Ethiopian Airlines To Add Bengaluru To Its Indian Flight Network

Ethiopian Airlines and SKYTRAX Certified Four Star Global Airline, has announced that it will start passenger flights to Bengaluru, India starting October 27, 2019.

Bengaluru, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka, is dubbed ‘Silicon Valley of India’ and serves as the center of technology and innovation.

Commenting on the upcoming services, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, remarked, “Ethiopian Airlines is a significant player in connecting India and Africa and beyond. The new four weekly flights will connect the important ICT hub city of Bengaluru to the ever-expanding Ethiopian network in addition to our twice daily flights each to the commercial city of Mumbai and the Capital New Delhi. The flights will also complement our existing dedicated freighter flights to/from Bengaluru.
31/07/19 EABW

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Air India divestment may see global participation, says aviation consulting firm CAPA

A second attempt at disinvestment of Air India is likely to see strong interest from private players, including participation from leading global airlines such as those from the Gulf, according to aviation consulting firm CAPA.

There is a likelihood of international entities seeking to form joint ventures with Indian companies to bid for Air India to comply with norms that cap foreign direct investment into the national carrier at 49%.

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) has recommended that the government allow FDI for a higher number of bidders and increased valuation for Air India.
This will be necessary as major Indian corporations from outside aviation may not have the appetite to invest in a complex project without an experienced strategic partner, it noted.

The exit of Jet Airways, Air India’s biggest full-service competitor, from the market has further enhanced the chances of a successful disinvestment this time. “CAPA has long maintained that the Indian market can only sustain two full-service carriers, and that the operation of three such airlines – Air India, Jet Airways and Vistara – was not sustainable.”

However, the remote chances of a revival of Jet Airways, along with the “current global and national economic environment and geopolitical instability” may dampen investor sentiment, CAPA warned.
31/07/19 The Hindu

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Mumbai teen flyer stranded on London street

Travelling alone, 16-year-old Aashna Kenia, who lives in Dadar, had a harrowing experience last week after British Airways cancelled her flight, leaving her in the lurch at an airport that shuts down at night. With hotels all booked, she had to wait it out on a pavement for about an hour, till a cousin who lives in London rushed to her rescue.

Read how a teen set to fly business class from London to Mumbai ended up learning life lessons on a pavement outside Heathrow >>

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Mumbai airport spreads wings, starts direct flights to southeast Asia

Mumbai: The GVK-led Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) has expanded its reach to southeast Asia by starting direct flights to countries such as Singapore and Thailand.

The launch of SpiceJet’s newest route, Mumbai to Hong Kong, at 1.05 a.m. on Wednesday will make it the fourth non-stop international flight from Mumbai in the last 60 days (the other three being Singapore, Thailand and Riyadh). Catering to 48.8 million passengers, MIAL has witnessed an increase in passenger traffic to southeast Asian countries. A MIAL spokesperson said, “Fostering accessibility and profound connectivity to the southeast Asian countries, the Mumbai international airport will soon see an increase in the flight frequency to Bangkok and Singapore within one month.”

A total of 4,88,538 passengers (669 per day, each way) travelled the Mumbai-Bangkok-Mumbai route in 2018-19. With 24 daily flights on an average, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) caters to 27% of the total passenger traffic between Mumbai and the southeast Asian countries. The spokesperson said, “The expansion of GoAir, IndiGo, Vistara and now SpiceJet flights to the existing fleet to these countries will not only boost MICE travel (meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions) but also accelerate leisure tourism.”
The CSMIA also witnessed rise in passenger traffic to places in the Middle East such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Muscat. During 2018-19, a total of 1,71,041 passengers (234 per day, each way) travelled the Mumbai-Abu Dhabi-Mumbai route. Similarly, 2,21,708 passengers (304 passengers per day, each way) travelled between Mumbai-Muscat-Mumbai.
31/07/19 The Hindu

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Would Welcome Jet Airways Employees to Actively Apply for Vacancies - David Lim, GM India, Singapore Airlines

News18: It's been over two years since you took over India operations, how do you think the Indian aviation space has fared the last couple of years?

David Lim: Singapore Airlines completed 49 years of operations in India in 2019 and we have seen consistent growth through the years. Indian travellers are increasingly exploring air travel for their holidays and this is reflective in the passenger numbers from India on the domestic and international routes.
Read in full News18's Zeba Warsi's conversation with David Lim, General Manager India – Singapore Airlines on the Jet Airways, expansion plans and Air Vistara >>

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Nearly 5 lakh flew between Mumbai and Bangkok last fiscal

Mumbai: Over four lakh passengers travelled between Mumbai and Bangkok in the last fiscal year. With a slew of new flights to be launched in the next month, the numbers are only set to rise - not just to Bangkok, but to other south east Asian destinations as well.
The Jet Airways closure in April released over 280 slots at the congested airport. It has been a boon to airlines, especially fast-expanding, low-cost airlines as they no longer need to wait for the Navi Mumbai airport to connect Mumbai to medium and short haul international destinations in south east Asia and the Middle East.
A total of 4,88,538 passengers (669 per day, each way) travelled between Mumbai-Bangkok-Mumbai in the fiscal year 2018-19, said an international airport spokesperson, adding there are 24 daily flights between Mumbai and southeast Asian countries. A number of airlines announced launch of flights to Bangkok and Singapore in the next month.
31/07/19 Times of India

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Air India flyers can now travel seamlessly to Fiji from 3 Indian cities

Air India passengers can now fly seamlessly from Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai to Fiji via Hong Kong or Singapore. A codeshare pact has been inked between the national carrier of India and flag carrier of Fiji, Fiji Airways. As per the agreement, there will be convenient connections between three Indian metro cities and the picturesque South Pacific nation. Air India said that from August 1, the codeshare partnership between the two airlines will come into effect. Under the Code sharing pact, an airline can book its passengers on its partner carriers to provide seamless travel to destinations where it has no presence.

In simple terms, passengers of the Air India and Fiji Airways can seamlessly connect from Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) in Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM) in Mumbai, Chennai International Airport (MAA) in Chennai to Fiji via Hong Kong or Singapore.

Meenakshi Mallik, Commercial Director, Air India stated that the national carrier was happy to establish codeshare partnership with Fiji Airways thereby expanding Air India’s network and offering wider connectivity to its passengers.

“Fiji Airways was delighted to add Air India to our growing list of international airline partners. With our direct services from Hong Kong and Singapore to Nadi, Indian visitors can travel to travel to Fiji from three cities. Equally, our guests from Fiji and the South Pacific will have many more options to connect to Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai for leisure, business and medical travel on Air India flights,” Fiji Airways Managing Director and chief executive Andre Viljoen said.
31/07/19 Debjit Sinha/Financial Express

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Air India announces new flights to Hong Kong and Seoul

In the last two months, Air India has announced a slew of new flights across its international network. These include flights on Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto, Mumbai-Nairobi and Delhi-Colombo route.
Among the national carrier’s recent additions is the direct flight to Seoul, South Korea. Effective from September 19, 2019 the airline will offer non-stop flight between Delhi and Seoul. The service will be available to passengers four times a week.
In addition to this, Air India has also announced new direct flights to Hong Kong. Starting from September 19, the airline will offer daily flights from the financial capital of India, Mumbai to Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong.
30/07/19 Business Traveller

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P&W’s India MD quits; unrelated to losing out on IndiGo order, says firm

New Delhi: Palash Roy Chowdhury, aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney’s India managing director, has decided to resign from his position — and this comes a month after the company’s top customer in the country IndiGo opted for its rival firm to power the next batch of aircraft deliveries. However, the United Technologies-owned company said that Roy Chowdhury’s exit was unrelated to the company losing out on IndiGo order.

“I have had a phenomenal journey over last 18 years with Pratt & Whitney and UTC, the last eight of which were in India. During this period, India became the fastest growing aviation market globally and the company is well-poised for a strong period of growth in the country. I am now looking forward to pursuing some personal and entrepreneurial interests that I have nurtured for some time,” Roy Chowdhury told The Indian Express.

In response to an e-mail query, Pratt & Whitney said: “After 18 years at UTC (United Technologies), Mr Roy Chowdhury has elected to pursue opportunities outside of Pratt & Whitney. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
31/07/19 Pranav Mukul/Indian Express

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600 flights were impacted per day due to closure of Pak airspace following Balakot airstrikes: India

India has said 600 flights per day were impacted due to the closure of Pakistani airspace in the backdrop of Balakot strikes.

Pakistan had closed the airspace on February 27 and opened the airspace on July 16, a period of 140 days, during which 84,000 flights were impacted.

Speaking in the parliament, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said," The closure of Pakistan airspace on Feb 27, 2019 had affected around 600 flights that operate per day across India-Pakistan airspace boundary and these flights were re-routed to Arabian sea airspace."

Pakistan had closed its airspace on the day it launched an attack on Indian military installations in response to Indian strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps in Balakot on February 26.

The United Nations-listed Pakistan based terror group was responsible for the February 14 Pulwama terror attack that killed more than 40 Indian paramilitary personnel.

After the Indian counter-terror strikes, Pakistan had launched an attack on Indian military installations on February 27 and as a fallout, New Delhi for few days did close its airspace around the Pakistani border but later reopened but closure for Pakistani planes remained.
30/07/19 Sidhant Sibal/DNA

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India's Africa connect gets stronger with new non-stop flight routes

Mumbai: Air connectivity between India and Africa has got a boost with three new services to Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. Around two million passengers flew between India and Africa in twelve months ending May, a growth of four per cent over the previous year.
Air Tanzania introduced a thrice-weekly service between Mumbai and Dar es Salaam in July, establishing the first direct connection between the two countries since 2010. Air India is resuming flights between Mumbai and Nairobi from September-end and Ethiopian Airlines is launching an Addis Ababa-Bengaluru service on October 27, the first non-stop connection between South India and continental Africa.
Over 80 per cent of the traffic between India and Africa flies via a hub and direct connections are limited. Currently there are non-stop flights from India to only seven countries in Africa which includes the islands of Mauritius and Seychelles. South Africa, Mauritius, Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria are the key destinations on the continent. South Africa is the largest destination for Indians and around 800 passengers fly between two countries daily. However there are no direct flights.
"Ethiopian Airlines is a significant player in connecting India with Africa and beyond. The new four-weekly flights will connect the important ICT hub of Bengaluru to the ever-expanding Ethiopian network," said Tewolde GebreMariam, group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines. The airline hopes to tap student and medical tourism traffic between India and Africa. Ethiopian Airlines could provide easy connections to other cities in South India via Bengaluru.
31/07/19 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Indian woman deplaned for creating a ‘ruckus’ on Dubai-Mumbai flight

Dubai: An Indian woman, described as “unruly”, caused a Dubai-Mumbai flight to return from the runway to the terminal and caused a one-and-a-half-hour delay on Sunday, according to airline officials.

