737 Max faults blamed on HCL, Cyient engineers; Boeing refutes

New Delhi: After two major airline crashes and several restrictions imposed by the United States aviation regulators on Boeing, faults are being blamed on "temporary" Indian engineers, claiming the 737 Max software was outsourced to engineers from Indian companies HCL and Cyient Ltd. Boeing, however, has refuted the allegation, saying it did not rely on engineers from these companies for the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation (MCA) System, a fault in which allegedly caused Lion Air crash in October 2018 and the Ethiopian Airlines disaster in March. Boeing has also denied involving these engineers for addressing cockpit warning light issue, which was revealed after these crashes. As many as 356 people were killed in these two crashes.

A report published in Bloomberg has said the iconic American planemaker and its subcontractors relied heavily on temporary workers from India, which earned as low as Rs 620 per hour ($9/hour). The company, which bagged its biggest ever contract worth $22 billion from SpiceJet Ltd in 2017, reportedly outsourced work to several employees of HCL at its Seattle Boeing Field office in the US. It was reportedly working in partnership with HCL and Cyient since 2010-11.
These coders, many of them college graduates, were given the task of writing codes for complex specifications set by Boeing. "It was controversial because it was far less efficient than Boeing engineers just writing the code," Mark Rabin, a former Boeing software engineer, told Bloomberg. He said this resulted in a lot of "going back and forth" due to incorrect codes. Boeing had fired several senior engineers from the company as it no longer needed them because it felt Boeing's products were mature, he claimed.

The engineers who worked on the Max projected -- developed to beat rival company Airbus' SE plane --  also faced "pressure" from the senior management, which directed to them limit changes that could have caused a delay in its launch, said the report. It also claims to have seen resumes of HCL and Cyient engineers who said they worked on the project that developed Max's flight-display software and flight-test equipment. In one such resume posted on social media, an HCL employee reportedly claimed he "provided a quick workaround to resolve production issue which resulted in not delaying flight test of 737-Max".

Boeing's association with HCL and Cyient dates back to early 2000 when cockpit electronics maker Rockwell Collins started outsourcing work to HCL. In 2010, Boeing also partnered with HCL to "create software critical for flight test". The next year in 2011, it announced to work with Cyient Ltd for design, stress analysis and software development of 787 and 747-8 planes. A major reason to outsource work to Indian tech companies was contract obligations. For example, Boeing in 2005 grabbed $11 billion order from Air India, and in return, it promised to invest $1.7 billion in Indian tech companies.

Meanwhile, the company said its "focus is on always ensuring that our products and services are safe, of the highest quality and comply with all applicable regulations." Indian IT services giant HCL also told Bloomberg it would not comment on "specific work" it did for Boeing. Cyient also refuted the claim that it was involved in the development of the Boeing 737 MAX MCAS or the cockpit warning light. "Cyient takes immense pride in our association with Boeing and look forward to growing our partnership across engineering, design and manufacturing across various platforms," the company said.
30/06/19 Business Today

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Airfares more than double for India sector from UAE

Dubai: Expat families are busy packing for their vacation starting this weekend as schools close - except that, this time, they feel pinch of the summer airfare hike.

With less flights and high demand, ticket fares have skyrocketed up to 50 per cent, according to industry experts, who believe that the situation is mainly driven by the Jet Airways shutdown and flydubai's grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft.

Jet Airways, which had 11 flights from Abu Dhabi and four from Dubai, ceased its operations in March as the airline hit bankruptcy. flydubai, on the other hand, stopped flying its fleet of 14 Boeing 737 aircraft as a precautionary safety measure.

Jatin Gondalia, senior manager of Holidays Dubai, said consumers were affected as fares soared by up to 50 per cent. "Travellers had to reschedule their vacation plans as Jet Airways stopped its operations and, hence, other airlines had to absorb the regional demand. Currently, a business class ticket per person on Emirates is priced at Dh6,500, which used to be as low as Dh3,500 per person," said Gondalia.

Hemali Shah, managing director of City One Tourism and Travel, said airline prices during the summer season are "more than double for the India sector".

"Even if one checked in January to book for July, fares were very high." Shah said that while airlines fly empty seats off-season, July is the time for them to cash in on the demand and make up for all the losses.
30/06/19 Sadhya D'Mello/Kjhaleej Times

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Number of international flyers & flights drops at Lohegaon airport

Pune: The Lohegaon airport has recorded a major drop in number of foreign flyers as well as international flight movements in the first quarter of the year.
Airports Authority of India data reveals that the number of international passengers has dropped by around 49% from 26,010 in February to 13,208 in April, while the number of foreign flight movements has dipped from 204 to 100 (a drop of around 50%) during the same period. With no international direct flights from Pune in the offing, at least till the end of October, things will not improve, sources said.

According to an economic report tabled at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai recently, Pune is the fastest growing airport in terms of domestic traffic in the state, surpassing Mumbai in terms of percentage increase in 2017 and 2018.

An airport official said that grounding of Jet Airways led to suspension of two direct flights to Abu Dhabi and Singapore, which resulted in drop in foreign passengers. “For a long time after that the international slots of Jet were not given to any other airline,” the official said.

Earlier this year, the airport authorities had said that an airline was expected to start a flight to Bangkok from Pune. There were also talks of another flight to Male in the Maldives from Pune. However, things have not moved much since then.

“The growth would have been much more and Pune airport would have achieved 10 million passenger mark but for the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft by DGCA on safety grounds and cancellation of a significant number of flights by Lufthansa, Jet Airways, Spice Jet and Indigo,” aviation analyst and expert Dhairyashil Vandekar said.
30/06/19 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Seven arrested at Bengaluru airport after illegal stay in Malaysia

Immigration officials at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru arrested seven people who visited Malaysia on a tourist visa but overstayed for years.

The arrests were made between June 26 and June 29 and in some cases, the arrested person overstayed in Malaysia for more than a decade.

Most of the accused persons hail from Tamil Nadu and were working in Malaysia. Their visas was found to have been altered illegally before they entered India, according to a report by Deccan Herald.
Officials further suspect that there are a number of people who have been lured with lucrative jobs to Malaysia but are taken on a short-stay visa. Officials say they are forced to work illegally before they are sent back with fake visas.

Investigations have begun to identify the people behind this racket. Venkatesan Jayasimha, 23, from Cuddalore and Sathesh Sethu, 28 from Methupaly, revealed that they visited Malaysia in 2017 after they were advised by a tout.

The other persons arrested are Mahimairaj Sathish Kumar, 28, from Namakkal; Josephin Selvarasu, 34, from Thanjavur; Senthilvelan Thiruvasagamoorthy, 40; and Onkar Singh, 23, from Ludhiana.

“During their stay, the accused would send money to their family through illegal means. When they are ready to return home, they have to pay anywhere between 1,000 and 8,000 Malaysian ringgits to the tout to get fake visa stamps on their passports,” police told The Hindu.
30/06/19 The News Minute

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Boeing's 737 Max software outsourced to Rs 620-an-hour engineers

It remains the mystery at the heart of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max crisis: how a company renowned for meticulous design made seemingly basic software mistakes leading to a pair of deadly crashes. Longtime Boeing engineers say the effort was complicated by a push to outsource work to lower-paid contractors.
The Max software -- plagued by issues that could keep the planes grounded months longer after U.S. regulators this week revealed a new flaw -- was developed at a time Boeing was laying off experienced engineers and pressing suppliers to cut costs.
Increasingly, the iconic American planemaker and its subcontractors have relied on temporary workers making as little as $9 an hour to develop and test software, often from countries lacking a deep background in aerospace -- notably India.
In offices across from Seattle’s Boeing Field, recent college graduates employed by the Indian software developer HCL Technologies Ltd. occupied several rows of desks, said Mark Rabin, a former Boeing software engineer who worked in a flight-test group that supported the Max.
The coders from HCL were typically designing to specifications set by Boeing. Still, “it was controversial because it was far less efficient than Boeing engineers just writing the code,” Rabin said. Frequently, he recalled, “it took many rounds going back and forth because the code was not done correctly.”
Boeing’s cultivation of Indian companies appeared to pay other dividends. In recent years, it has won several orders for Indian military and commercial aircraft, such as a $22 billion one in January 2017 to supply SpiceJet Ltd. That order included 100 737-Max 8 jets and represented Boeing’s largest order ever from an Indian airline, a coup in a country dominated by Airbus.
Based on resumes posted on social media, HCL engineers helped develop and test the Max’s flight-display software, while employees from another Indian company, Cyient Ltd., handled software for flight-test equipment.
In one post, an HCL employee summarized his duties with a reference to the now-infamous model, which started flight tests in January 2016: “Provided quick workaround to resolve production issue which resulted in not delaying flight test of 737-Max (delay in each flight test will cost very big amount for Boeing).”
Boeing said the company did not rely on engineers from HCL and Cyient for the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, which has been linked to the Lion Air crash last October and the Ethiopian Airlines disaster in March. The Chicago-based planemaker also said it didn’t rely on either firm for another software issue disclosed after the crashes: a cockpit warning light that wasn’t working for most buyers.
“Boeing has many decades of experience working with supplier/partners around the world,” a company spokesman said. “Our primary focus is on always ensuring that our products and services are safe, of the highest quality and comply with all applicable regulations.”
In a statement, HCL said it “has a strong and long-standing business relationship with The Boeing Company, and we take pride in the work we do for all our customers. However, HCL does not comment on specific work we do for our customers. HCL is not associated with any ongoing issues with 737 Max.”
Recent simulator tests by the Federal Aviation Administration suggest the software issues on Boeing’s best-selling model run deeper. The company’s shares fell this week after the regulator found a further problem with a computer chip that experienced a lag in emergency response when it was overwhelmed with data.
29/06/19 Peter Robison/Bloomberg/Economic Times

