for guests booking last minute and those planning their future travels.
17/07/18 Khaleej Times

Monday, July 16, 2018

Air India suspends Bhubaneswar-Bangkok direct flight ops

Bhubaneswar: India’s national carrier Air India temporarily suspended its direct flight service from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok starting from today due to operational reasons, an official said.

The Air India has suspended direct flight service from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok from today (July 16) till September 30 due to “operational reasons”, said Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) Director Suresh Chandra Hota.

He further said,”There is no information when Air India will resume its operations on the route.”

The Air India had started its maiden Bhubaneswar-Bangkok flight on December 10, 2017. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had flagged off the first flight operation at the city airport.
16/07/18 Odisha Sun Times

Farnborough: Bombardier looks to Asia for regional aircraft boom

Bombardier's regional aircraft focus seems poised to shift more toward Asia and other developing markets in the coming years, in acknowledgement of aviation's advancements in those regions and the relative maturity of the North American market.

The manufacturer also expects to continue making incremental improvements to its regional aircraft products – which include CRJs and Q400s – rather than immediately embarking on larger development projects, says Bombardier president of commercial aircraft Fred Cromer.

"The products will continue to evolve. I don't think it's going to be a step change; it's more incremental," Cromer tells FlightGlobal. He notes Bombardier is now selling CRJs with its new Atmosphere cabin, which has larger overhead bins and a cabin designed to feel more spacious.
15/07/18 Flight Global

Saudi Airlines flight from Riyadh to Dhaka makes emergency landing at Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: An aircraft of Saudi Airlines going to Dhaka in Bangladesh from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia had to make an emergency landing at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, here on Monday night.
The plane landed due to a medical emergency.
Airport Director Manoj Gangal said, "Saudia Airline flight SV804 from Riyadh to Dhaka
requested Ahmedabad ATC for diversion to Ahmedabad as a passenger named Nazir Ahmed Runa, (38) was unconscious.
16/07/18 UNI

Sunday, July 15, 2018

SpiceJet may tie-up with US companies to diversify business

Chennai: SpiceJet airlines is all set to enter into major business partnerships with two American companies, which includes an international airline, to diversify its activities beyond aviation, reports have stated.

The Gurgaon-based airline is planning to enter the digital and technology space, the report added. They are also interested in the cargo, courier, and logistics business.
14/07/18 News Today

Air India throws spanner in Jet’s plans for more flights to London

New Delhi: Jet Airways’ plans to start additional flights to London have hit air pockets as Air India has conveyed to the government that its seat entitlement to Heathrow airport cannot be allocated to the private carrier even though they remain unused for now.

Seeking to protect its turf, the public sector airline has shot off a letter to the civil aviation ministry advising it to push aside the Jet Airways’ proposal. The carrier has contended that it is in the process of restructuring its flights to Heathrow airport and would soon be using all the traffic rights given to it.

Sources said Jet Airways had struck a deal with its partner KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for slots at the Heathrow airport and sought Indian government’s permission to launch new flights.
15/07/18 Nirbhay Kumar/mydigitalfc.com

Why are we buying even helicopters from abroad?

Make in India in defence is a serious issue. Unfortunately, this government specialises in perception building, image-making and in coinages like Make in India… a kind of building an advertising campaign…what we have is just a document. Where is the policy? We are still groping around defence procurement procedures, not even policy. Where is Defence production strategy ?I just want to look into the big items. Where is the Arjun tank after four years? How has the LCA Tejas moved? How has modernisation of IAF accelerated? From 36 squadrons, we have come down to 31.We lost the last year of the UPA Government and the last four years of the Modi Government and we have paid a high price. Globally, the defence Industry is not growing; it is stagnant in fact. So, we need to push our own agenda and bargain on technology transfer as buyers.
15/07/18 Kapil Kak/National Herald

First flight carrying 410 Hajis from India reaches Madina, Ambassador Ahmed Javed welcomes pilgrims

Jeddah: First flight from India carrying 410 Haj pilgrims today reached Madina International Airport where the pilgrims were welcomed by Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmed Javed at the airport on Saturday 14 July.