The incident took place on board IX248, an Air India Express flight that was ready for take-off at 6pm.

The woman, who came to Dubai on a tourist visa, “created a ruckus” on board and was handed over to the police, Air India Express officials told Gulf News on Wednesday.

Apparently in her early 40s, the passenger initially complained of suffocation, saying the flight’s air conditioner was not functioning effectively.

“She said it is very hot and the AC is low. Our crew tried to calm her down saying it will be fine once the aircraft takes off. But she created a ruckus and said she did not want to travel,” said P.G. Prageesh, chief of corporate communications, AIE in India.

“The woman was unruly and adamant. She wanted to be deplaned and insisted that the airline gives her a letter on board citing that she decided to get deplaned due to faulty air conditioning,” he said.

He said when the crew could not control the woman, the flight was pushed back to Terminal 2 at 6.10pm.

A female official, who was called in to counsel the woman, said she was hysterical and seemed incoherent.

“After much persuasion, she relented to disembark. When we called Dubai Police as per the procedure related to deplaning a passenger, she misunderstood it and thought we were threatening her,” the official said.

Prageesh said the airline assisted her with immigration officials as she was on a tourist visa and then handed her over to the police without registering a case against her.
Dubai: An Indian woman, described as “unruly”, caused a Dubai-Mumbai flight to return from the runway to the terminal and caused a one-and-a-half-hour delay on Sunday, according to airline officials.
31/07/19 Sajila Saseendran/Gulf News

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Bangladeshi caught with Indian passport

Bengaluru: The immigration officials recently arrested a 26-year-old Bangladesh national who was trying to fly to Malaysia, allegedly on a valid Indian passport.

The accused Soyel S. had come to India in 2012 by crossing the border illegally, said the police. “He settled down in Medinipur of West Bengal and rented a house. He was able to obtain Aadhaar and PAN cards using the rental house address,” the police said.

“The accused said he approached a tout identified as Anand in Delhi who helped him get a plane ticket from Kempegowda International Airport to Malaysia for ₹35,000. He told us that he was planning to stay in Malaysia illegally for a few years along with his relatives and friends, who were already living there,” said the police. He has been remanded in judicial custody.
31/07/19 The Hindu

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Woman from Mozambique Held at Delhi Airport With over 10 kg Heroin Worth Rs 45 Crore Hidden in Pipes

New Delhi: A Mozambican woman has been arrested at Delhi airport for allegedly carrying more than 10 kilograms of heroin worth approximately Rs 45 crore concealed in pipes, a customs official said on Wednesday.
The foreigner, who arrived at the Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Tuesday, was intercepted by officers of the Air Intelligence Unit and Air Customs Preventive, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Customs, IGI Airport.
During a search of her baggage, two-wire/pipe rolls made of plastic were discovered, it said in a statement.
"After removing the rolled lengths of pipe, the axes of the wire/pipe rolls were found to be covered with layers of a powdery substance ingeniously concealed in thin black plastic sheets," it said.
A total of 10.69 kgs of the substance was seized and the initial testing confirmed that to be heroin an opioid and a highly addictive narcotic substance most commonly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects, it said.
The Mozambican national was arrested under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The estimated market value of the seized substance can range up to Rs 45 crore, depending on its purity, the statement said.
31/07/19 PTI/News18

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Delhi HC rejects plea to withdraw overseas permit to AirAsia India

AirAsia India could soon be flying into international skies with the Delhi High Court refusing a plea to stop the award of overseas permit to the budget carrier. According to senior government officials, the airline may get the nod to carry international passengers by October 2019.

“There is no restriction (on award of licence) from the high court. The decision on AirAsia’s request will be taken on merits. It even fulfills the criteria laid under the old civil aviation policy,” a senior official told FE.

AirAsia, a joint venture between Tata group and Malaysia-based AirAsia Berhad, applied for an international licence to the aviation ministry in January 2019 after it completed the regulatory requirement of at least 20 aircraft in the fleet. It currently has 22 Airbus 320s aircraft and plans to take its fleet strength to 30 by 2019 end.

In June, the airline completed five years of operations in the domestic market.

AirAsia’s permission to fly abroad has been held up due to ongoing CBI investigations into allegations of lobbying for relaxing international flying norms for airlines. Even the Enforcement Directorate had lodged a money laundering case against some of the AirAsia executives.
The high court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to file the status of investigations by September 26.
Under the new civil aviation policy in 2016, the conditions for obtaining international flying rights was relaxed to minimum 20 aircraft in the fleet, dropping the 5/20 rule which stipulated at least five years experience in the domestic market along with 20 planes.
30/07/19 Arun Nayal/Financial Express

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Intl flights cheaper as airfares nosedive

With increased competition on short international routes and a long weekend around the corner next month, flights to top holiday destinations for Indians like Bangkok, Singapore and Dubai among others have seen a drastic fall in the last week.
 Since Eid is on August 12 (Monday) and Independence Day three days later, search queries for international travel for a 4 to 5 day trip for that period have shown a 41 per cent increase, according to data collated by Ixigo. As per the travel website, average international fares have dropped by almost 40 to 45 per cent on these routes for August compared to the peak travel season in May.
 The sharp decline is mainly being attributed to tough competition home-grown carriers are giving each other. The average fare for a Mumbai-Bangkok flight which stood at Rs 20,163 in May, fell to Rs 10,363 in June, settling at a mere Rs 8,397 in July – a 58 per cent drop. 
The average Delhi-Bangkok fares have also reported a 54 per cent drop from Rs 16,740 in May to Rs 7,712 in July. Budget carrier SpiceJet also took on the money-making route on Mumbai-Bangkok flights in May, while market leader Indigo is launching flights on the route from August 22 with fares as low as Rs 9,299.
 30/07/19 Satish Nandagaonkar/Mumbai Mirror

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Air India to Launch Direct Lucknow-Jeddah Flight from Winter

Mumbai: Disinvestment-bound flag carrier Air India plans to launch a direct flight to the Saudi commercial hub and port city of Jeddah from Lucknow, beginning from the winter schedule.
Currently, the airline operates a daily flight to Jeddah from the UP capital via New Delhi. With the direct flight, the journey time from Lucknow will come down by 3 hrs, Air India said Monday.
Air India deploys an Airbus 320 on the Lucknow-Delhi leg and then in a wide-body Boeing 787 (Dreamliner) to Jeddah from the national Capital with about 1.20 hrs transit time.
"Air India is set to launch a daily direct flight from Lucknow to Jeddah from the winter. Currently this flight is operated via New Delhi," Air India said in a statement.
29/07/19 PTI/News18

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Lucknow: Another direct flight to Jeddah from October

Lucknow: Passengers for Saudi Arabia will have one more direct flight option from the city, thanks to Air India's plans to fly non-stop to Jeddah from October.

Currently, Saudi Arabian Airlines operates the only direct flight from Lucknow with a seating capacity of around 280 passengers. The journey to the port city in Saudi Arabia is covered in around six hours. Hopping flights can cost a passenger at least six hours more.

Air India has a Jeddah flight via New Delhi, which takes around 12 hours. The new direct flight will slash travel time by six hours. The expected departure time from Lucknow is 2am.

Spokesperson for Air India Dhananjay Kumar told TOI that a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft would be deployed on the Lucknow-Jeddah route in October.
There are 238 seats in the economy class and 18 in business class. The aircraft has unique features for passenger comfort such as dimming windows, soft LED lightning and easily accessible stowage bin.
30/07/19 Urooj Khan/Times of India

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Thai Airways Celebrates 15 Years Of Service In Bengaluru

Thai Airways International (THAI) announced its completion of 15 years of service in Bengaluru, having started operations in the year March 2004. Over the last 15 years, THAI has served 1.1 million passengers from Bengaluru to over 60 destinations across the world through its network.

THAI held an exclusive event on Friday evening to celebrate 15 years that was attended by travel agents, the corporate sector, airport representatives, frequent flyers and other dignitaries from the travel ecosystem and was graced by the Ambassador of Thailand to India, Chutintorn Gongsakdi.

Speaking at the inauguration of the event, Gongsakdi expressed that “it is a distinct honour and pleasure to participate in Vibrancy of the Garden City to celebrate THAI Airways’ 15th Anniversary of flight operations to Bengaluru. Indian friends and acquaintances do tell me that THAI Airways is a preferred choice carrier for flying to Thailand. This is flattering indeed, for Thais are essentially humble people, but nevertheless, we are a nation with a strong sense of pride in memorable service from the heart”.
29/07/19 T3

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Dubai-Mumbai Air India flight returns from runway after passengers turn breathless

A Mumbai-Bound Air India Express flight returned to the terminal from the runway at Dubai international airport on Sunday evening as passengers on board complained of suffocation due to an air conditioning glitch in the aircraft.

Passengers on the flight that was supposed to take off at 6 pm from Dubai, "returned from the runway after a woman complained of suffocation," said Prakash Rohra, a passenger.

"No announcement was made when the flight returned from the runway though," said Rupesh Shah, another passenger. He also complained of non-cooperative in-flight staff.