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Air India is losing Rs 6 crore daily due to Pakistan’s closure of its airspace

Air India is losing Rs 6 crore daily due to Pakistan’s closure of its airspace On Thursday, Pakistan extended the ban on its eastern airspace until 12 July for all overflying/transit flights to and from India, further bleeding the Indian carriers.
As governments on both sides of the border don’t seem to be budging, the national carrier has now written to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), seeking help.
“If we were a private airline, we would have drowned by now going by our daily losses but we are managing to cope up with this,” said an Air India official on condition of anonymity.
“The loss on a daily basis is much higher than the total income of our employees. This is the reason, we have written to IATA to participate and sort this issue at the earliest.”
The Air India official said IATA may ask the Pakistan civil aviation authorities to talk to the Indian government and the Indian airlines.
29/06/19 Ifrah Mufti/Print

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Air India's Non-Stop Flights to Toronto, Nairobi and Bali, Know What Will Happen

New Delhi: Air India will soon launch non-stop flights to Toronto, Nairobi and Bali. Flights to Toronto and Nairobi will be operational from September 27, while the new non-stop flight to Bali will start operations from October 28. According to the airline, the Toronto-initiated flight will take its maiden flight from Amritsar in Punjab on July 27. The flight will take off from Amritsar to Delhi via Toronto .

Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani has said that the fare for the flight from Amritsar to Delhi via Toronto has been fixed at around 93 thousand rupees. Significantly, a large number of Canadians belong to Punjab. The launch of this flight will ease the indian nationals living in The Kandara. The journey from Delhi to Toronto will be completed in just 15 hours after the launch of the flight. A Boeing 777 equipped with state-of-the-art facilities has been deployed to travel from Amritsar to Toronto via Delhi.

A senior airline official said the second flight, which will be launched on September 27, will be operated from Mumbai to Nairobi. Airlines have set a fare of Rs 45 thousand for travel from Mumbai to Nairobi. On the other hand, airlines have fixed a return ticket of 40,000 rupees for the flight from Delhi to Bali on 28th of this month. Bali is one of the favourite tourist destinations of Indians. Every year a large number of tourists turn to Bali from India.
29/06/19 NewsTrackLive

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Ghana: India Seeks Ghana's Support for Its Candidature At ICAO Council Election

The High Commissioner of India to Ghana, Mr Birender Singh, on Wednesday, paid a courtesy call on the Aviation Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda, to ask for Ghana's support for their candidature at the upcoming International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) council election, scheduled for September in Montreal, Canada.

It was also to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, as well as recognise the minister's enormous contribution to the aviation sector.

ICAO is a United Nations (UN) specialised agency, established by the United States in 1944 to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) to provide a set of standards to regulate aviation across the world.

Speaking to the media, the commissioner said, though India had been assisting Ghana in areas such as rural electrification, agro processing, and railway, they were prepared to do more to help Ghana.
28/06/19 Benedicta Gyimaah Folley/Ghanaian Times/All Africa

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No Data Stolen From IAF's Paris Office Handling Rafale Jets: Report

New Delhi: No data has been stolen from the computers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Rafale project team office in Paris where there was a break in last month, a cyber forensic team has found during its probe.
"The cyber forensic these of the Air Force consisting three members has found that no data was stolen from the Indian Rafale project management team during the break-in by unidentified personnel there," defence sources told news agency ANI in New Delhi.

The three-member team had left for Paris soon after the reports about a break-in on a weekend were received by the IAF, they said.

The team was sent to France to probe if any documents were stolen or copied during the break-in into its Rafale Project management team office.

Unidentified persons broke into the Indian Rafale Project management team office in France in May in what was suspected to be a possible espionage attempt to steal data related to the aircraft critical to India's national security plans.
The Defence Ministry has also been informed that there was no data theft from the IAF office during the break in.
The Rafale project team is headed by a Group Captain-rank officer who looks after issues related to the 36 Rafale combat aircraft, including the production timelines and training of Indian personnel who have to be trained for maintenance and flying operations of the plane, which India is acquiring.
29/06/19 ANI/NDTV

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Typhoons break Mach One sound barrier to Air India's aid

London: A pair of the Typhoon, the Eurofighter jet that lost out to the French Rafale in India, broke the Mach one sound barrier and raced to the aid of an Air India flight in the UK skies on Thursday after a bomb threat.

The Air India Boeing 777-337 aircraft with nearly 400 passengers and crew flying from Mumbai to Newark in the US was guided into Stansted airport in the UK by two RAF Typhoon fighters. Stansted airport is set aside by the British government to handle terrorist, hijacking and similar incidents.

Late in the night, an Air India spokesperson said the bomb threat had turned out to be a hoax.

Because of the time lost in the manoeuvres, Air India had to fly in fresh crew to resume the journey, airport sources said. It is understood that after the crew came in and the plane was suitably “prepared”, AI 191 would resume its journey at 8pm (12.30am Indian time) on Friday.

After the security alert was reported, it took barely seconds for the pilots to be “scrambled” and to race to their Typhoons, located at the RAF station at Coningsby in Lincolnshire. Within five minutes, they had assessed the threat to the Air India plane, made it reverse direction and flew alongside it as it made the descent into Stansted.

Thunderclaps shook the Midlands as the Royal Air Force jets screeched across the skies at supersonic speed to safely escort AI 191.

An RAF spokesperson said: “The Typhoon aircraft were authorised to transit at supersonic speed for operational reasons; any inconvenience caused to local residents (by the sonic booms) is regretted.”

Air India had initially put out a tweet, later deleted, that there had been a bomb threat, before confirming at night that there indeed had been one.

British police and the RAF treated the security alert with the utmost gravity. All activity at Stansted airport, which handles 500 to 600 take-offs and landings in a day, were halted and the runaway cleared. Armed officers from Essex police stood by as the Air India plane landed.
28/06/19 Amit Roy/Telegraph

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Pak. extends closure of its airspace

New Delhi:Pakistan on Thursday yet again extended its airspace closure for flights from and through India till July 12.
This means that passengers bound for Europe and the U.S. would continue to suffer longer flights and higher airfares. The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority had earlier imposed airspace restrictions till June 28.
Pakistan first shut its airspace for all civilian flights on February 27 following IAF strike at Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps at Balakot. While it gradually opened its airspace for all airlines, most of its eastern border remains closed for flights from and through India. Only two routes have been opened by Pakistan, while the Indian Air Force has removed all restrictions.
Indian airlines are also avoiding parts of the Iranian airspace and re-routing flights after Iran shot down a U.S. military drone leading to a heightening of tensions between Tehran and Washington.
28/06/19 The Hindu

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SpiceJet to launch daily flights from Mumbai to Hong Kong from August

Mumbai: Low cost carrier SpiceJet has announced the launch of a daily non-stop flight connecting Mumbai with Hong Kong from July 31. Hong Kong is also connected to Delhi with a daily non-stop flight by SpiceJet. The airline will deploy its 168-seater Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the sector.
Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet said: "Mumbai, is extremely important for SpiceJet and since April, SpiceJet has launched 76 new flights connecting Mumbai to multiple domestic and international destinations. SpiceJet's new Hong Kong flight will help meet the growing demand from both leisure and business travellers to and from Mumbai. The flight is timed perfectly for business and leisure travellers alike with a late night departure from Mumbai (1.05 am) and a morning arrival (9.40 am) in Hong Kong thus maximising passenger comfort and providing more choice and flexibility.”
SpiceJet is celebrating the launch by announcing introductory all inclusive promotional fare starting at Rs 16,700 on Mumbai-Hong Kong, and Rs 19,200 on Hong Kong-Mumbai routes, said the airline in a statement issued on Thursday.
Starting 1 April, SpiceJet has announced close to 124 new flights which includes 76 connecting Mumbai, 20 connecting Delhi and 8 flights between Mumbai and Delhi. The airline, in the last few months has introduced a host of new flights from Mumbai to Madurai, Jammu (via Srinagar), Dehradun, Guwahati, Jaipur, Amritsar, Mangalore, Coimbatore, and Belgavi besides additional frequencies to Goa, Chennai, Delhi, Patna, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
27/06/19 Manju V/Times of India

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Typhoons scrambled to Stansted to intercept Air India plane after 'bomb threat'

RAF Typhoons were scrambled today to intercept an Air India flight after a reported bomb threat was made.

The plane was travelling from Mumbai to Newark in the US when it was forced to make what is being described as a "precautionary landing" at Stansted Airport.

Air India said in a tweet that a bomb threat had prompted the landing, according to the BBC. But the tweet was later deleted and replaced with a post calling the incident a "security threat".

Essex Police said: "An aircraft was diverted to Stansted Airport at around 9.50am today following reports of a security alert. The plane is currently at the airport and officers are making enquiries."

The runway has now been reopened and the airport said in a statement: "Our runway is fully operational following a precautionary landing of Air India flight.

"We are sorry for any disruption caused by the incident and would like to thank you for your patience."