The flight that left Delhi reached Madina one hour earlier than the scheduled time, flagging off numerous flights from across the country to comply Haj pilgrims of this year to Saudi Arabia.
14/07/18 Bhatkallys.com

MP urges Centre to address airfare hike

Thiruvananthapuram: Attingal MP A.Sampath has written to Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu seeking his intervention to reverse the steep hike in air fare from Gulf countries to Kerala and other destinations in India.

In a letter to the Minister, he said most carriers had increased the fare in the Gulf- Kerala sector, affecting millions of expatriate Malayalis. Many airlines were forcing customers to opt for the expensive executive class tickets even when economy class seats were vacant, he alleged.
15/07/18 The Hindu

India opens skies to Philippines, allows unlimited direct flights

New Delhi: The archipelago of the Philippines will soon be a direct flight away from Indian cities. The two countries have now allowed 28 weekly flights between their major cities and unlimited frequencies between their smaller cities. This is the first enhancement of flying rights in more than a decade, raising the earlier bilateral that allowed only seven flights a week.
“After 13 years, bilateral civil aviation negotiations were held between India and Philippines on July 11 and 12, 2018. Airlines of both countries can now operate 28 weekly flights to the major cities and also deploy unlimited capacity to alter cities in both countries. This will enable direct flights between India and Philippines again,” the aviation ministry said in a Tweet.
While the number of Indian tourists visiting the Philippines has been rising in recent times, there is no direct flight between the two countries. So they take one-stop connections on airlines like Singapore Airlines, Thai, Air Asia, and Silk Air. Airlines of Philippines approached Indian authorities some time back, seeking enhancement of bilateral so that they could start direct flights. The archipelago’s flag carrier Philippines Airlines (PA) is learnt to be planning to start direct flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Manila this year.
15/07/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India



Saturday, July 14, 2018

Confounded by clouds, pilot returns to Iran

Mumbai: An Iran Air A306 aircraft that flew into Indian airspace from Tehran around noon circled along the east and west of the city for close to an hour as it tried in vain to cut through the bad tropical weather, only to finally give up and fly back to land in Zahedan, Iran.
Iran Air city airport station manager Shahbaaz Busheri said that flight IR-810 flew from Zahedan to Tehran, where it refuelled and was expected to land in the city around 2 am on Saturday. "About 140 passengers waiting to board the Mumbai-Tehran flight have been taken care of," he said.
An air traffic controller said he and his colleagues found it strange that the aircraft should fly back.
"We don't know what transpired on board flight IR-810. After an hour of holding, the commander radioed and said: 'Diverting due weather.' We don't ask for details," said a senior air traffic controller. "There were some cumulonimbus clouds along the approach path. But other aircraft managed to avoid them and land," he added.
14/07/18 Times of India

Airbus inks pacts with three Indian start-ups

Bengaluru: As part of French aviation giant Airbus’s accelerator programme Take Off 2018, Airbus subsidiaries NAVBLUE and Aerial have signed agreements with three Indian start-ups. This will help set up a new industry benchmark in aeronautical data services, flight operations and imagery services. This programme is accelerated by Airbus Bizlab India. These partnerships are in addition to those that Airbus signed with Bengaluru-based start-ups Neewee and EFLIGHT in February 2018. This is Season 3 of the accelerator programme, which aligns with the Make in India and Start-up India initiatives.

NAVBLUE signed up Bengaluru-based Stelae Technologies to enhance aeronautical data services quality and consistency. This will enable faster introduction of the next generation fully data-driven and connected EFB (electronic flight bag) solution to the market. NAVBLUE also extended its agreement with EFLIGHT to provide a comprehensive service solution to the Indian business aviation market. The third agreement was signed between Airbus Aerial and Navi Mumbai-based Airpix for a joint go-to market in India to provide geo-analytic solutions and imagery services in the country.

“For the last couple of years I have been convinced with the potential and the quality of entrepreneurs in India. I am pleased to see that all these partnerships between Airbus and Indian start-ups are proving me right,” said Bruno Gutierres, global head, Airbus BizLab, in a press conference. Airbus Bizlab has a community of 2,000 B2B start-ups from India, Southeast Asia and Israel. The company provides mentorship across various domains over a period of six months through the accelerator programme.
14/07/18 Financial Express

First Haj Flight SV-5904 from Lucknow embarks for Madinah, Check full schedule

Lucknow: First Haj Flight Saudi Airlines SV-5904 from Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh embarked for Madinah, Saudi Arabia today i.e. July 14, 2018 at 12:00 pm.