"They were very rude. Passengers, who were clicking pictures and recording videos, were forced to delete them. The staff had no courtesy to inform us about their course of action. However, they were quick to threaten us saying they would call the police if we didn't delete the pictures and videos," said Shah in a telephonic conversation with mid-day.
29/07/19 Diwakar Sharma/Mid Day

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Air India flight to Kochi leaves Dubai after 33 hour delay

Dubai: More than 200 passengers were holed up in a hotel for 33 hours on Sunday after their Air India flight from Dubai to Kochi was grounded due to engineering issues.

Flight AI934 was meant to depart at 1.30pm from Dubai on Saturday but didn't leave until 10.30pm on Sunday. The Dreamliner aircraft eventually arrived in Kochi at 3.55am local time on Monday morning.

A spokesperson from Air India had told Gulf News: “There is an engineering issue we are trying to rectify. A full team of engineers has come in from India to rectify the issue. A revised departure time is subject to engineering clearance. All passengers have been taken to a hotel and are being taken care of,” the spokesperson added.

Passengers had been given a tentative departure time of 7.30pm on Sunday, but that remained subject to clearance.

“I’ve been staying in Dubai over 20 years and this is the first time I’ve experienced such a thing,” said one passenger Addhul Dafoor, who has missed his cousin’s wedding due to the inconvenience.
28/07/19 Ashley Hammond/Gulf News

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IndiGo Plans to Enter Vietnam, Expand in China

After rapidly expanding its presence in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, India's largest air passenger carrier IndiGo plans to add destinations such as Hanoi and Chengdu to its flight schedule from September quarter onwards. IndiGo's Chief Commercial Officer William Boulter told IANS that the airline has received clearances from the Vietnamese authorities to commence operations from India to Hanoi. The airline will soon "be putting the flight out for sale". Besides Hanoi, the airline plans to operate flights to Ho Chi Min City.

The airline is also reviewing its strategy for Europe whilst making "full use" of its Turkish Airline codeshare agreement which allows passengers to fly through Istanbul on a '6E code'. The agreement between the two airlines allows for a seamless travel experience for passengers through an extended global network. In 2019, IndiGo entered into its first codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines, which provides passengers with extended connectivity to 12 destinations in Europe.
At present, the airline is rapidly expanding its international presence, it will deploy capacity to Chengdu in China, Singapore, Bangkok and Yangon. IndiGo will operate daily non-stop flights between Delhi-Chengdu-Delhi effective September 15, 2019. In the Middle East sector, the airline has expanded services to Jeddah, Dubai and Kuwait. "Of our total expansion this year, roughly 50 per cent will be on international operations," Boulter said.
29/07/19 News18.com

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SpiceJet Eyes Direct United Kingdom Flights

SpiceJet is continuing preparations for direct flights to the UK this winter, according to reports by Live From A Lounge. The Indian budget airline based in Gurgaon has requested slots at London Heathrow and Manchester Airport as it eyes a share of the India-UK market. Slot requests have been filed to fly an A330-300, which is not part of the airline’s current inventory, raising speculation over where these aircraft will come from.
Following the collapse of Jet Airways earlier this year, there is significant spare capacity on routes between India and the UK.

There is also a host of ex-Jet Airways inventory on the market, as the former second-largest airline in India goes through insolvency proceedings. According to Quartz India, SpiceJet has received a total of 130 ex-Jet Airways slots, ten more than its larger competitor IndiGo.
SpiceJet has also requested Jet Airways’ old slots at Manchester Airport. As these requests have been listed with an A330-300, SpiceJet may well be eyeing up one of Jet Airways’ four grounded widebody aircraft to operate the route.
28/07/19 Henry Bewicke/Simple Flying

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Air India to start Lucknow-Jeddah direct this winter

New Delhi: Air India will start a direct flight between Lucknow and Jeddah from this winter. Currently, AI links these two cities via Delhi where passengers need to change planes.
“The Lucknow-Jeddah flight will take off from about 2-2.30 am and reach the destination in just under six hours. Our Boeing 787 Dreamliner with 238 economy and 18 business seats will be deployed on this route,” said AI spokesman Dhananjay Kumar.
29/07/19 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Yemeni held with rifle bullets at Mumbai airport

A 20-year-old Yemeni man was held with six long-range rifle bullets at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (CSMT) Airport.
The four-inch-long bullets were not detected by airport authorities after the accused landed at the airport from Yemen, but later during a second security check when he was going to board a connecting flight to Delhi.
He has come to India for higher studies.
According to Sahar police, the accused has been identified as AWS Sava Hussain, a Yemini national. Hussain came to Mumbai from Yemen with his brother and father.
"The family landed at Mumbai CSMT Airport at around 4 pm on Friday and were to take a connecting flight to Delhi at 9 pm," an officer from Sahar police said.
"He was unable to converse properly. But he said that a war is going on in their country and so they usually keep weapons. He said he had no idea that the bullets were in his luggage and his mother kept it in his jacket, which was later kept in the bag. He did not have any license for the bullets," said a police official.
29/07/19 DNA

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3 Chinese, 1 Afghan held at Delhi airport with gold worth Rs 2.5 crore

New Delhi: Four foreigners have been arrested in two separate incidents at the Delhi airport for allegedly carrying over 7.5 kg of gold worth approximately Rs 2.5 crore, a Customs official said on Monday.

In the first incident, three Chinese nationals were arrested for trying to smuggle 4.5 kg of gold worth approximately Rs 1.4 crore, Amandeep Singh, Additional Commissioner of Customs, IGI Airport, said.

The trio landed at the Terminal-3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday from Hong Kong.

They were intercepted by the Customs Officers after they had crossed the Green Channel, the official said.

The officials recovered assorted type of gold weighing 4.52 kg, some of which were worn by them, Singh said, adding that gold screws were also found concealed inside the stroller bags of the passengers.

The total value of the seized gold is approximately Rs 1,42,61,255.

In the second incident, an Afghan national was arrested for allegedly carrying gold bars worth approximately Rs 1.07 crore.

He landed at the IGI airport on Sunday from Afghanistan.
29/07/19 PTI/India Today

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Dubai International Airport welcomes first GoAir flight from Kerala

Dubai: Dubai International Airport (DXB) has added a new airline to its family of 70 international carriers and expanded its connectivity to a new destination.

India’s GoAir made its inaugural flight to DXB from Kannur in the South Indian state of Kerala on Thursday evening, said a statement issued by DXB on Sunday.

The airline has launched daily direct flights between DXB Terminal 1 and Kannur International Airport, making Dubai its sixth international destination.

The fast-growing airline boasts a fleet of 51 Airbus A320s and operates some 285 flights daily to 24 destinations across India. Following the launch of GoAir’s service, DXB is now served by five Indian carriers operating approximately 360 weekly flights to 21 destinations across India.
28/07/19 WAM/Gulf News

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India's GoAir denies plans to fly to Bhutan

GoAir has denied having plans to fly to Paro and becoming the first foreign carrier to serve the secluded kingdom of Bhutan, The Economic Times has reported.

"Currently we have no plans to operate a flight to Bhutan from New Delhi," the LCC said in a statement to the newspaper.

The Indian newswire PTI previously reported that GoAir would launch flights to Paro with an announcement expected shortly.

The Himalayan landlocked kingdom is largely inaccessible due to extremely challenging terrain that limits the size of aircraft capable of operating to and from Paro. Special pilot training is also required for approaches. According to the ch-aviation capacities module, Paro is currently served by Drukair (KB, Paro) and Bhutan Airlines (B3, Paro). Both airlines operate A319-100s. Drukair also operates ATR turboprops.
27/07/19 ch-aviation

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IndiGo plans to enter Vietnam, expand in China

After rapidly expanding its presence in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, India's largest air passenger carrier IndiGo plans to add destinations such as Hanoi and Chengdu to its flight schedule from September quarter onwards.
IndiGo's Chief Commercial Officer William Boulter told IANS that the airline has received clearances from the Vietnamese authorities to commence operations from India to Hanoi.
The airline will soon "be putting the flight out for sale". Besides Hanoi, the airline plans to operate flights to Ho Chi Min City.
The airline is also reviewing its strategy for Europe whilst making "full use" of its Turkish Airline codeshare agreement which allows passengers to fly through Istanbul on a '6E code'.
The agreement between the two airlines allow for a seamless travel experience for passengers through an extended global network.
In 2019, IndiGo entered into its first codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines, which provides passengers with extended connectivity to 12 destinations in Europe.
At present, the airline is rapidly expanding its international presence, it will deploy capacity to Chengdu in China, Singapore, Bangkok and Yangon. IndiGo will operate a daily non-stop flights between Delhi-Chengdu-Delhi effective September 15, 2019.
28/07/19 IANS/Economic Times

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Indian-origin woman dies on board air ambulance

Hyderabad: An Indian-origin woman from Nairobi (Kenya), died onboard an air ambulance, while travelling to Ahmedabad via the city’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), late on Friday night. According to sources, Roopal Dindeshkumar Sham, 46, was suffering from an acute respiratory problem – suspected to be pneumonia -- and was on her way to Ahmedabad for treatment. She died of a cardiac arrest.
“The aircraft took off from Nairobi and was scheduled to stopover at Mali and Hyderabad, for refuelling, before heading to Ahmedabad. In between Mali and Hyderabad, the woman took ill and complained of breathing problem,” said an official from RGIA adding, “While the ATC here was immediately informed about the medical emergency, the passenger had died before touchdown. She is said to have suffered a cardiac arrest.”
28/07/19 Times of India

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Indian LGBTQ film finds audience in Emirates Airlines

An Indian Gay movie 'Evening Shadows' directed by Mumbai based director Sridhar Rangayan is now streaming on an international airline. Rangayan claims that this is the first-ever LGBTQ themed independent film to hit the in-flight entertainment circuit.

The movie is being streamed on Emirates flight, the same has been confirmed by Emirates. "We are really excited by this breakthrough", said director Sridhar Rangayan, "Being a truly family entertainment film, we are happy the film is reaching diverse audiences through in-flight entertainment on an airline, especially one as prestigious as Emirates Airlines".