An Air India official later confirmed the incident was a hoax and that the plane was once again airborne.

A loud bang reported by several residents of Derby on social media has been linked to the unscheduled landing of the Air India Boeing 777 flight at Stansted.

The noise was believed to be a sonic boom caused by the two RAF jets escorting the plane into the airport.

Residents first reported hearing the noise just after 10am today.
27/06/19 Gareth Davies/The Telegraph

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Derby 'explosion': Sonic boom across city as RAF Typhoons intercept Air India flight

A large sonic boom was heard by thousands of people in Derby this morning sparking fears of an earthquake.

Two RAF Typhoons escorted Air India B777 Flight 191 to London Stansted after what was initially called a bomb threat and the two incidents are thought to be linked.

The passenger plane had been heading from Mumbai to Newark. It is not known how many passengers were on board.

There were reports that windows and buildings in Derby shook from the blast shortly before 10am today.

An RAF spokesman said: "The RAF can confirm QRA Typhoons were launched this morning from RAF Coningsby to intercept a civilian ac [aircraft].

"The ac was escorted to Stansted. The Typhoons transited at supersonic speed for operational reasons; any inconvenience caused to local residents is regretted.”

Air India tweeted that a bomb threat had prompted the landing but later deleted the tweet, calling the incident a "security threat". It later confirmed that it was a hoax bomb threat.

Derbyshire Police asked those with information to call 999 before telling Mirror Online that the sound was a 'sonic boom' and referring further enquiries to the RAF.

On Twitter it initially speculated the loud blast may have been an earthquake or a 'pressure wave'.

A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Police said the force had determined the sound was caused by the passing of large aircraft overhead and the force had no cause for concern.

A statement from Essex Police said: “An aircraft was diverted to Stansted Airport at around 9.50am today following reports of a security alert.

"The plane is currently at the airport and officers are making enquiries.”

Derby resident Hannah Watts said: “The bang was really loud - it scared my cat enough to make him run and hide under my bed.

“It rumbled the ground.”

One person wrote on Twitter: "Massive bang here in Derby. God knows what it was. May have been earthquake. But it was a bloody big bang".
27/06/19 Tom DavidsonSenior/Talia Shadwell/Mirror

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Air India flight in emergency landing at London Stansted after bomb threat

London: Air India said one of its planes landed at London Stansted Airport on Thursday following a bomb threat.
The airline said the affected plane, flight AI 191 from the Indian city of Mumbai to Newark Airport in the United States, "made a precautionary landing" in the United Kingdom due to the incident.
Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets scrambled to intercept the plane, and escorted it to the airport.
Several residents in Derby, a city 128 miles north of London, reported hearing a loud bang around 10 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET), which has since been linked to the sonic boom of the fighter jets.
"The Typhoon aircraft were authorized to transit at supersonic speed for operational reasons; any inconvenience caused to local residents is regretted," a RAF spokesperson told CNN in a statement.
There were conflicting reports on the time the flight was diverted.
Essex Police said the plane was diverted at around 9.50 a.m., while London Stansted Airport said the diversion happened at 10.15 a.m.
"It is parked on an isolated stand away from the normal airport operations," the airport said in a statement posted on Twitter.
The airport said its runway had reopened and was fully operational after the "precautionary landing."
"We are sorry for any disruption caused by the incident and would like to thank you for your patience," the airport said on Twitter.
27/06/19 Simon Cullen, Zahid Mahmood and Tara John/CNN

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Air India conducts Dubai flight ‘minus survey’

Calcutta: Air India did not conduct a proper market survey before announcing its flight between the city and Dubai, airline sources and travel agents said on Wednesday.

The government-owned airline announced on Tuesday that it would operate a flight four days a week on the Calcutta-Dubai route, where Emirates airline operates.

The Telegraph reported on Wednesday that Air India’s decision had prompted sources to convey to this newspaper that the national carrier had almost finalised plans a few months ago to introduce a direct flight between Calcutta and London.

But the Centre finally decided to give the route to Bangalore. The Bangalore-London flight, which sources have attributed to political reasons, was launched in November last year.

“No proper market survey was done to ascertain the viability of the Calcutta-Dubai flight. The decision came as a surprise even to us,” an Air India official said.

Travel agents said the airline had not sought their opinion on the Dubai flight.

“Usually, any airline planning to operate on a new international route speaks to the tour operators’ bodies about the market size and how to make it viable. But in case of Air India’s Dubai flight, there was no such talk,” said Anil Punjabi, chairman, east, Travel Agents Federation of India.

Air India officials refused to comment but said the Calcutta-Dubai route would be viable.

Sources in the aviation industry and officials at Calcutta airport said around 35 per cent of the passengers of the Emirates flight, on an average, end their journey in Dubai. The rest board connecting flights to destinations in Europe, the US and other places.

“For the proposed Calcutta-London flight, there were lots of deliberations and the schedule was almost finalised. But suddenly the decision was changed,” an official said.
27/06/19  Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

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Four Indians arrested in Malaysia for smuggling turtles, drugs

Singapore:Four Indians have been arrested in Malaysia after the authorities seized over 5,000 turtles from two of them and in a separate case confiscated more than 14 kilograms of drugs, according to a media report. The Malaysian Customs Department has seized 5,255 baby tortoises from two suspects on transit to India, The Star reported Wednesday.
In a press conference at the department's office in Sepang, Central Zone Customs assistant director-general, Datuk Zulkurnain Mohamed Yusuf said that the seizure was made on June 20 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, from the two Indian nationals. "The two men had just arrived from Guangzhou, China. The checks conducted on their luggage led to the discovery of the red-eared slider tortoises. They were kept in baskets placed in their suitcases," he said.
Further inspections on the animals showed that not all survived the trip, as the suitcases had no special tools or food to keep the tortoises alive, the report said. The department estimated the total worth of the seizure to be around USD 12,700, (52,550 ringgit), the report added.
"The importation of tortoises without a licence is an offence under the Customs Act 1967. Both suspects have been remanded and will be charged in the near future," he said. The tortoises, he added, would be handed over to the Wildlife and National Parks Department. In an unrelated and another case, Zulkarnain said officials also found a total of 14. 34 kgs of methamphetamine worth USD 174,000 (717,000 ringgit), hidden in special compartments in boxes that were hand-carried by two Indian men who flew in from India on June 19 and June 20, respectively.
26/06/19 PTI/Hans India

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‘Notam’ against using Iranian airspace to increase cost of travel

Visakhapatnam: Those planning to fly to places in Europe including Berlin, London, Amsterdam or Paris and even to USA or Canada might have to shell out a few extra bucks on airfare owing to the directive against using Iranian airspace to Indian Airlines.

The DGCA’s (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) notice (Notam— notice to airmen) to Indian airlines against using Iranian airspace would force the airlines to take new routes to reach their destinations. These routes being longer than the traditional ones would increase the cost of travel. The airlines in turn would have to increase airfare.


According to aviation experts, the shortest route to fly to north-western parts of the world was over the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman on the Iranian airspace. With this notice, flights will have to use the Saudi Arabian airspace. Flights operating from southern India are expected to be affected by this.

“This would increase the flying time by at least 25 minutes depending on congestion as most flights would now take this route. An additional flying time of 25 minutes will have an immense effect on operational costs,” said Sumanta Roy Choudhury, a veteran pilot.

The notice to fly in the Iranian airspace comes after the Iranian Revolutionary Guard shot down a US-owned military drone flying over its airspace. As tensions escalated, the DGCA in consultation with the Indian Airlines decided to restrict Indian carriers flying through the Iranian airspace.

Airlines of a few other countries too have decided against using the Iranian airspace for the time being.
26/06/19 Arpit Basu/Times of India

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Air India Flight Delayed for Hours at SFO Due to Maintenance Issue

An Air India flight to Delhi was delayed for hours with passengers onboard stuck on the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport due to a maintenance issue, airport officials said.

Air India Flight 174 was scheduled to depart from SFO at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. At noon, the flight returned to the gate because of the maintenance issues, SFO officials said.

The flight was scheduled to depart at 2:30 p.m.
26/06/19 NBC Bay Area

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Air India opens booking for Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight

Jalandhar: Thousands of Canada-bound passengers from the Doaba region are set to benefit as Air India has finally started the booking for its much-awaited thrice-a-week Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight.
The maiden Toronto-bound flight from Amritsar will fly on September 27— coinciding with World Tourism Day. The Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flights will improve the air connectivity between Amritsar and Toronto — a long-pending demand of people of Punjab, particularly of the Doaba region. The Delhi-Toronto leg of the journey will take about 16 hours.

Thousands of people hailing from this NRI belt are settled in Canada. Since the people had to travel all the way to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Delhi, for boarding the flights, they were demanding the resumption of the once popular and direct Amritsar- Birmingham-Toronto flight, which suddenly came to a grinding halt in 2008.
“The booking for the new Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flights has begun and we have formally sounded all our agents about the commencement of its operations from September 27. The flight will be taking extra time for we will have no option but to avoid Pakistan’s air space. The one-way introductory fare for an economy seat will be Rs 50,890 while the round-fare for the same seat will be Rs 92,737,” said RK Negi, manager, Air India, Punjab.