The first Haj flight carrying 300 pilgrims from Lucknow embarkation point will arrive at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport, Madinah at 03:00 pm (15:00). With this the first batch of pilgrims from India will land on the Holy Land. They will later go to Makkah to perform Hajj - the annual ritual to commemorate the sacrifices of Prophet Ibrahim, his noble wife Hager and their son Prophet Ismael.

A total of 49 flights will be operated from Lucknow Haj embarkation point. The last flight will be Saudi Airlines SV-5914. It will depart from Lucknow at 03:20 pm on July 29, 2018 and reach Madina International airport at 06:35 pm on the same day..
14/07/18 Ummid.com

India's attempts to control world's emptiest airport in Sri Lanka hit after rounds of negotiations end in stalemate

Colombo: Questions are now being raised in Sri Lanka over the seriousness of India's intent to set up a joint venture for Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in Hambantota, which has the dubious distinction of not having any scheduled flights.

India had submitted an unsolicited investment proposal to Sri Lanka’s ministry of civil aviation after the latter closed the call for expressions of interest for a business venture to turn around the airport, dubbed the world’s emptiest, in December 2016.

The airport is located close to the Chinese-run Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port and that explains India’s strategic interest in the desolated airport.

It seems the Indian government just wanted to block China from leasing the airport in the same region as the port.
14/07/18  Chathuri Dissanayake/First Post

Indian family receives wrong dead body after mix-up in UAE

Abu Dhabi: In an unfortunate mix up of dead bodies, a bereaved Indian family in Kerala received the mortal remains of another man, who also died in Abu Dhabi around the same time, Khaleej Times has learnt.

The body of Kamatchi Krishnan, 39, hailing from Tamil Nadu was repatriated to the grieving relatives of Keralite expat, Nidhin Othayoth Kottaron, 29, who died last week in Abu Dhabi, sources close to the case have confirmed.

A relative of deceased Nidhin said the family realised there was a mix up when the coffin arrived in in Calicut, Kerala on Friday on an Air India flight.

The body of Krishnan is currently kept in the mortuary at a government hospital in Nidhin's native place in Wayanad, Kerala, awaiting relatives.

"We are not sure how this unfortunate incident happened. Our first priority is to support the families by expediting the repatriation of the body, which is still in the mortuary," an Indian embassy official told Khaleej Times.

Ranjan Dutta, Air India Manager for Abu Dhabi and Al Ain sector, said all required documents were submitted while repatriating the body.

"The human remains are booked on air consignment note based on the original documents produced to Air India or any carrier for that matter, which includes death certificate, police clearance, certification of passport cancellation by the embassy and cancelled passport of the deceased."
14/07/18 Anjana Sankar/Khaleej Times

Friday, July 13, 2018

Surat to get direct flight to Sharjah in winter

Surat: Putting all speculations at rest, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has stated that the international operations from Surat airport will be permitted with effect from winter season i.e October or November.
From the past couple of weeks, the airport activists, especially those affiliated with the ‘We Work for a Working Airport at Surat (WWWAS) had started a propaganda on social media announcing that Air India Express was considering launching Sharjah-Surat flight operation from August 17. Even the schedule of the flight to and from Sharjah to Surat was posted on social media, inviting curiosity by many users.
12/07/18 Times of India

Qatar Airways flight skids off runway at Cochin International Airport

Kochi: A Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Kochi skidded off the runway while landing at the Cochin International Airport early on Friday due to heavy rains, an airport official and the airline said. Airport Director A.C.K. Nair told IANS that all the passengers were safe.

The airline said: “Qatar Airways flight QR516 from DOH to COK skidded during landing roll due to heavy rain and water on the runway, damaging a few runway lights. The aircraft taxied normally to the stand. Due to this incident the return flight … was cancelled.