Evening Shadows recently won the audience award for Best International Feature at the Romania LGBTQ film festival, taking its tally of awards to 17 audience and jury awards. This is another achievement for an LGBTQ film.
When contacted, Emirates said in a statement, "As confirmed by Emirates, this film is on board, like every other film, Emirates tries to offer choice to every taste."
Evening Shadows stars Mona Ambegaonkar, Ananth Mahadevan, Devansh Doshi and Arpit Chaudhary in lead roles. The film has received a UA certification from CBFC enabling even younger audiences and families to watch the film. The movie features a song by eminent singer Shubha Mudgal, with lyrics by Sagar Gupta.
27/07/19 Varun Singh/DNA

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Direct flights from Mumbai to Nairobi set to boost tourism business

The move by Air India to resume direct flights between Mumbai and Nairobi from September has been welcomed as a huge opportunity for local hospitality business and leisure industry.

PrideInn Group of Hotels  Group Managing Director Hasnain Noorani said the development is a welcome boost for PrideInn as a majority of the hotel’s business guests from Asia are from South Asia.

He added that shortened flight hours would also bring added benefits to the tourism industry.
“This direct flight is sure to boost tourism and trade in East Africa. Passengers from all around South Asia will now be able to take a short flight to Mumbai, make their connection and arrive in Nairobi or Mombasa nearly half the time that it previously took,” he said.

“This new flight opens up a number of opportunities not just for Kenya, but for other East African countries, as well. We expect this to boost the corporate market within Nairobi strengthening its position as a regional hub for corporate travel. Along with the direct route, the decision by Air India to resume flights has been well thought out,” said Mr. Hasnain.
26/07/19 Claire Wanja/KBC News

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Singaporean man gets 4 weeks in jail for racist remarks on Indian national

Singapore: A Singaporean man of Chinese origin was sentenced to four weeks in jail and fined 1,000 Singapore dollars for racist remarks insulting an Indian national working at the Changi airport.
William Aw Chin Chai (47) had also stepped on and hurt a foot of a woman, who had held a lift door open for him, and had splashed noodles on two men at the Singtel Shop Comcentre in separate incidents, reported Channel News Asia.
He pleaded guilty to the charges of wounding racial feelings, using criminal force and voluntarily causing hurt on Friday.
A fourth charge for stealing four mineral water bottles from a food court was taken into consideration.
The court heard that Aw was jobless when he committed those offences on three different occasions last year.
On August 3, he was in a lift at Changi Airport Terminal 2 when the victim, 33-year-old Indian national Ramachandiran Umapathy, entered the lift.
The construction worker was at the airport to perform installation works for the MRT (metro) tunnel.
When he entered the lift, Aw began uttering: "You f****** dirty people, go out", "F*** off" and "I don't like to take (lift) with Indians, you smelly".
Ramachandiran told Aw off for making such racist remarks, Assistant Public Prosecutor Lydia Goh told the court.
The Indian had also filmed the exchange and posted it on the Facebook page of the Singapore Police Force. The video was later picked up by other pages and went viral. Ramachandiran had also lodged a police report.
27/07/19 PTI/India Today

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Aviation regulators free up Mahindra's GA8 planes to fly

Singapore: Aviation regulators in Australia and the European Union have lifted orders grounding GippsAero GA8 planes after initial results of an inquiry into a crash in Sweden this month that killed nine people, the regulators said on their websites.
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said the precautionary suspension was triggered by initial information that the plane had broken up in flight.
However, it had since received information that there was no evidence of a potential unsafe condition associated with the aircraft, it added.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said CASA had informed it that an inspection of the crashed plane showed it appeared to have been exposed to aerodynamic loads beyond certification levels.
The single-engine GA8 is made in Australia by Mahindra Aerospace, a unit of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (MAHM.NS), and 63 of the 228 planes worldwide are registered in Australia, CASA says.
Nine Swedes were killed when a GA8, dubbed the Airvan 8, crashed during a skydiving trip near the city of Umea in northern Sweden on July 14.
26/07/19 Reuters/Times of India

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Adityanath moots tie-up with Israel for defence corridor, Jewar airport

Lucknow:Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has mooted strong partnership with Israel in UP defence corridor project and police modernisation programme.

At a meeting with Israeli ambassador to India Ron Malka in Lucknow on Thursday night, the CM solicited Israel’s co-operation in projects like the UP defence corridor and the Jewar International Airport.

Besides, Adityanath also sought Israel's co-operation in modernising the state police force and setting up ultra-modern police control rooms and command centres.

Observing that India and Israel share old ties, the CM said the state was looking to forge closer relationship with Israel to further cement the mutual bond between the two nations.

He said India-Israel relations had touched newer heights with their respective prime ministers - Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu - visiting each other’s countries. On January 16, 2018, Adityanath had welcomed Netanyahu at Agra during the latter’s visit to Taj Mahal.
26/07/19 Virendra Singh Rawat/Business Standard

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Take a direct flight from KIA to Ethiopia in October

Bengaluru: Ethiopian Airlines has opened reservations for four new weekly direct flights from Kempegowda International Airport to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.
The Boeing 737-800 flights will begin operations from late October, connecting Bengaluru to the Ethiopian capital directly for the first time.

While Ethiopia's decision last year to relax its visa rules is the probable reason for the increase in international travel to the country, Addis Ababa also replaced Dubai last year as the primary transit hub for long-haul flights to destinations in Africa.

A report from flight analyst Forward Keys in 2018 said India's bookings to West Asia and Africa in the first quarter of 2018 showed a 19% jump when compared to 2017. According to the report, Ethiopia had shot up to number 1 position among sub-Saharan destinations for international flights between November 2018 and January 2019.

Currently, Ethiopian Airlines operates a daily double service to New Delhi and Mumbai from Addis Ababa, and operates freight services to Chennai, Bengaluru, New Delhi and Mumbai.
26/07/19 Times of India

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Food smuggling racket from Nigeria busted at Hyderabad airport, 7 consignments seized

The Hyderabad unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Thursday busted a major racket after it intercepted five consignments of unaccompanied baggage (baggage shipped as cargo) of African nationals originating from Lagos Airport in Nigeria at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in the city.

"The goods were declared as edible food stuff and personal items and weighed around 10 tons. The total value of the consignment declared to customs was around Rs 1.3 lakh. On thorough inspection of baggage, the DRI officers found a variety of items, including noodles, cosmetics, palm oil, beef, dried fish, meat and beverages, including alcohol such as whiskey, beer, gin etc, in huge commercial quantity," the DRI said in a press release.

The authorities added that these items are not allowed to be imported as baggage as per the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 and Customs Act, 1962.
"The statements of the claimants revealed that they were grossly undervaluing the goods to evade the customs duty and also using the unaccompanied baggage to avoid regulatory permissions such as Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Plant Quarantine, Animal Quarantine, State Excise, Legal Metrology etc that are mandated for entry of goods into India," the DRI stated.
26/07/19 News Minute

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Soon you can fly to Kuala Lumpur, Kathmandu, Yangon, Hanoi from Guwahati under UDAN scheme

Assam along with Northeast is all set to get major international air connectivity! The Narendra Modi government has invited bids on routes connecting Guwahati with Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Nepal under the UDAN scheme. This is the second round of bids from airlines to conduct commercial flight operations on Guwahati-Yangon, Guwahati-Hanoi, Guwahati-Kuala Lumpur, and Guwahati-Kathmandu routes.

The central government has issued a ‘notice inviting proposal’. On behalf of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Assam government, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has invited “interested bidders for submission of e-proposals for the International Air Connectivity (IAC) routes” between Guwahati and the aforementioned four cities. The first round of bidding was conducted by AAI in November 2018 under the UDAN international scheme for the operation of international routes connecting Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (GAU) in Guwahati to Bangkok, Kathmandu, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dhaka, and Yangon. However, only two out of those routes- Guwahati-Bangkok and Guwahati-Dhaka- attracted bids. Commercial flight operations have already commenced on Guwahati-Singapore route.
Assam government was ready to provide a maximum subsidy of Rs 2,745 per passenger and Rs 7,445 per passenger on Guwahati-Kathmandu and Guwahati-Kuala Lumpur routes to the selected airline operator respectively, according to an AAI document was quoted by PTI. Assam government was also ready to provide a subsidy of up to Rs 4,831 per passenger and Rs 4,545 per passenger on Guwahati-Yangon and Guwahati-Hanoi routes respectively, the report stated.
Under the UDAN scheme, the state government provides subsidy for the difference between the cost of airline operations on a route and the expected revenues from that route.
25/07/19 Debjit Sinha/Financial Express

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IndiGo's new bet - Myanmar; airlines to connect Kolkata with Yangon from this month

Budget carrier Indigo will begin flight operation to Myanmar from Kolkata, the company announced today. The airline's non-stop flights would start operation from Kolkata from September 20, 2019. With this new flight service, Yangoon in Myanmar would be Indigo’s 18th global destination. The airline will operate two flights on this route.  Yangon is the former capital of the country. In 2006 the government shifted the capital in Nay Pyi Taw.

"We see significant traffic from Yangon to the Buddhist circuit. This route will strengthen the cultural relationships between the two countries and boost trade, tourism and mobility," IndiGo chief commercial officer William Boulter said in the statement.

IndiGo carried 12.02 million passenger traffic, and operates over 1,400 daily flights with a fleet of 238. It is the largest domestic airline in India.
IndiGo also announced new daily non stop flights on Delhi-Agartala and Delhi-Dibrugarh routes. These flights on the routes will commence service from August 14. The Delhi-Agartala non-stop daily flight will depart from Delhi at 1:45 pm, and will reach the destination at 4:20 pm. The flight will take off from Agartala at 4:50 pm, and will reach the national capital at 7:25 pm.
24/07/19 ZeeBiz

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AAI proposes funding of AC cabins at Asarwa fish market

Ahmedabad: In an effort to curb the bird strikes and enhance safety of aircraft moving in and out of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport in Ahmedabad, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has proposed to the civic body to fund the setting up of air-conditioned cabins at the fish market, located under Chamunda Bridge in Asarwa area of the city. The bridge falls in the funnel area of the SVPI Airport, which means it is along the take-off and landing route of the aircraft. AAI alleged that even as the proposal – aimed at keeping birds at bay by preventing sale of fish in the open – had been put forth by the AAI two months ago, the project continues to await approval from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
AMC officials have however refuted AAI’s claims stating that the project is very much under consideration and the execution is likely to begin in another month.