The passengers from Amritsar to Delhi will travel in Airbus-321 and they will have the option to board one of the two evening flights taking off from Amritsar thrice a week for a 45-minute journey to Delhi at 7 pm and 7.50 pm. At Delhi, they will board a Boeing-777 airplane, which will leave for Toronto at 3 am.
26/06/19 Varinder Singh/Tribune

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How Calcutta won a Dubai flight but lost a London one

Calcutta: First, the good news: Air India has announced a flight from Calcutta to Dubai from mid-July.

Now, the bad news: the new route sounds suspiciously like a consolation prize that masks the tale of how Calcutta missed out on a direct flight to London.

The decision to launch the Calcutta-Dubai flight, which will be in operation four days a week, has prompted sources to convey to this newspaper that Air India had almost finalised plans a few months ago to introduce a direct flight from Calcutta to London.

But the Centre decided to give the route to Bangalore and it was launched in November last year, which the sources have attributed to political reasons.
However, after the Lok Sabha elections that transformed the BJP from an also-ran to a serious contender for power in Bengal, the Centre has apparently decided that a gesture from Air India could reap rich dividends in the international-flight-starved state. At present, the state has no direct flight to any of the countries in Europe and the Americas.

Since the London route had already been given to Bangalore, Air India then decided on the Calcutta-Dubai flight, the sources said.

On Tuesday, Air India announced that the non-stop Calcutta-Dubai flight would commence from mid-July with a 182-seater Airbus A320neo aircraft. The flight will operate four days a week.

Sources in Air India said discussions and deliberations were on for more than two years to revive the Dhaka-Calcutta-London route, which the state-owned airline had withdrawn in October 2008.

“Things had almost been finalised towards the end of last year after a lot of deliberations and discussions. But then suddenly we were told the flight to London would operate from Bangalore and not Calcutta,” said a source in Air India.

“Bengal has been deprived of direct connectivity to London because of political reasons. We had tried for two years for the Calcutta-London flight but it was given to Bangalore,” Derek O’Brien, Trinamul Congress parliamentary party leader (Rajya Sabha), said in response to a question. O’Brien is the chairman of all parliamentary committees on transport, including aviation but barring the railways.

In 2016, Air India chairman-cum-managing director Ashwani Lohani had said in Calcutta the airline would operate the London flight from the middle of 2017 with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

“A Dhaka-Calcutta-London flight is on our radar and I have asked my people here to start a survey. It can be launched by the middle of next year with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft,” Lohani had told this newspaper.

In 2016, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had requested then civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju to start an Air India direct flight to London.

Before that, Mamata had personally requested Jet Airways, which has now ceased to operate, to start a direct flight to Europe. The airline had turned down the request, saying Calcutta was a low-yield market and the flight would not be viable.

After Air India pulled out its direct London flight in 2008, British Airways and Lufthansa had followed suit, snapping Calcutta’s direct air links with Europe.

Aviation industry sources said the Calcutta-Dubai sector could face competition from Emirates and Etihad Airways that flies to Abu Dhabi.
26/06/19  Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

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India needs to scale up airport infra: Virgin Atlantic

The airport infrastructure in India needs to be scaled up to meet the growing demand, according to David Hodges, country head India of Virgin Atlantic (VA).

Speaking to BusinessLine, Hodges said, “India is a great growth market, we have seen a 20 per cent growth since we were here last time.”

According to Hodges, the Indian aviation market is likely to become the third largest in the next few years with airlines such as SpiceJet, IndiGo and Vistara rapidly expanding.

Talking about the roadblocks for the Indian aviation industry, he said, “Similar to London, the airport infrastructure in India too needs to be scaled up to meet the demand. That’s the enabler for us to grow, where there is infrastructure, the industry will grow for India.”

Airports Authority of India manages a total of 125 airports, which include 11 international airports, 81 domestic airports and 25 civil enclaves at Defence airfields.

According to reports, between 2014 and 2018, the number of operational airports rose from 75 to 102 airports. The Modi 2.0 government plans to double the number by 2024. However, work of several airports like the Navi Mumbai airport have been stalled for quite some time.
25/06/19 Forum Gandhi/Business Line

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Interested in international operations of Air India: IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta

Ronojoy Dutta, the CEO of IndiGo, said that IndiGo is interested in snapping up international operations of Air India but not keen on the national carrier's domestic operations.

He also said that the airline is interested in flying long-haul international flights but will cautiously inch its way into the  wide-body market.

"We would look at Air India if another buyer is willing to run the domestic business," he told CNBC-TV18.

He said that IndiGo would like to avoid the mistakes that Jet Airways and Air India made as they unsuccessfully took up these wide-body routes.
When asked about the ongoing disagreements between the promoters, Dutta said: "The difference is not an airline issue, it's an administrative issue."

Dutta explained that the issue between promoters has to do with related party transactions.

"The promoters are looking at different proposals for a resolution," he said, adding that there was no reason to believe that promoters will go separate ways on this issue.

When asked about why IndiGo changed their aircraft maker from Pratt & Whitney to CFM, Dutt said that the airline will go with whichever aircraft maker provides a better package.

On whether the company is interested in acquiring Air India, Dutt said: "We are not going to rush into it."

Dutt also mentioned that while access to a greater number of slots to Delhi, Mumbai, and the middle east looks attractive, other factors like the airline’s huge debt, and buying the aircraft as the right price demand caution.

Dutta was also optimistic about the growth of the airline, and the aviation industry as a whole.
26/06/19 moneycontrol.com

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Donald Trump’s Iran threat is the last problem Indian flyers want to deal with

Six months into 2019, Indian flyers are still waiting for their year to take off. But it may only nosedive.

The country’s aviation sector faces a whole host of troubles, including rising fares, shortage of flights, and increasing travel duration due to various reasons.

“The turbulence over the past few months is a result of various factors which have reduced the number of operational flights in Indian skies and, as a result, increased the price of air travel,” said Balu Ramachandran, senior vice-president of the Mumbai-based travel portal Cleartrip.

Trouble began early in the year when over 20 flights per day were cancelled in February due to a shortage of pilots and bad weather. Things spilled over into March when sector regulator directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), along with counterparts in many countries, grounded the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft due to safety concerns.

Flyers also bore the brunt of an incessant rise in fuel prices.

However, the real nightmare came with the shutdown of India’s oldest private airline, Jet Airways, in April. Its decision to halt operations sparked panic and confusion among flyers, many of whom are still awaiting refunds and seeking help on social media.

Troubles to continue
There is no end in sight for travellers’ woes. So much so that, growth in air traffic has slowed down considerably.

“The number of air travellers in India registered a year-on-year increase of 2.62% between January and May 2019, growing from 57 million to 58 million. This is a steep slowdown from the 15-20% growth in many previous quarters,” said Ramachandran.

Now, there is fresh trouble on the horizon.
26/06/19 Niharika Sharma/Quartz

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UAE to revisit air services agreement with India in next 2 months

New Delhi: After nearly a year of demanding India revise its decade-old air services pact with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the country’s Ambassador to India Ahmed Abdul Rahman AlBanna on Monday said he expected talks to start within the next two months.

This will allow an increase in the number of flights between the two countries, which stand at 1,068 a week, with around 400 flights by UAE carriers and rest by Indian ones.

Emirates and Etihad Airways have over the past year continued to lobby India to allow them more flight slots, which won’t be possible until the 2007 pact is revised.

Back in October last year, the government had decided not to allow this after domestic carriers objected, saying their international plans would be hit. But with the sudden grounding of Jet Airways, India’s second-largest carrier, airlines from UAE, along with those from Singapore, Qatar, and China, have restarted lobbying for more fight slots.
“I’ve met Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and communicated the serious demand of UAE-based carriers to expand the pact, as we have spare capacity and are willing to grow. Both sides will meet very soon and revisit the agreement as well as the four sectoral agreements that are part of the main pact,” said AlBanna.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a roadshow showcasing Dubai Startup Hub. Emirati airlines have significant capacities in cargo, and lack of a revised pact hampers growth in cargo shipments as well, he hinted.
Currently, under the main pact, four sectoral agreements covering flights to and from the four major cities of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ras al Khaimah in the Emirates, also remain active. Currently, 168,000 seats are shared by airlines from both nations in a week. But sources in the know said Emirati airlines would not settle for anything less than an additional 50,000 seats on the Dubai route and 15,000 seats on the Sharjah route.
25/06/19 Subhayan Chakraborty/Business Standard

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IndiGo says continue to eye international operations of Air India at right fleet, right price

IndiGo continues to be interested in international operations of Air India at the right price and with right fleet size, chief executive officer Ronojoy Dutta told CNBC-TV18 in an exclusive interview.

"At Air India, there are huge risks but also huge rewards. I believe the preliminary information memorandum will come in July. Hypothetically, if someone would be taking the domestic operations, then we would be interested in the international segment at the right fleet and the right price," Dutta told CNBC-TV18.

After failing to divest its 76 percent stake in national carrier Air India last year, the government is looking at another attempt to sell Air India in order to meet its divestment receipts.

"The history of mergers in the airline industry is not very great. Kingfisher Airlines bought Air Deccan, Jet Airways bought Sahara Airlines, neither of those turned out to be good investments. So, we're not going to rush into this, frankly. There's a lot of things that give us pause. There's the huge debt, thousands of crores sitting there. Buying aircraft at the right price is very important. Did they buy all the fleet at the right price? Or will we be stuck with high-cost aircraft, is an issue. So, these are all things to look at," Dutta said.