“All passengers were accommodated on later flights,” an airline statement said. “Qatar Airways is fully cooperating with local authorities. The safety and security of our passengers is our top priority.” The Airbus 330 missed the alignment while landing as some lights on the runway were broken due to cross wind conditions, Nair said earlier. “The aircraft was well on the runway but missed the alignment… All the passengers are safe,” he said.
13/07/18 IANS/Free Press Journal

After S-400 air-defence deal, India to buy 48 Russian copters for $1.2 b

Mumbai: As the S-400 air-defence deal with Russia gets the green signal, the stage is set for the inking of another $1.2-billion deal between India and Russia for 48 Mi-17V5 helicopters for the Indian Air Force.

State-owned Russian Helicopters has been waiting in the wings to seal the contract, with “negotiations completed at the end of last year.”

In an earlier interaction with BusinessLine, Russian Helicopters CEO Andrey Boginsky had mentioned the company’s keen interest in supplying the Mil-17-V5 military and transport model to the forces. Russia’s arms exporting company JSC Rosoboronexport is to help the helicopter company execute the deal.
13/07/18 Amrita Nair-Ghaswalla/Business Line

$1.65-billion Aircraft deal: India to push for G2G pact with Japan

The long-pending deal involving purchase of 12 ShinMaywa US-2i Amphibious and Rescue (SAR) aircraft for $1.65 billion is back on track with New Delhi expected to push for government to government deal (G2G) in an effort to close the discussions before the India-Japan annual summit to be held in September. Talking to FE on condition of anonymity, a senior officer said: “The discussions have been going on for this aircraft for several years; there has not been much of an action on the deal so far. Recognising the advantage of selling to India, the two governments are willing to negotiate much lower price for these machines and through G2G route.”

The ministry of defence (MoD) has shown a preference for government-to-government (G2G) deals instead of direct commercial negotiations with companies producing armaments over the last couple of years. Some of the major G2G deals include procurement from Russia, US and France.

Sharing his view about the G2G route for defence procurements, an industry source said: “The inter-governmental agreement (IGA) between two governments, besides maintaining transparency, it also ensures that there are no unnecessary delays in closing deals.”
11/07/18 Huma Siddiqui/Financial Express

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Vistara may become first airline since 2011 to start foreign ops, orders 19 planes

New Delhi: With the launch of its international operations planned for later this year, Tata-Singapore Airlines joint-venture airline Vistara has agreed to order 13 aircraft of the Airbus A320neo family and six wide-bodied Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner planes. This sets the stage for Vistara to become the first Indian carrier to launch foreign flights since budget airline IndiGo did in 2011. Currently, Vistara has a fleet of 21 aircraft, making it eligible to fly abroad under the National Civil Aviation Policy 2016. Earlier, along with a fleet of at least 20 aircraft, airlines also needed to complete five years of domestic operations to begin international flights.

Apart from Vistara, GoAir has also been eligible for flying international but the airline has delayed its plans so far. The only other carrier with similar plans is another Tata Sons joint-venture airline AirAsia India, which currently has a fleet of 18 aircraft, making it ineligible so far.

In the statement announcing the orders valued at around $3.1 billion, Vistara said that the letter of intent signed with Airbus comprises 13 firm-ordered A320neo and A321neo aircraft, as well as options for seven more aircraft from the A320neo family. In addition, the airline would lease another 37 new A320neo-family aircraft from leasing companies. Together, Vistara will be adding a total of 50 A320neo-family aircraft into its existing fleet
12/07/18 Indian Express

These 2 US firms may help SpiceJet to offset rising ATF prices, diversify aviation business; here’s how

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet is considering entering into major business partnerships with two American companies, including an international airline, and diversifying its activities beyond aviation, its chairman and managing director Ajay Singh has said. Acknowledging that aviation is a “fairly high-risk enterprise”, the airline’s chief said, “We must hedge ourselves from the risk of being in a pure aviation business and find the businesses which are connected to aviation, which would be a little more insulated from the high cost of fuel and so on.”
“So, we are looking at some new areas. We will be making announcements at the appropriate time. We believe that there are significant strategic partnerships that we can enter into and we will be announcing them soon,” Singh told reporters on the sidelines of the Annual Leadership Summit of US-India Strategic and Partnership Summit (USISPF) here yesterday.
He said SpiceJet is exploring an alliance with a major international carrier and also another major American company. Refraining from naming the partner companies in the US, Singh said it is looking at the technology sector.
12/07/18 PTI/Financial Express