Elaborating about the proposal, Manoj Gangal, SVPI airport director, said, “Fishes are sold in an open space on the road along Chamunda bridge, which falls in the funnel area of the SVPI Airport. This attracts birds, which pose a risk to the aircraft.”
Gangal said, “We have proposed to fund the project of setting up glass, air-conditioned cabins to keep fish. AAI has earmarked a fund for the same and once AMC approves the proposal, the project can be funded by AAI.”
25/07/19 Times of India

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IndiGo To Start New International Flights

Private carrier IndiGo on Wednesday announced new international flights. IndiGo will commence daily direct flights on the Delhi-Dhaka-Delhi route, it said in an official statement. The new flights will commence on August 22, said the airline. IndiGo is offering flight tickets starting from Rs. 8,899 and Rs. 10,000 on the Delhi-Dhaka and Dhaka-Delhi routes respectively. "As part of our mission to extend affordable air connectivity within India and internationally, we are delighted to announce daily non-stop flights between Delhi and Dhaka," said William Boulter, chief commercial officer, IndiGo.
On Tuesday, IndiGo said it will start daily direct flights on the Delhi-Agartala and Delhi-Dibrugarh routes from August 14.
Last week, IndiGo, the country's largest airline by market share, had announced new overseas flights. The carrier will offer non-stop flights on Mumbai-Singapore and Mumbai-Bangkok routes, starting from August 22. IndiGo will also start flights on Mumbai-Dubai-Mumbai, Mumbai-Kuwait-Mumbai and Delhi-Jeddah-Delhi routes from July 25.
25/07/19 NDTV

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Sri Lanka announces free visa on arrival for Indian tourists

In a bid to revive its flagging tourism post the Easter-day bombings, Sri Lanka has announced free visa on arrival for tourists from India and China. This scheme will come into force from 1st August 2019. The country’s former plan to grant visas on arrival for citizens of 39 countries was suspended due to the bombings. Three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo were bombed on 21 st April, killing 258 people, causing a setback. Originally the scheme was to come in force 1st May onwards, however, the security reasons post the traumatic incident put the plan on hold. The visas on arrival pilot programme was part of a larger initiative to increase tourist arrivals to the country during the six-month off-season period from May to October. The visa on arrival scheme has also be re-launched for the 39 suspended countries. It already allowed tourists from Thailand, the European Union, the UK, the US, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, Cambodia.
Commenting on the scheme, Chinthaka Weerasinghe, Manager Northern India SriLankan Airlines said, “We are expecting an increase in the number of tourist arrivals from India and from other markets as well. Especially, after the April Easter attack, we had to take a lot of steps to boost our tourism, as a National Carrier we are excited about this new change.”
25/07/19  Seema Wadhwa/Financial Express

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To woo Indians, Malaysia to offer slew of attractive travel programmes

Hyderabad: South East Asian nation of Malaysia is seeking to woo Indian tourist visitors with a slew of attractive travel offerings while expecting to attract more than 7,00,000 visitors from India this year.

Sulaiman Suib, Tourism Malaysia Director, said, “India ranks among top 10 countries for Malaysia in terms of tourist visitors. In 2018, 5,94,098 Indian tourists visited Malaysia, registering a growth of over 7.5 per cent. Statistics from January to May 2019 shows that a total of 2,95,609 India tourists visited, registering a growth of 15.5 per cent, compared to same period of previous year.”

“Malaysia is aiming a target of 7,28,000 India tourists to visitors to Malaysia this year. If we sustain this growth momentum, it won’t be long before we join the one million club,” he said.

Speaking on the sidelines of ‘Visit Malyasia 2020’ event hosted here where more than 37 travel and tour operators converged, the Malaysian official said, “Tourism Malaysia is doing well with good arrivals and tourism development. International visitors swelled this year and we expect Indian visitors also to go up significantly.”

South India is an important market and accounts for about 60 plus percentage of overall tourist visitors from India.
“In the recent period, we have simplified the visa issuance process which makes it much more attractive for people travelling to Malaysia with eNTRI and eVISa. There has also been a significant growth in destination events and MICE,” he explained.
25/07/19 Business Line

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Expats hope new flight service will cut ticket prices to Kannur

Dubai: Following the official launch of GoAir's Dubai-Kannur-Dubai flights, expatriates from the northern districts of the Indian state of Kerala are hoping that air ticket prices to this the sector will drop considerably.

The Indian airline will launch daily non-stop flights between Dubai and Kannur today, officials announced at a launch ceremony on Wednesday. They said the Kannur-Dubai flight is priced at a starting rate of Dh335. However, passengers have been advised to book the tickets in advance to avail the launch prices.

"The air route enables further connectivity to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai," said Arjun Dasgupta, GoAir vice-president - international, at a Press meet in Dubai. He explained: "Daily flight schedule from Dubai to Kannur is effective July 25 at 12.20am. The flight will land in Kannur at 5.35am. The Kannur-Dubai flight will take off at 7.05pm and will land in Dubai at 9.55pm."

GoAir's launch has relieved passengers travelling from the UAE to Kannur, in the hope that air ticket prices would reduce owing to a new player in the market. Since the airport was opened and international flights were launched, ticket prices to Kannur have been considerably higher than flights to other airports in Kerala.

Nithin Sreehari, a Dubai-based sales and marketing professional, said: "I am from Kannur and I've been waiting to take a flight to my hometown ever since the opening of the airport, but no such luck. The tickets are too expensive considering the prices for the entire family."
For expats like Nithin, booking tickets in advance or purchasing tickets on connecting flights are the only way to save some money.
24/07/19 Dhanusha Gukulan/Khaleej Times

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India asks Russia to upgrade its Sukhoi fighter jets

Moscow: India has asked Russia to modernize its fleet of Sukhoi or Su-30MKI, supermaneuverable, multirole fighter jets, Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said in an interview, released on Monday.
”We are very pleased with the upgrades of the MiG-21, MiG-27 and MiG-29. They have been equipped with modern weapons and avionics. In recent exercises we tried them and were very pleased with the results,” he told a Russian military daily Krasnay Zvezda.
Following the success of the MiG modernization, India has requested a proposal for the Su-30MKI modernization, he said. India has been operating Russian built Su-30 MKI for over past 20 years.
The IAF chief also said that his country is ready to discuss production of Russian arms in India, as it saves time and shortens manufacturing cycle.
Known as Flanker-H in NATO countries, India purchased the first batch of Su-30MKI jets in 1996 at the cost of $1.462 billion. Since then India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has produced 249 such aircrafts under license.
22/07/19 Elena Teslova/Asia Pacific

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IndiGo to connect Kolkata with Yangon from September

Budget carrier Indigo will begin services to Myanmar with a direct daily flight to Yangon from Kolkata, starting September 20.
Yangon, the capital city of the Southeast Asian nation till 2006 when the government named a capital in Nay Pyi Taw, will be the airline's 18th overseas destination.
"Effective September 20, we will operate a daily flight on the Kolkata- Yangon route," Indigo said in a statement Wednesday.
The largest domestic carrier commanding nearly half of the 12.02 million passenger traffic, operates over 1,400 daily flights with a fleet of 238.
"We see significant traffic from Yangon to the Buddhist circuit. This route will strengthen the cultural relationships between the two countries and boost trade, tourism and mobility," William Boulter, chief commercial officer said in the statement.
Chief executive Ronojoy Dutta had during the analysts call last week had said there was "significant" opportunity for "profitable" growth by increasing connections to tourist destinations in the country as the airline adds capacity.
"We are developing the Buddhist circuit. The traffic flow into the Buddhist circuit will enhance as we add Vietnam and Myanmar in the network next quarter," Dutta had said.
24/07/19 PTI/Economic Times

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Brazilian man arrested with Rs 20 crore cocaine at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: In one of the biggest seizures so far this year, a Brazilian was caught trying to smuggle in around 4 kg of cocaine worth Rs 20 crore at Mumbai airport on Monday.
The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of customs arrested Rodrigo Dos Santos Alves, 33, from Sao Paulo when they found two packets of white powder, purportedly cocaine, in transparent polythene pouches wrapped around his body with adhesive tapes.
When Alves arrived from Sao Paulo via Addis Ababa, he was asked if he was carrying any drugs. Alves, dressed in a sweatshirt, replied in the negative, but the official insisted on a body search, which revealed the drug.
He was arrested and booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Pyschotrophic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Last week, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Mumbai, had arrested a 24-year-old Venezuelan at the Mumbai airport for trying to smuggling in cocaine worth Rs 3 crore concealed on her body.
24/07/19 Ahmed Ali/Times of India

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Etihad in the race to acquire Jet Airways

Etihad Airways PJSC, the national carrier of Abu Dhabi, is learnt to have initiated a fresh round of talks to bid for Jet Airways through the IBC process.

Etihad had always been interested but wanted a favourable deal, according people familiar with the development.

The foreign carrier, which has 24% stake in the grounded airline, is reportedly gearing up to submit a bid along with the Hinduja Group.

A detailed email sent to Etihad Airways remained unanswered till the time of going to press.

Similarly, an email to the Hinduja Group seeking a confirmation yielded no response.

Negotiations are underway between the two parties, the people said, but they did not elaborate.
The Hinduja Group, which had thrown its hat in the ring, is likely to come in as a financial investor.

Commenting on the development, Ambareesh Baliga, independent equity analyst said. “Yes, people are interested because Jet Airways still has brand equity. They may benefit but the company will offer nothing for retail or other shareholders as their value has been completely eroded.