"But at the same time, is it attractive to say they fly to Heathrow, they have slots there. You get more slots in Delhi and Mumbai. You get traffic rights to many cities including the Middle-East, that's all very attractive. So, I think there are some rewards but a huge amount of risk," he added.

IndiGo had shown interest in buying Air India last year as well but it had clearly stated that it is only eyeing the international operations and was not keen to take over the domestic part.
25/06/19 Anu Sharma/CNBC TV18

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Did not let tensions with Pakistan dictate our civil aviation: Air Chief

Gwalior: Civil aviation has a major role in the country’s economy and the Indian Air Force (IAF) did not allow tensions with Pakistan to dictate it, Air Chief Marshal (ACM) B.S. Dhanoa said on Monday.

“They have closed their airspace, that is their problem. Our economy is vibrant and air traffic is a very important part. You must have noticed that the Air Force did not stop civil air traffic.” Only on February 27, the Srinagar airspace was closed for 2-3 hours. “We did not allow tensions with Pakistan to dictate our civil aviation… ”

Following the IAF’s air strike on Balakot on February 26, Pakistan closed its airspace for civil traffic. In March, it was partially opened but flights to India are still forced to take longer routes.
24/06/19 Dinakar Peri/The Hindu

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SpiceJet Announces International Flights

SpiceJet has announced the launch of new flights on international routes. The carrier announced eight direct daily overseas flights from Mumbai and Delhi, according to a press release shared by the private carrier. The new flights will be operational on Mumbai-Riyadh-Mumbai, Mumbai-Dhaka-Mumbai, Delhi-Dhaka-Delhi and Delhi-Jeddah-Delhi routes. The private airline has announced an introductory all-inclusive fare starting at Rs. 14,227 on Mumbai-Riyadh, Rs. 12,263 on Riyadh-Mumbai, Rs. 10,677 on Mumbai-Dhaka, Rs. 10,732 on Dhaka-Mumbai, Rs. 9,276 on Delhi-Dhaka, Rs. 10,432 on Dhaka-Delhi, Rs. 16,290 on Delhi-Jeddah and Rs. 15,263 on Jeddah-Delhi routes.
The flights to Dhaka and Jeddah are effective from the last week of July while the flight to Riyadh will commence on August 15, 2019, noted SpiceJet.
"We are delighted to add Riyadh as our tenth international destination and add more flights to Jeddah and Dhaka thus providing our passengers with multiple flight options," said Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet.
25/06/19 NDTV

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Iran airspace restriction won’t add to flying time, fare for flights from Mumbai

Mumbai: Flight Movement to and from Mumbai are not expected to witness substantial delays or major increase in fares after all Indian airlines decided to avoid the Iran air space following geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran.

According to Sharat Dhall, chief operating officer (B2C) of yatra.com, “Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) announcement, made after consultation with all Indian carriers, to avoid the affected part of Iranian air space is likely to have only a slight impact on both schedules and prices.” Dhall said Air India and Indigo flights to locations like Saudi Arabia, Europe and US, will have to take a slightly longer route. “However, this impact is limited and alternate routes are being decided,” he said.

William Boulter, chief operating officer of Indigo Airlines, told The Indian Express that no diversion for any flight to and from Mumbai will be needed. “The only flight to be affected is the Istanbul-Delhi sector, so the impact on Indigo’s operation is very manageable,” he said. He added fuel consumption will only increase if diversion is required. Air India’s Jeddah-Mumbai flight is expected to be delayed by 30 minutes, while SpiceJet will see no impact on its flights.
25/06/19 Indian Express

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IndiGo gains from Jet’s loss of foreign flyers

New Delhi: IndiGo, which now accounts for one of every two domestic flyers, is also increasing its international capacity rapidly. The rise in its foreign flyers in the January-March quarter (5.2 lakh) was almost the same as the decline seen in the number of Jet Airways’ foreign flyers (5.1 lakh). Air India Express also chipped in with a 19% rise in international flyers.

Jet, which stopped flying on April 17, was having its aircraft repossessed by unpaid lessors since late last year, leading to reduction of flights. While it did have a few flights to Europe and Canada, the majority of its international operations were on single aisle Boeing 737s to neighbouring countries — mainly the Gulf.

IndiGo, AI Express and others added large number of flights to their single aislerange destinations. To be sure, Jet’s disappearance from the skies will be felt in international numbers in April-June and perhaps in July-September quarters. Expansion plans of other Indian airlines like SpiceJet, Vistara and GoAir could fill Jet’s void by the year-end.
IndiGo chief commercial officer Willy Boulter said: “We now offer connectivity to over 1,300 city pairs… While we remain focused on building our domestic network, we will also continue to connect international destinations to additional cities in India and also open up new international destinations.”
24/06/19 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Iran airspace restriction to add flying time by up to an hour

The restriction over Iran airspace will add to the flying time of flights from India to the US and Europe, and will make tickets a tad more expensive.

Air India, which is the only Indian airline now with substantial international service after Jet Airways suspended operations, will be the most impacted. One of IndiGo's flights, to Istanbul, will also see a change.
On June 22, industry regulator DGCA had asked Indian airlines to avoid the Iranian airspace.

"All Indian operators in consultation with DGCA have decided to avoid the affected part of Iranian Airspace to ensure safe travel for the passengers. They will re-route flights suitably," said the regulator.
The advisory followed rising tensions between Iran and the US after the latter's drone was shot down for allegedly violating Iranian airspace.

Noting that the DGCA's announcement has been made keeping in mind passenger safety, Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C),  Yatra.com, said this will have a "slight impact" on schedules and prices.

"Carriers like Air India and IndiGo returning back from places like Saudi Arabia, Europe and the US, will have to take a slightly longer route. However, this impact is limited and alternate routes are being decided," he added.

Another senior executive talking to Moneycontrol added: "Depending on the destination, the flying time could increase by up to 60 minutes. The impact will be a little more crucial for flights to the US."
24/06/19 Prince Mathews Thomas/Moneycontrol.com

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Victims of Air India bombing remembered in ceremony at Stanley Park memorial

Renee Saklikar got up Sunday and ran her first five kilometre race in honour of her aunt Zeb and uncle Umar Jethwa — both doctors who died 34 years earlier in the Air India bombing.

And before she went to the starting line, she visited the Air India memorial in Stanley Park before returning Sunday evening to the same spot to meet dozens of others at a memorial service for the victims of Canada’s worst terrorist attack.

“I dedicated that run to my auntie and uncle and to my cousin Irfan who was left behind when his mom and dad were murdered,” Saklikar said. “This day really invites a lot of us who have lost loved ones in this terrorist attack to ask ourselves how do I want to live my life… It forces us to be better people and say hey, I want to make a life that is for the good, not for the bad.”
Her husband and B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix organized the annual memorial event at the wall bearing the names of all the 331 victims of the June 23, 1985 attack.

Dix reminded the mourners gathered that the perpetrators not only killed all 329 aboard Air India Flight 182, but they tried to bomb a second Air India plane. The bomb-laden suitcase instead exploded at Narita airport, killing two Japanese baggage handlers.

“Those who perpetrated this violence wanted more violence, wanted there to be more victims and we should reflect on that today,” Dix said.

“We shouldn’t use exulted terms to describe people who are cowards, who murdered children, who left children orphans. We shouldn’t treat them as anything more than criminal murderers not worthy of our thought or our consideration.”

He noted that flags flew at half-mast across Canada, including at the B.C. legislature Sunday to commemorate all Canadian victims of terrorism.

Gurdial Sidhu, who lost her sister-in-law Sukhwinder, niece Parminder, 10, and nephew Kuldip, 9, said the tragedy is made more painful by the fact the terrorists behind the bombings are free.
“Thirty-four years have passed and we didn’t get any justice — victims left behind their loved ones, their brothers, sisters, children, parents are still suffering,” Sidhu said. “They didn’t get the justice and the criminals did not get punished yet.”

A B.C. Supreme Court judge and a public inquiry determined the bombings were carried out by the B.C. Babbar Khalsa, headed by former Burnaby mill worker Talwinder Singh Parmar. Parmar was killed by Indian police in 1992 before being charged in Canada.
Three of his associates, Ripudaman Singh Malik, Ajaib Singh Bagri and Inderjit Singh Reyat were charged in the bombing plot. Malik and Bagri were acquitted and Reyat pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Air India bombing. He was earlier convicted in the Narita bombing.

Former Liberal MLA Dave Hayer said Sunday that he still hopes people with information about the Air India bombing come forward and help police.
23/06/19 Kim Bolan/Vancouver Sun

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Iranian airspace closure: Air India’s Jeddah-Mumbai flight to be delayed by 30 minutes

Mumbai: A day after the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in consultation with Indian carriers, announced that flights will not be flying over Iranian airspace, government-run Air India said only one flight to Mumbai will be affected by the diversion in the city. Other private airlines are in process of chalking out their diversions.
“The Jeddah-Mumbai flight will be delayed by half-an-hour due to the diversion. No other flight from Mumbai will be affected. We faced more problems when Pakistan air space was shut, almost all our flights to the west had to be diverted,” said Ashwani Lohani, Air India Chairman and managing director.
Air India, he added, flies to over 40 global destinations from Mumbai everyday. While no substantial effect will be noticed on flights to and from Mumbai, in Delhi a few inbound flights from Europe and USA will be delayed by 15-20 minutes.
On June 22, DGCA had announced that Indian carriers will avoid the Iranian airspace for passenger safety reasons after an RQ-4 Global Hawk drone, a US surveillance aircraft, was downed near Strait of Hormuz last week.
On June 20, the US Federation Aviation Administration released an emergency order barring American carriers to fly over Iran air space, including Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman.
24/06/19 Indian Express

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Pakistan never crossed LoC after Balakot airstrike, failed in its mission: IAF chief BS Dhanoa

Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa on Monday said that Pakistan closing its airspace was a problem of the neighbouring country and did not affect India. Addressing mediapersons, the Air Chief Marshal said that the Indian Air Force made it a point that despite tensions with Pakistan, the civil aviation in the country remained unaffected.

Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa also talked about the Balakot airstrike, and the retaliation by Pakistan. He said that while the Indian Air Force was able to achieve its military objective, Pakistan failed to achieve the same, confirming that no Pakistani jet crossed over the Line of Control (LoC).
“They did not come into our airspace. The main thing that you should look at is what the objective of the military operation was. Our objective was to strike in Balakot and we achieved it. Their objective was to strike our army bases but they could not do it,” said the Air Chief Marshal.
He added, “That is the bottom line. How you did it? How many (jets) came? What kind of combat took place? But what matters is whether you fulfilled your military objective. We achieved our military objective, they did not achieve their objective. And let me tell you, none of them crossed the Line of Control.”
Referring to the 20 years of Kargil War, the IAF chief said that purpose of all attacks by India has always been to show “our resolve and capability”.
24/06/19 ZeeNews

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Indian suppliers integral part of our global supply chain: Boeing

New Delhi: Indian suppliers are an integral part of Boeing’s global supply chain, a top official of the aerospace major said as Boeing and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited marked an important milestone in their collaboration.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) celebrated a milestone with Boeing with the delivery of the 150th gun bay door for the F/A-18 Super Hornet.

The Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet is a twin-engine supersonic all-weather, carrier-capable multi-role combat jet delivering cutting-edge, next-generation multi-role strike fighter capability.

HAL has been Boeing’s long-term supplier in India for over 25 years. Boeing awarded HAL the contract to manufacture gun bay doors for the Super Hornet in 2007.
“We are proud of our partnership with HAL. This delivery of the 150th gun bay door for the Super Hornet demonstrates that Indian suppliers are an integral part of Boeing’s global supply chain,” Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India, was quoted as saying in a statement.
“This milestone is yet another endorsement of our commitment to India, which is well recognised today, because we’ve been investing and making in India for several years now,” he said.
24/06/19 PTI/Indian Express

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Don’t fly over Iran’s troubled waters, India tells airlines

New Delhi: India on Saturday asked its airlines to avoid flying in the over-water area of Tehran (Iran) airspace with the Strait of Hormuz that connects Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman at its heart. Iran’s territorial boundary extends up to 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from its coastline to over-water and the shooting of a US military drone near the Strait of Hormuz has dramatically escalated tensions here.
While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) advisory does not bar Indian airlines from transiting Iran over-land, the latter are seeing if that also can be avoided. The impact on Indian carriers will be limited to some of Air India’s flights on way back from the West (including Saudi Arabia, Europe and the US) to India and IndiGo’s Doha-Istanbul-Doha. AI’s west-bound flights will not be impacted.
"On the way back, they will need to reroute over Muscat, adding to flying time by 20-25 minutes. Similarly, Doha-Istanbul-Doha sector of IndiGo will be affected," said a source. Airlines have indicated to the regulator fares of affected flights could see a rise by Rs 500. The new detour comes on top of the already longer routes flights between the west and south Asia, with Delhi at its heart, are taking after Pakistan closed its airspace since February 27. While they may add to travel time, better safe than anything else.
23/06/19 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Amid tension in Gulf, carriers find new routes

India on Saturday asked its airlines to avoid flying in the over-water area of Tehran (Iran) airspace with the Strait of Hormuz that connects Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman at its heart. Iran’s territorial boundary extends up to 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from its coastline to over-water and the shooting of a US military drone near the Strait of Hormuz has dramatically escalated tensions here.
23/06/19 Times of India

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Rising fare on India-Oman sector hit travellers hard

Muscat: Sky-high airfares on the India-Oman sector have hit travellers hard in the peak summer season. Fares usually go up this time of the year as Indian schools close for summer vacation.

This year, however, travellers have also been hit the hardest due to the suspension of flight operations by some airlines on the India-Oman sector. Jet Airways, one of the leading private airlines of India is grounded as it has gone bankrupt.

Indigo has stopped flying on the Muscat-Kochi route since April 1 and Calicut-Muscat route from 2017. It has also stopped flying on the Muscat-Ahmedabad sector from March.

Oman Air has suspended its operations to many cities in the world including Mumbai in India as part of the Public Authority for Civil Aviation directives to halt operations of Boeing 737 Max aircraft. Rising airfares saw many venting their anger on social media platforms. A tweet read, “Sir...please address the high airfare issues facing NRIs in Oman and the UAE on the Kerala sector. After Indigo and Jet Airways stopped flying on these routes we have to pay exorbitant rates to travel home...flying to the USA is cheaper. High time you take up this issue.”

A senior official from United Travel said, “This year airfares are higher in comparison to last year. The reason is only one - the demand is high. And the demand is high because certain airlines have withdrawn services to certain cities this year.
23/06/19 Swapna Tarafdar/Muscat Daily.com

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As tensions mount in gulf, Indian carriers expect turbulence

New Delhi: After an American drone was pulled down and the US strikes on Iranian targets were aborted, tensions have escalated in the Middle East which could be dangerous to civilian air traffic, Hindustan Times reported. Indian airlines are closely observing things to unfold.

India’s Director General of Civil Aviation has not taken any call on the matter whereas various airlines’ regulators have banned their airlines to fly over Iran. If India amends its stand, it would be difficult for Indian airlines to serve some routes.
An Air India spokesperson said so far, “Air India’s services are still normal”. An IndiGo spokesperson too said operations were on schedule.

Global carriers like British Airways, Quantas and Singapore Airlines on Friday suspended flights over the Strait of Homuz. US President Donald Trump confirmed that he backed off at the last moment from launching airstrikes on targets in Iran.

Areas under conflict pose grave threats to civilian air traffic. In 2014, MH-17 of Malaysian Airlines was blown up by a missile fired by Russia backed rebel forces based in Ukraine mistaking it for a Ukranian military aircraft.
22/06/19 Asian Age

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Air India to reroute flights away from Iranian airspace: official

New Delhi: Air India will reroute flights to avoid Iranian air space, an official said Saturday, as tensions ratchet up following Tehran's downing of a US drone.

A spokesman for the country's biggest state-run carrier said it was told to alter its flight paths by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) -- the aviation regulator.

"Air India has received the DGCA notice regarding operations in the Iranian airspace and we are monitoring the situation," Dhananjay Kumar told AFP.

"We will take appropriate actions whenever necessary to prevent inconvenience to passengers."

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States issued a notice Friday, prohibiting US-registered aircraft from operating over the Gulf and Gulf of Oman, following Thursday's strike on a reconnaissance drone near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Saturday's decision means Indian commercial and cargo flights towards middle-eastern and European countries, as well as the US, will have to take lengthy and costly detours.
22/06/19 Peninsula

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Air India Flight Bombing Anniversary: 34 Years Later, Does Canada Remember?

On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182 departed Toronto via Montreal for Delhi with 329 passengers and crew, mostly Canadians of Indian ancestry. They included 82 children under the age of 13.

The end of the school year in Canada had brought the promise of visiting places and people in India, the country from which their families had immigrated.

Deep in the bowels of the plane, hidden among the checked-in luggage, were two suitcase bombs that would detonate in midair off the coast of Ireland. Those children along with all their fellow passengers were lost forever.

The children – dearly loved daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends — were innocents whose lives ended by an act of terror. But their tragic fate did not embed itself deeply in the consciousness of their fellow Canadians.

The Air India bombing has been described as the largest mass murder in Canadian history and an act of aviation terror without precedent. But the catastrophe remains unknown, or at most little-known to most Canadians.
23/06/19 Chandrima Chakraborty/Wire

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More direct flights from Delhi to Bali soon, says Indonesian Minister

Nia Niscaya, Indonesia's Deputy Minister for Tourism, said direct flights will be operational from October this year from Delhi to Bali via Chennai, in a bid to spur the influx of tourists.
Speaking to ANI, the Minister acknowledged that improving connectivity between the two countries will give tourism a much-needed impetus.
"Highest growth in tourist numbers is from China, second from India. This year, the target we are given is a challenge due to the lack of connectivity. In October this year, a flight from Delhi to Bali via Chennai will be operational.
This will help tourism flourish. While we wait for this to happen, we are using Singapore as a hub. We are giving out deals (on flights) to encourage people coming to Singapore to extend their stay to Indonesia. Many Indians come to Singapore, and we want to tap this."
She went on to say that the focus is now on increasing connectivity to Bali, given its popularity among tourists. However, operations will be expanded to other destinations in the future, she added.
Echoing similar sentiments, India's Ambassador to Indonesia, Pradeep Kumar Rawat said talks are being held between civil aviation authorities in both countries regarding a boost to direct connectivity.
23/06/19 ANI/DNA

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Ural Airlines aims to start daily Mumbai-Moscow flight

Mumbai:  Ural Airlines, the fourth largest airline of Russia, aims to start a daily flight between Mumbai and Moscow. The Yekaterinburg-based airline recently conducted its inaugural Mumbai-Moscow flight. "India being the most (fastest) developing country in the world, we are trying to open up the route with an aim of having four weekly flights between Mumbai and Moscow, (later) increasing it to daily flights," said Marianna Galagura, head of its international relations and charter sales department.