“It does not make any sense for strategic investors to provide any premium because the company’s net worth is negative. Strategic investors will come at par and the dilution will be so huge that retail investors will be turned into micro minority. There will be nothing left for them,” Mr. Baliga said.
23/07/19 Lalatendu Mishra/The Hindu

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Air India to resume flights on Lucknow-Najaf, Delhi-Kabul routes

With Pakistan reopening its airspace, national carrier Air India will resume flight operations on the Delhi-Kabul and the Lucknow-Najaf routes from August 5 and October 28, respectively, said Air India chief on Monday.

"As Pakistan airspace is now open, we will start the flights on the Delhi-Kabul route from August 5. The flights would run five days per week and we would open the ticket booking for them within one or two days," Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani told PTI.

"As the demand of flights on the Delhi-Kabul route is very high, we would make it a daily flight in the winter schedule," he added.

Pakistan had shut its airspace on February 26 due to the Balakot airstrike by the Indian Air Force, which resulted in a significant rise in Air India's operating costs on flights connecting north Indian cities and regions eastward of Pakistan.

Consequently, in March, Air India had suspended flights on the Lucknow-Najaf, Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham and the Delhi-Kabul routes.

Pakistan opened its airspace on July 16.

Lohani said, "Flights on the Lucknow-Najaf route will start from October 28 this year. We will be operating A320 aircraft on this route."
22/03/19 PTI/Business Today

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Air Canada to resume India flights on October 1

Air Canada on Tuesday (23) said it would resume its flights to India.

The company announced it will resume its daily, non-stop Toronto-Delhi flights on October 1, (eastbound) and October 3, 2019 (westbound).

The latest move has come a week after Pakistan reopened its airspace for international civil aviation.

The Toronto-Delhi flights will be operated initially with Boeing 787 Dreamliners and beginning October 27, additional capacity will be added to this route with 400-seat Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

Air Canada’s seasonal Toronto-Mumbai flights will operate four times weekly from October 27, 2019, until March 28, 2020, with Boeing 777-200LR aircraft.

Air Canada will have up to 18 weekly flights conveniently connecting a multitude of cities in North America to Delhi from both Toronto and Vancouver, and to Mumbai from Toronto, the company said.
23/07/19 Eastern Eye

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Virgin Atlantic bullish on India, banks on tier-II cities for growth

Mumbai: Virgin Atlantic has expanded its partnership with Vistara and is targeting passenger feed from tier-II cities to drive growth on India-London routes. The UK carrier will resume its London-Mumbai service in October, six months after its partner Jet Airways shut operations.

Virgin Atlantic flew to Mumbai between 2005 and 2009 and again from 2012-2015 before withdrawing from the route. The airline's India office believes the carrier will be lucky this time, given the high demand and the void caused by Jet Airways' collapse.
"There is significant growth in the market. Demand on the Mumbai-London route has grown 23 per cent the Past five years. We offer a strong service element and are confident of success," said David Hodges, Virgin Atlantic's country manager for India. The airline currently has a daily service between London-Delhi.

It has also expanded its interline agreement with Vistara ahead of Mumbai service launch. An interline agreement is a commercial arrangement between two airlines which allows them to sell on each others' network. The expanded agreement covers Vistara's domestic flights from Mumbai and will enable Virgin Atlantic to get passenger feed from other cities in India. He added the airline was also exploring partnerships with other Indian airlines.
Hodges said the airline is also focusing on sales efforts in cities including Pune and Ahmedabad which are large markets for airlines. To attract business travellers it will be offering free limousine service between Mumbai and Pune. "We are targeting high yield traffic. Our ambition is to grow in India," he said.
23/07/19 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Staying alive or sitting comfortably?

Mumbai: While it is nice to get insider tips on getting the most comfortable and safest seats on a plane, Dutch airline KLM went a bit too far last week when it shared on Twitter about which seats are the deadliest.
Admittedly, the Tweet was a follow-up to a trivia question about air fatalities, and KLM’s India office later deleted the post after a strong social media reaction, but what do you expect when you put out: According to data studies by Time, the fatality rate for the seats in the middle of the plane is the highest?
Read more >>

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Chinese national arrested at Madurai airport

Madurai: The Perungudi police in Madurai district arrested a Chinese national on Monday when he tried to fly out of India using a fake passport.
The accused has been identified as Zhou Hong Zhgn, 42, from a village near Jilang City. He tried to board a Sri Lanka-bound flight on Sunday.

Immigration officials, who grew suspicious about him, took him to a separate room and conducted an inquiry. They found that the passport he possessed was a fake one.
Zhou came to India a few years ago to do a business. His passport was confiscated following a criminal case registered against him by the Guntur district police in Andhra Pradesh for cheating a government agency.

Though he was freed sometime ago, Zhou could not leave the country as his passport had expired. Meanwhile, he prepared a fake passport with the help of an agent in Kolkata.
23/07/19 Devanathan Veerappan/Times of India

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Air Tanzania lands on Indian soil after 20 years

Nearly after two decades, Air Tanzania has launched flights to Mumbai, India and will be operating three times a week initially.

Air Tanzania is currently providing direct flights along this route and welcomed 147 passengers on board. The first flight, a B787-8 Dreamliner took off on July 18 from Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) to Mumbai. This is the airlines' first commercial flight to India.

The direct, non-stop flights between India and Tanzania is expected to boost trade and tourism between the two countries.

Dar es Salaam, the largest city of Tanzania is on the verge of becoming a popular tourist destination. It displays a rich mix of architectural styles incorporating British, German and other Asian traditions.
22/07/19 Logistics Update Africa

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Flight from Bengaluru to Amsterdam from October 31

Bengaluru: Air France-KLM Group is set to launch its debut flight on its new route from Bengaluru to Amsterdam on October 31. The service will be operated thrice a week from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).

Jet Airlines used to run non-stop flights from Bengaluru to Amsterdam from October 2017 until it wound up all its international operations early this year.
Jean-Noel Rault, General Manager, India subcontinent of Air France-KLM said the Dreamliner flight (Boeing 787-900) will be operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Benglauru and on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from Amsterdam.
22/07/19 New Indian Express

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SpiceJet to connect Dhaka with Mumbai, Delhi

India’s political and financial capitals New Delhi and Mumbai will once again be just a flight away from Dhaka thanks to budget carrier SpiceJet’s acquisition of the slots vacated by collapsed Jet Airways.

Jet Airways ran daily direct flights between Dhaka and Mumbai and New Delhi but its grounding on April 17 for an indefinite period after it ran out of cash left a huge hole in air connectivity with Bangladesh’s second biggest trading partner.

But that mantle has been taken up by SpiceJet, which grabbed most of the international slots of the fallen airline.

From July 25, SpiceJet will be running direct flights daily between Dhaka and Mumbai.

The flight’s timing would be the same as Jet Airways’: it will depart Dhaka at 1:20pm and land in Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport three-and-a-half hours later at 4:15pm.

From Mumbai it will depart at 8:50am and land in Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport about three hours later at 12:50pm.

A round trip would cost about Tk 25,200 on the Indian no-frills airline, which is almost half the fare offered by Jet Airways for the route.

And from July 31 it will start daily direct flights between Dhaka and New Delhi and on the same schedule as Jet Airways.

The flight will leave Dhaka at 11:30am and land in Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at two-and-a-half hours later at 1:30pm.

From Delhi the flight would depart at 7:40am and arrive in Dhaka at 10:30am.

A round trip would cost about Tk 23,000, which is again half that on Jet Airways.
22/07/19 Daily Star

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Lufthansa eyes Hyderabad as potential destination; wants to fly to Pune too, but can’t

German premium carrier Lufthansa is eyeing Hyderabad as a potential flight destination to add to its network while consolidating its current market. The airline also wants to operate flights to and from Pune, but can’t do so for now as the city doesn’t have an airport to service large aircraft. In an interview, Alexander Schlaubitz, Vice President, Marketing; and George Ettiyil, Senior Director, Sales, talk to Financial Express Online about why Lufthansa’s premium pricing is relevant for India, what Lufthansa expects from the rising competition from domestic carriers like IndiGo and SpiceJet and why Pune’s lack of airport costs not only domestic but also international carriers.
Read an edited excerpt of Alexander Schlaubitz and George Ettiyil’s interview with Prachi Gupta >>

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As direct link to Tokyo still ‘hangs in the air’, connection flight readies for early take-off

Thiruvananthapuram: Though a direct flight between Tokyo and Thiruvananthapuram continues to be elusive, the chances are high for the state to get a connecting flight to Tokyo from the capital city, giving the investors from Far East especially, Japan, reasons to cheer. According to sources, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry has agreed to call a meeting exclusively to discuss the matters related to the Trivandrum International Airport in the first week of August possibly by August 3.
The meeting will discuss the possibility of starting a connection flight to Tokyo via either Singapore or Bangkok, along with other matters related to the development of Trivandrum International airport. Earlier, Express had reported that officials of Nissan Motor of Japan, which has a digital innovation hub in Thiruvananthapuram, along with other companies from the region, were anxious over the decision of SilkAir to stop its service from the capital to Singapore and give the slot to its budget airline Scoot.
Since the company officials preferred business class to travel between the cities, the decision to hand over the service to Scoot had disappointed the investors from Far East like Fujitsu and Hitachi which have been looking to invest in Kerala. Following this, the state government had written to Air India managing director requesting to start a direct flight between Tokyo and Thiruvananthapuram.
However, the chances of Air India starting a service to Tokyo from here is remote in the current scenario especially with the Centre looking to disinvest in the national carrier and its subsidiaries. But the state is seriously exploring ways to start a connection flight to Tokyo after consulting with Sri Lankan airlines which holds service to Colombo from here and it has business class seats.
22/07/19 Dhinesh Kallungal/New Indian Express

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South Korean woman smuggles gold bars worth Rs 2.5 cr, arrested

New Delhi: In yet another case of gold smuggling by a foreign national, a South Korean national was arrested at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport for allegedly carrying gold bars worth Rs 2.5 cr.
The woman's arrest came on Saturday after her flight landed at Delhi's IGI airport from the South Korean city of Incheon. The gold was hidden in the base of a microscope that she carried with her.
According to a report, the woman by apprehended by customs officials after she crossed Green Channel. Additional Commissioner of Customs, Arivalideep Singh, said the thorough checking of the woman revealed the recovery of seven gold bars weighing around 7 kilogram.
The estimated value of the gold bars is Rs 2.5 cr. Customs officials, however, have refrained from revealing the identity of the accused.
22/07/19 MirrorNowNews.com