"This is a long procedure to get all the permissions. It started in March last year. This is very important project for us because we consider India as most (fastest) developing country in the world," she said when asked for a timeline. "In future, we would like to have connecting flights between Sochi and New Delhi as well as between St Petersburg and Mumbai. It is a plan we are working on now," she said.


Asked if it has any plans of seat-sharing with Indian airlines, she said, "We are in the process of that because we consider cooperation is better than competing. We are in process of co-sharing and inter-lining with Indian airlines."

Ural Airlines currently flies to over 300 destinations. "We plan to increase it. We are also adding some Chinese routes and increasing Europe operations," Galagura said. The airline has 47 aircraft and would add four more by the end of this year, she said, adding that the company is aiming to increase the size of its fleet to 100 by next year- end. "Our main fleet is going to be from Airbus," she added.
22/06/19 PTI/New Indian Express

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Senior Air India pilot accused of stealing wallet in Sydney, suspended

New Delhi: Air India has suspended a senior pilot for allegedly stealing a wallet from a duty free shop at Sydney airport, officials said Sunday.

Rohit Bhasin, the airline’s regional director for East, was rostered as one of the commanders (pilots) of a flight that was set to depart at 10.45 am (local time) on June 22 from Sydney for Delhi.

"There is an initial report of one of its captains Mr Rohit Bhasin, who is also working as a regional director, picking up a wallet from a duty free shop in Sydney. Air India has instituted an enquiry into this incident and has placed the captain under suspension," said a spokesperson for Air India.

The suspension order issued by the airline on Saturday said: "It has been reported by regional manager Australasia that you allegedly committed an act of shoplifting from a duty free shop at Sydney airport before the departure of flight AI301 of 22nd June, 2019, from Sydney airport for which you were rostered as one of the Commander."

"Without prejudice to any disciplinary action to be initiated against you and pending enquiry, you are hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect," the order stated.
23/06/19 PTI/Business Standard

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Air India suspends regional director Rohit Bashin for alleged shoplifting at Sydney airport

Mumbai: Air India has suspended its regional director (eastern region) allegedly for shoplifting a wallet at the duty-free area of Sydney airport on June 22.
The decision to suspend Captain Rohit Bhasin was taken following a report by the regional manager, Australasia. A senior commander, Capt. Rohit Bhasin was to fly AI 301 from Sydney to Delhi, a little after he allegedly committed the shoplifting.
The order signed by Air India’s director (personnel) Amrita Sharan said that without prejudice to any disciplinary action initiated against him and pending enquiry, Capt. Bhasin was being placed under suspension.
The senior pilot was also told not to enter the premises of Air India Ltd. or leave Kolkata, his station, without the permission of the airline management. He was also told to handover all his company identity cards.
On his part, officials said that Capt. Bhasin told officials that he had just learnt of becoming a grandfather and that he was too overwhelmed when he visited the outlet of TUMI, a bags and accessories brand to buy a gift for his daughter-in-law.
Air India spokesperson said, the airline lays the highest stress on proper conduct of its staff and has a zero tolerance policy towards acts of impropriety.
23/06/19 The Hindu

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2 Chinese nationals arrested at Delhi IGI airport for allegedly using fake ticket to see off friend

New Delhi: Two Chinese nationals were arrested at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi for allegedly using fake tickets to enter Terminal 3 in order to see off their female friend on Friday night, police said.
The incident occurred around 11 pm when Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) duty personnel noticed two passengers roaming around suspiciously in the check-in area of Terminal 3 of the airport.
On enquiry, the accused - Zhang Peng and  Zuo Wei, revealed that they got access to the terminal by showing an edited itinerary of China Southern airline, whose flight was scheduled to take off at 11:30 pm. They informed that they were there to see off their female friend who was also travelling by the same flight bound to  Guangzhou in China, police said.
Both the accused possessed Chinese passports and were later handed over to the Delhi police to initiate an inquiry. An FIR has been registered against the men and the investigation is underway.
23/06/19 Zee News

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Six Indians arrested for smuggling gold in Sri Lanka

Colombo: Six Indians have been arrested by the Sri Lankan authorities for allegedly attempting to smuggle gold worth Rs 30 lakhs to India, a media report said on Sunday.
The accused were arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport here and had concealed the gold biscuits in their luggages, pockets of the trousers they were wearing and also their rectum, the Daily Mirror reported.
"All the accused are aged between 36 and 53. They were trying to smuggle the gold to Chennai and now have been arrested,"Customs Spokesman Deputy Director Sunil Jayaratne was quoted as saying in the report.
23/06/19 PTI/Times of India

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CISF nabs two foreign passengers for fake air ticket at IGI airport

New Delhi: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Saturday nabbed two Chinese passengers here after they entered the terminal building of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on a fake ticket.

Two foreign passengers, Zhang Peng, and Zuo Wei were intercepted by the CISF duty personnel of IGI airport after they were found roaming suspiciously in the check-in area of IGI airport Terminal-3, said an official release.

On further inquiry, it was revealed that both the passengers, to see-off their female friend, had gained access into the terminal building after showing an edited itinerary of a China Southern flight bound for Guangzhou.

Both the accused have been handed over to the Delhi Police for further legal action.
22/06/19 ANI/Yahoo!

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Jet Airways crisis: SBI says it did not have authority to fulfil Etihad's demands

New Delhi: The bank is only a lender to Jet Airways and not involved in or responsible for the management for the company and that the initiation of instant insolvency proceedings is just a way forward for the resolution/recovery under the statutory rights available to the lenders. This is what State Bank of India (SBI) asserted to Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in a letter recently.

So what led to the consortium of banks to approach National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)? On June 18, BSE had raised queries with regards to the progress made in the Jet Airways resolution case. The SBI on June 19, replied to the query in detail.

The reply states that the banks were trying for a viable resolution for the last one year since Jet's financial position was weak owing to operational losses. SBI Caps and McKinsey were roped in as process advisors.

SBI stated that as part of the bid process, the EOI (Expression of Interest) for investment in Jet Airways was sought from interested participants on April 8 and consequent to the advertisement, Etihad, NIIF, TPG Capital and Indigo partners expressed their interest on April 10, the very day when the bidding process was closed.

Subsequent to the closure of bids talks were held with Etihad and other prospective investors to find a way for the infusion of funds in Jet Airways.

The letter stated that Etihad had sought certain relaxations like waver of the open offer, assurance of flying slots and that the lenders had no authority to accommodate the relaxations sought by the Gulf carrier. The letter clearly stated that it was not considered feasible to negotiate on the conditions raised by Etihad.

Furthermore, SBI stated that since a sustainable plan couldn't be devised and two operational creditors had already approached NCLT, the member banks in principle too agreed to seek resolution through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Court (IBC).
22/06/19 Pankaj Upadhyay/India Today

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Jet Airways case: Etihad's demands for open offer waiver, SBI says slots assurance not feasible

State-run SBI Friday said Etihad Airways had sought waiver of open offer and assurance of flying slots for take over of Jet AirwaysNSE 15.51 %, but the lenders to the debt-ridden carrier had no authority to accommodate the relaxations sought.
State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Rajnish Kumar had Thursday defended the lenders' decision to take Jet Airways for bankruptcy saying "it was their last effort to find a resolution" for the grounded airline and also did not rule out the possibility of liquidation.
Earlier this week, SBI-led consortium of 26 lenders had decided to seek resolution under IBC as they had received only a conditional bid.
In a filing to stock exchanges Friday, SBI said financial position of Jet Airways (lndia) Limited (JAL) being weak, lenders were continuously trying for viable resolution for last one year on account of operational losses.
ln this regard, it added reputed consultants -- SBICAPS, McKinsey -- were roped in as process advisors/advisors. lt was also decided to initiate a bidding process to bring in new investors, SBI said.
ln this regard, it added reputed consultants -- SBICAPS, McKinsey -- were roped in as process advisors/advisors. lt was also decided to initiate a bidding process to bring in new investors, SBI said.
21/06/19 PTI/Economic Times

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IndiGo, Air India review alternate routes over Iran-US tensions

Mumbai: IndiGo has changed routes of its West Asia flights while Air India is looking at alternative routes to Europe and the US in view of tensions in the region, after an Iranian surface-to-air missile shot down an American drone.

United Airlines of the US has indefinitely suspended its Newark-Mumbai flight amid safety concerns. European airlines, too, have announced that their flights will avoid parts of Iranian airspace.

“A few routes are affected by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) advisory. Alternative routes and adequate special safety measures and instructions to pilots have been implemented. The situation is constantly being monitored and measures will be taken if necessary. All IndiGo flights are operating on schedule,” IndiGo said in a statement. IndiGo flights to Doha and Dubai briefly cross Iranian airspace.

An Air India executive, on the other hand, said: “We are monitoring the situation. As of now, we continue to operate flights over Iran as there is no directive from the Indian government.” The national carrier is, however, studying alternative routes in case instructions are received from the government, the executive added.