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Gold worth Rs 56.38 lakh seized from 3 Tajik women

Vasco: On a tipoff, Air Customs officials seized gold jewellery from three female foreigners from Tajikistan who allegedly concealed it in innerwear, hand baggage and purse.
In a press note issued here, the Air Customs said that a team of its officials headed by Dr Raghvendra P, IRS, apprehended three Tajikistan women who had arrived from its capital Dushanbe, via Dubai by Air India flight AI 994.
During personal and baggage search of the three women, 1,787 grams of asserted gold jewellery concealed in innerwear, handbags, purse etc were recovered.
22/07/19 Herald

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Oman Air cancels services to major cities including Kozhikode

Muscat: Oman Air has announced that they are cancelling services to major cities in India including Kozhikode and other sectors till August end. The airlines informed that the services were cancelled due to the grounding of Boeing 737 Max planes.
It is reported that Oman Air has cancelled 877 services from July 7 to August 31.
Services to Kozhikode, Mumbai, Hyderabd, Jaipur, Goa, Jeddah, Dubai, Kathmandu,Colombo, Amman, Kuwait, Medina, Doha, Salalah, Riyad and Athens were cancelled. Meanwhile, Oman Air has assured rebooking facility for the passengers who had booked their tickets in the cancelled services.
21/07/19 Mathrubhumi

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‘India has always been an attractive destination for us’

Turkish Airlines’ general manager for  northern and eastern India, Huseyin Ozbek speaks to Rishita Roy Chowdhury about the Indian aviation market and its renewed appeal for international carriers >>

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Kenya: India's National Airline Set to Start Direct Flights to Nairobi

Air India, the national carrier of India, is set to resume direct flights between Mumbai and Nairobi from September 27.

Indian High Commissioner to Kenya Rahul Chhabra disclosed that the flights are expected to shore up trade and connectivity between the two countries.

"I am excited to announce that Air India is launching direct flights between Mumbai and Nairobi on September 27, that also coincides with World Tourism Day."

"This will improve trade between Kenya and India and is a testimony that India attaches great significance to the people of Kenya," added Mr Chhabra.

Air India used to operate directly between India and Kenya but later abandoned its operations.

The airline is expected to fly four times a week and will cut the time used to travel from between 10 and 11 hours to six hours.

This will save hours spent on flights that usually involve long layovers in Dubai, Middle East.
21/07/19 Stanley Kimuge/Daily Nation/All Africa

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Direct flight to Hong Kong in Aug; Vietnam link on cards

Kolkata: IndiGo airlines is set to flag off its operations to Hong Kong with the introduction of direct daily flights from August 20. It will become the second airlines after Cathay Dragon to offer a direct flight to the popular tourist destination. “Ticket sales for the flights to Hong Kong are already under way and so far, we have had a promising response,” said an airline official.
Additionally, for the first time, Kolkata is on the verge of getting a direct flight to Vietnam, one of the most popular travel destinations. IndiGo airlines is planning to start operation later this year.

Along with Hanoi, the airlines also has plans to start direct flights to Guangzhou in China and Yangon in Myanmar around the same time. “Flight operations to Hanoi, Guangzhou and Yangon are on the cards,” said an official.

Last month, the airline's chief commercial officer had said that the airlines was hoping to start operating flights on the Kolkata-Hanoi route from October 3. On Saturday, an official said they are yet to decide the date of commencement, but confirmed that the airlines is in the final stages of getting the requisite government approvals.
21/07/19 Times of India

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US man held for entering Delhi airport on fake ticket

New Delhi: A US national was apprehended Sunday by CISF personnel at Delhi airport for allegedly using a fake ticket to enter the terminal area, a senior official said.

Kasi V Malla was apprehended around 12.30 am by the CISF as he was found suspiciously roaming in the terminal area and attempting to leave the Terminal-3 (T3) building of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, the official said.

The man, holding a passport of the United States of America, was stopped and questioned, as exiting the terminal area is not allowed under normal circumstances, he said.

The passenger told the CISF personnel that he used a "cancelled" ticket to enter the terminal area to see off his wife and children who were travelling to Zurich in Switzerland, the official said, adding the passenger has been handed over to the police.
21/07/19 PTI/India Today

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GoAir says has no plans to fly to Bhutan

Low-cost carrier GoAir on July 19 denied any plans to begin a service to the Bhutanese city of Paro from New Delhi.

"Currently we have no plans to operate a flight to Bhutan from New Delhi," the airline said in a clarification.

On July 18 PTI had reported that the airline was likely to fly to Paro in Bhutan from New Delhi.

A query was sent to the airline on July 18 seeking response but it remained unanswered till next evening.

"Goair will formally communicate/announce in case it is planning anything on these lines as part its network expansion plan," the airline said in the statement.

Goair, which started flying international last October, operates to Phuket, Male, Abu Dhabi and Muscat. Last week, it announced expansion of its international operations to Bangkok, Dubai and Kuwait, besides launch of services on four new routes.
20/07/19 PTI/Moneycontrol.com

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GoAir plans to enter Vietnam, Cambodia by year-end

Budget passenger carrier GoAir is planning to add destinations such as Hanoi and Phnom Penh to its international network by the year-end, sources said.

The sources said the airline, which is rapidly expanding its international presence, will also deploy capacity to Bhutan in the coming days. Till recently, the airline flew to just four international destinations -- Phuket, Malé, Muscat and Abu Dhabi.

Lately, it launched a slew of new international flights -- Delhi-Abu Dhabi, Mumbai-Abu Dhabi, Mumbai-Muscat, Delhi-Bangkok and Kannur-Kuwait. However, some of these new international flights are being operated on re-allocated slots of Jet Airways. GoAir has the rights over these till September.

An airport slot is a specified time period granted at airports to an airline to operate its scheduled flights.

GoAir's Vice President - International Operations Arjun Dasgupta told IANS that the airline was considering further expansion in Southeast Asia and the SAARC countries.

Dasgupta pointed out that the destinations would be selected keeping in mind the airline's aircraft range. At present, the airline operates Airbus A320Neos aircraft, which have an endurance of around six-hours of flying time.

Consequent to its expansion plans, the airline has enhanced its fleet size and recently took the delivery of its 51st plane. Going forward, it will be adding at least one aircraft every month.

On tie-ups with other international airlines for codeshare or an interline agreement, Dasgupta said the company was in touch with many players, including those who were with erstwhile Jet Airways.
20/07/19 IANS/CNBC TV18

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Two new flights to India from Abu Dhabi

Dubai: With the Indian aviation sector being the busiest, especially during the summer vacations, the launch of two new daily flights from Mumbai and New Delhi to Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, has come as a welcome respite for Indian expatriates.

GoAir flights introduced this season will help meet the summer rush and Abu Dhabi Airports has welcomed this.

Maarten De Groof, chief commercial officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, said: “GoAir is one of our most promising new partners. India continues to be one of our largest and most important areas of operation, and we look forward to ensuring that GoAir’s travellers enjoy a comfortable and efficient experience at Abu Dhabi International Airport, where they will have the chance to benefit from world-class smart travel solutions, attractive retail offerings and relaxing lounge spaces.”

It may be recalled that since the closure of Jet Airways, Indian travellers, especially those flying to the United States and Europe with a halt at Abu Dhabi were facing a challenge.
20/07/19 Gulf News

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Malindo Air launches inaugural flight to India's holy city

Kuala Lumpur: Malindo Air has launched its inaugural flight to the sacred city of Varanasi, India on Thursday evening.

“India is a significant market to us. Just as its neighbouring cities, the potential is foreseen on both, inbound and outbound travellers on leisure, business, as well as visiting friends and families purposes,” Malindo Air chief executive officer Chandran Rama Muthy said, in a statement.

“However Varanasi may have the added advantage in terms of demand as it is also primarily a sacred pilgrimage destination for Hindus around the world,” he added.

Malindo Air said it was the only Malaysian carrier operating directly between Kuala Lumpur and Varanasi.

“I believe our objectives are in line with our government’s tourism and economic agenda, which is to entice more visitors into Malaysia hence boosting economic conditions and increasing passengers’ arrivals at KLIA, which is envisioned to be the main regional hub of Asia,” Rama Muthy said.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd chief execvutive officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin said Malindo was the first in Malaysia and fourth in Southeast Asia to introduce the route.
19/07/19 New Straits Times

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Make in India: Indian start-ups ink MoUs to gain entry to the supply chain of Lockheed Martin

In an effort to reaffirm their commitment to strengthening India’s aerospace sector and India-US ties, US-based Lockheed Martin on Friday inked MoUs with three Indian start-ups.

The MoUs were inked at the end of three days joint Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) third annual “Suppliers Conference” in New Delhi. The conference helped in bringing together the current F-16’s “Tier-1 vendors” with prospective partners from the Indian industry.

Said Vivek Lall, Vice President for Strategy and Business Development at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, these agreements are a testimony to the commitment of Lockheed Martin to cultivate and integrate indigenous content into global systems and platforms.
“Through these agreements, we look to provide engineering support, mentoring, and assistance in the qualification of some of the technologies proposed, all of which contribute to our mission of making in India,” he added.

Expected to pave the way for them to gain entry is the American Company’s supply chain, three start-ups Terero Mobility, Sastra Robotics, and NoPo Nanotechnologies, who are graduates of the India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP), will also contribute to the evolution of both the Indian and global aerospace & defence industry.
19/07/19 Huma Siddiqui/Financial Express

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More visa-on-arrival facilities for tourists from China and India

Petaling Jaya: In an effort to boost tourist arrivals during Visit Malaysia Year 2020, the government is adding more visa-on-arrival (VOA) facilities for tourists from China and India.

The Home Ministry said that these facilities would be expanded at the arrival gates of six main airports around the country, including Langkawi International Airport, Miri International Airport and the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah International Airport.

Other locations where such facilities will be expanded include the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex in Kedah, the Sungai Tujoh ICQS in Sarawak and the Labuan Ferry Terminal.

The ministry noted that VOA access is only given to tourists from China and India who enter Malaysia via Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

"This will be based on the condition that they pass the Immigration security check and are not a threat to the nation," it said in a statement on Friday (July 19).

To stimulate the arrival of visitors and increase their expenditure while visiting Malaysia, the ministry added that the VOA facilities have been improved.
19/07/19 The Star

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Indian flights to Jaffna will not include Tamil Nadu

The announcement that commercial flights from India will soon be visiting Jaffna’s recently expanded Palaly airport excludes all flights from Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu, in an act of “Sinhala hegemony” said a Tamil politician this week.

Palaly airport is currently occupied by the Sri Lankan military which has used the region as an air force base for its fleets of jets that were extensively used in bombing raids thorughout the armed conflict.

“Reopening Palaly is welcome as we have been pressing for it, but is of little use if there are no connections to Tamil Nadu,” Northern Provincial Council education minister Kandiah Sarveswaran told the Hindustan Times. He went on to state that such acts will only reinforce the idea that Sri Lanka’s development projects in Tamil areas are being “as tools to further majority Sinhala hegemony.”

“Tamil expats from around the world who are headed for Jaffna could break journey in Chennai for some shopping and sightseeing and then fly to Palaly,” Sarveswaran added. Instead, the inister added the move from the Sri Lankan government may be to “protect the revenue of Colombo airport”.
19/07/19 Tamil Guardian

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Bangladeshi caught at KIA with valid Indian passport

Bengaluru: Immigration officials at Kempegowda International Airport nabbed a 25-year-old man from Bangladesh who was allegedly trying to fly to Dubai in the UAE with a valid Indian passport.

When caught on Tuesday, the accused, Sureshar, told officials that he had crossed the border 17 years ago after paying ₹6,000 to security personnel. He had lived in Kolkata in West Bengal for several years. He moved to Bengaluru in 2015 where he found employment in a hotel at Majestic.

According to the police, he also worked as an AC technician for some time before he got a passport from Kolkata through a tout named Joy S., who charged him ₹50,000.

“He has used this passport to visit his family in Bangladesh, and return to India. Though he was heading to the United Arab Emirates on a tourist visa, he was planning to get a job and settle down there,” said the police.
19/07/19 The Hindu

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GoAir may start flights to Bhutan from New Delhi

Mumbai: Wadia group-promoted budget carrier GoAir is likely to commence flight services to Bhutan from New Delhi, a source said Thursday.

GoAir, which started flying international from October last year, currently operates to Phuket, Male, Abu Dhabi and Muscat.

Last week, it announced expansion of its international operations to three new markets, Bangkok, Dubai and Kuwait, besides launch of services on four new routes.

“GoAir is all set to start flight services to Paro (Bhutan) from New Delhi. An announcement to this effect is expected to be made very soon,” a source privy to the development told PTI.

GoAir’s response to a query on this issue was awaited.

Following the launch of the services, GoAir will become the first domestic private carrier to fly to Bhutan.
18/07/19 PTI/Business Line

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All Nippon Airways targets southern India

All Nippon Airways will launch the only direct flights between Japan and Southern India from October when it starts service between Tokyo-Narita and Chennai.

The new route will be ANAs third to India along with flights from Narita to Mumbai and Delhi.

It will operate Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from October 27  using a 169-seat Boeing 787-8 with 46 seats in business, 21 in premium economy and 102 in economy class.

The airline said the expansion would bring the total number of cities it serves to 46 and was the latest in a series of moves to boost its Asia/Oceania network, including the recently announced Narita-Perth service beginning September 1.
“It is always exciting to add a new destination, but it is even more significant to be the only carrier offering connecting this growing region with Japan,” said All Nippon Airways senior vice president Seiichi Takahashi.

International passenger service is the main revenue generator for the ANA Group, and we hope to continue improving our market share in this dynamic sector as outlined in our Mid-Term Corporate Strategy for FY2018-2022.
18/07/19 Steve Creedy/Airline Ratings

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United Airlines to resume daily flights to India as Pakistan opens its airspace

New Delhi: A day after Pakistan reopened its airspace, US airline major United Airlines has decided to resume its daily non-stop services to India on September 6. The airline also said they are looking forward to start brand new service between San Francisco and Delhi in December.

“After reviewing and re-evaluating plans, our network operations and planning teams have determined that we will resume daily non-stop service between New York/Newark and Delhi and Mumbai on September 6, 2019 (eastbound). We’re looking forward to starting brand new service between San Francisco and Delhi in December,” United Airlines said in a statement.

United had suspended the Delhi flight on April 5 due to closure of Pak airspace and the Mumbai flight on June 21 due to US restrictions on flying over Iranian airspace. Earlier this week, the carrier had announced that it would extend suspension of India flights till October 26.

Pakistan had closed its airspace after India’s air strikes in Balakot on February 26 this year. Following this, Indian carriers had to re-routed their international flights, and consequently, national carrier Air India suffered financial loss to the tune of `491 crore.However, nearly after four months, on Tuesday, Pakistan announced reopening of its airspace “for all types of civil traffic published on ATS (Air Traffic Service) routes.”
18/07/19 New Indian Express

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International airfares likely to drop

Chennai: Airfares of Indian carriers to several destinations including the US and Europe are set to come down after the opening up of air space by Pakistan.
Air India, Indigo, SpiceJet and Go Air are expected to benefit from the move. Their operational cost would come down and the benefits are expected to be passed on to the customer.
"The Jet Airways was going through a crisis when Pakistan had closed the air space in February. So it was a double-whammy for the aviation sector. Between then and now airfares have gone up by 25 to 30 per cent," said Kapil Goswamy, MD, Big Breaks.com.
According to Air India, one-way operational cost of flights to the US might come down by Rs 20 lakh. The flying time for flights to the US had increased by 90 minutes after the air space was blocked. Flight operation costs to Europe would also reduce by Rs 5 lakh.
18/07/19 Sangeetha G/Deccan Chronicle

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Pakistan Says Airspace Restrictions After India Clashes Cost $50 Million

The aviation minister of Pakistan says his country suffered losses of more than 8 billion rupees ($50 million) because of airspace restrictions put in place earlier this year amid violent clashes with neighboring India.

“Over 8 billion rupees worth of losses have been suffered by the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority,” Ghulam Sarwar Khan told a news conference in Karachi on July 18.

“We don’t have exact figures of losses of their [Indian] civil aviation authorities, but it's more than ours,” Khan added.

India's aviation minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, recently told parliament that Indian air firms -- Air India, SpiceJet, IndiGo, and GoAir -- lost almost $80 million because of the the closure of Pakistani airspace.

Pakistan lies in an important aviation corridor. In February, it closed its airspace to international aviation after a standoff with India in the wake of an attack by a Pakistan-based militant group on a police convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 paramilitary police.

Both countries carried out aerial attacks over each other's territory during the standoff and warplanes fought a brief dogfight over the skies of the disputed Kashmir region.

The closure of the airspace forced international airlines to reroute around Pakistan, costing them time and money.
18/07/19 RFERL

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Airspace closures: The Five ‘Freedoms of Air’ and the underlying geopolitics

Pakistan has allowed Indian commercial airlines to overfly its airspace that was closed after the Balakot airstrike on February 26. India has also reciprocated by opening its skies for Pakistani commercial jets wanting to fly east. Hostilities apart, allowing Indian commercial jets to use its airspace on their journey to the west makes perfect business sense for a bankrupt nation like Pakistan. Every time an Indian jet enters Pakistani airspace, the cash registers start ringing – totalling millions of dollars each year.
So how does all this work? >>

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Flights to Indian holy place resume from Birmingham Airport

India’s Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri has said flights from Birmingham to Amritsar will resume next month.

The tri-weekly Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham Air India flight will resume services on August 15, said Hardeep Singh Puri after Pakistan opened its airspace for civilian planes.

Amritsar is a city in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab, 28 kilometers from the border with Pakistan. At the center of its walled old town, the gilded Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) is the holiest gurdwara (religious complex) of the Sikh religion.

Singh Puri, Civil Aviation Minister of India and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in India, said that Pakistan had shut its airspace in February after the Balakot strike by the Indian Air Force, resulting in a significant rise of Air India’s operating costs on flights connecting Delhi to Europe and the US.

Following this, the national carrier suspended flights on the Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham route.
18/07/19 Business Desk

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Air India to Restart Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham Flight as Pakistan Opens Civilian Airspace

The tri-weekly Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham Air India flight would resume services on August 15, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday after Pakistan opened its airspace for civilian planes.

Pakistan had shut its airspace in February after the Balakot strike by the Indian Air Force, resulting in a significant rise of Air India's operating costs on flights connecting Delhi to Europe and the US.
Following this, the national carrier suspended flights on the Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham route. "This flight on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday will offer easy passage to tourists and pilgrims flying to pay obeisance at the various holy places of Guru Di Nagri," Puri said in a tweet.
18/07/19 PTI/News18

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Indian Military Interested in Adopting Russia's Aviation Experience in Syria

Moscow: India is interested in adopting Russia's experience in using military aircraft in anti-terrorist operations in Syria according to Birender Singh Dhanoa, the chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force.

In an interview with the Russian Armed Forces' official newspaper, Krasnaya Zvezda, published on Friday, Dhanoa observed that the Russian-Indian Indra-2019 military drills involving aviation, fleet and land forces would be held in India and will be dedicated to UN-mandated anti-terrorism operations.

Russia is the only country with which India holds large-scale drills, Dhanoa noted, emphasizing that holding these exercises is a very important experience for the Indian military.

Russia has been supporting the Syrian government in its fight against terrorists and militants since 2015. Since September 30, 2015, over 63,000 Russian servicemen and women have participated in the operation, which mainly includes airstrikes on terrorist infrastructure.
18/07/19 Sputnik

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