Currently, Air India and United operate non-stop flights between India and the US. United had earlier cancelled Newark-Delhi flights due to the closure of Pakistan airspace. Air India continues to operate its Europe and US flights as scheduled, but is taking longer routes due to the closure. Air India’s flights to the US are taking a halt at Vienna or Stockholm.
22/06/19 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Pakistan airspace to open only if India promises to not repeat Balakot

Islamabad: The Imran Khan government will continue the closure of its eastern airspace for flights from and to India until there is a commitment from New Delhi that it will not repeat Balakot-like air strikes inside the Pakistani territory.
Islamabad had shut the airspace on February 26 this year following the Indian airstrikes inside Pakistan, on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Balakot, in retaliation to a suicide bombing that killed 44 Indian police personnel in Pulwama Kashmir on February 14.

Well-placed sources told TOI that though the ban has been extended till June 28, Pakistan is likely to keep the airspace shut for India until there is some assurance from New Delhi that there would be no repetition of Balakot like a strike.

On March 27, Pakistan opened its airspace for all flights except for New Delhi. Since May 15 the ban on eastern airspace has been extended three times. Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had said the government will again review the matter on June 28 but avoided giving further details on the issue.

Sources said Islamabad was looking for an assurance from New Delhi that Balakot-like incident will not be repeated in future. The ban will remain in place until the issue is raised and resolved at the top level between Islamabad and New Delhi, sources said.

Stating that the closure was due to security and diplomatic reasons, a top CAA official said on the condition of anonymity that it was very surprising that no back-channel diplomacy has been used in the last four months to lift the ban, given the huge losses to flag carriers of both the countries.

Last month, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson, Dr Muhammad Faisal, had said: “We want de-escalation. If de-escalation takes place we would not like to have a ban on our airspace for India for a single day but for the purpose India will have to talk to us. India should show rational behaviour and must understand that issues will not be resolved through confrontation.”
21/06/19 Omar Farooq Khan/Times of India

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Passenger found dead on arrival at Trichy airport

Tiruchirapalli: A 31-year-old passenger on Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur was found dead when the aircraft landed at the Tiruchirapalli international airport on Friday night.
 Ramachandran, hailing from Ramanathapuram district was found motionless on his seat, when the co-passengers began disembarking after the flight landed at the airport at 1000 PM, sources in the airport said.
 The flight crew sought the help of airport medical team, which examined and declared him dead.
 22/06/19 UNI

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Azerbaijan Looks To Tap India Market With New Direct Flight

Azerbaijan Airlines is all set to connect New Delhi and Baku. An Eastern country with a Western outlook, Baku is known as the “Pearl of the Caucasus”. Combining history, culture and modernity, the vibrant city offers a safe and attractive setting along the Caspian Sea. From outdoor activities, phenomenal shopping experiences, luxury hotels, and beautiful venues and locations for weddings and honeymoons, Azerbaijan is a perfect destination for couples, families, and friends.

The new flight from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) will fly every Tuesday and Friday starting from June 25, arriving in Baku via Terminal 1 of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport.

Azerbaijan is one of the 41 countries in the world allowing Indians to receive a visa on arrival with a simplified electronic visa procedure. Azerbaijan’s exquisite natural beauty, fascinating history, opulent spa experiences, and delicious food and lively entertainment are just some of the reasons to consider the country for your summer holiday.
21/06/19 T3

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ED offers to provide air ambulance with medical experts to bring back Mehul Choksi from Antigua

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has offered to provide an air ambulance and a team of medical experts to bring back fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi from Antigua and provide him with all necessary treatment in India.
In a counter affidavit submitted before the high court, ED has termed as "a facade" an affidavit submitted earlier this week by Choksi in which he claimed that he is unable to return to India due to persistent health problems.
"The medical reasons and conditions appear to be facades being erected merely to mislead the court in an obvious attempt to delay the lawful proceedings. We are ready to provide an expert medical team along with an AIR ambulance to bring him from Antigua to India under medical supervision," the ED stated in its counter affidavit.
The central agency further stated that Choksi has never cooperated in the investigation into the Rs 13,000 crore PNB scam.
22/06/19 ANI/Times of India

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India’s SpiceXpress to fly from Mumbai-Dubai from Aug 1; 20 freighters to join its fleet by 2021

SpiceXpress, the dedicated cargo airline of the Indian carrier SpiceJet is planning to introduce freighters from Mumbai to Dubai, effective August 1, 2019. The company will be taking delivery of three more freighters within a couple of months, making the overall freighters to five. By 2021, it has plans to add 20 freighters to its fleet which will consist of 777, 767 and 747.

In an event held at Mumbai in association with the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), Sanjiv Gupta, CEO-Cargo, SpiceJet, stated, “SpiceXpress and MIAL’s alliance will benefit in creating efficient infrastructure for time and temperature controlled cargo. We are here to establish a hub for us for quick clearance of exim cargo and seamless ground handling.” In the next two months, the airline will launch a cargo app, roll out radio frequency identification (RFID) and will add 300 trucks through outsourcing to its existing 200.

MIAL cargo terminal has an annual capacity of 75,000 MT for export perishable cargo terminal, 1,50,000 MT capacity with 32 ULD storage positions in new agro terminal built in 2019, and 50,000 MT in export and import cold storage, among other facilities. The company has registered an exim growth of 1,95,666 MT in FY19 for both perishable and pharma.

Manjiv Singh, advisor to the chairman, SpiceJet, said, “From Mumbai, our focus is on pharma, valuables, perishables and courier loads. The idea is not for us to just take it to Dubai, but we might have interline agreements to carry it onwards to Africa, Europe, and the Americas.”
21/06/19 STAT Times

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Indian carriers fly in to occupy Jet Airways' foreign slots

New Delhi: The aviation ministry has distributed Jet Airways’ foreign flying rights among Indian carriers through an allocation process that was opposed by airlines such as IndiGo and GoAir, which have challenged the move in separate letters to the ministry, said people with knowledge of the matter. Government officials defended the method as transparent and fair.
IndiGo and SpiceJet have got the maximum number of rights, with 84 weekly flights for the first and 77 for the second. GoAir got the rights to operate 30 weekly flights, while Vistara got 28. All the allocations are for three months. Indi-Go’s contention is that it should have got more rights, in line with its share of about half the domestic market, said the people cited above.
Airline representatives were asked to pick a chit and were given preference, according to the number they got as well as their fleet induction plans, sources said. This took place last week and letters to airlines were issued earlier this week, they added.
With this allocation, the government has farmed out almost all the foreign flying rights of the grounded Jet Airways, which stopped flying on April 18.
Domestic routes had been distributed earlier — of the total 750 slots that Jet Airways had at various airports, 480 have been allocated.
GoAir has also written to the Prime Minister’s Office protesting about the model followed to allocate overseas rights, they said.
21/06/19 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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United suspends Newark-Mumbai direct due to Iran tensions; FAA bars US flights over Persian Gulf

New Delhi: American airline major United has indefinitely cancelled its daily Mumbai-Newark (EWR) nonstop after Iran shot down a US drone. The American Federal Aviation Administration has prohibited US-registered aircraft, which includes US carriers, from operating over the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman citing risk to commercial flights in the region.

The FAA notice to airmen (NOTAM) “warns pilots (of US-registered aircraft) that flights are not permitted in the overwater area of the Tehran Flight Information Region until further notice, due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions that might place commercial flights at risk. The NOTAM applies to all US air carriers and commercial operators.”


In its statement on suspending Mumbai flights, United says: “Given current events in Iran, United has conducted a thorough safety and security review of our India service through Iranian airspace and decided to suspend our service between New York/Newark and India (Mumbai) beginning this evening. UA48 (New York/Newark – Mumbai) has been cancelled.”

Incidentally, United’s Delhi-Newark daily nonstop is also suspended till July due to continued closure of Pakistan airspace. United used to be the only American airline that flied to India and Mumbai and Delhi were the two routes in operated on, both of which are suspended for now.

Now, Air India is the only airlines with direct flights between India and US. Although the closure of Pakistan airspace has meant AI’s flights from Delhi to US East Coast have to take a fuelling stop in Europe. On way back to India, these flights fly in nonstop. AI has a daily direct on Mumbai-EWR route.
21/06/19 Sauabh Sinha/Times of India

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Jet Airways crisis worsens Qatar-India flight connectivity

New Delhi: Nitin Singla and his wife reached Doha airport on Monday night almost four hours before their Qatar Airways QA flight QR 570 to Delhi was to depart. But the couple and four other passengers - all holding confirmed tickets for this flight - were denied boarding. "…A QA executive told us… the flight was overbooked. According to the executive, all flights typically book 10% extra to hedge against the possibility of some passengers not showing up. Unfortunately for us everyone turned up for our flight," Singla said in a Facebook post. They finally took a Tuesday evening QA flight to Delhi.

The airline says there is a massive shortfall in capacity on India-Qatar route that has been compounded after Jet Airways, which had 28 weekly flights on this sector, shut down. While there may be a demand-supply mismatch, that does not justify such overbooking of existing flights that it leads to denied barding of passengers holding confirmed tickets. The airline had last month sought temporary additional flying rights to India for this summer to tide over the gap. But that request has not been accepted so far.
21/06/19 Times of India

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25 Indian passengers trapped in Moscow airport to fly back home tonight

Thiruvananthapuram: The Indian students, who were stranded at Sheremetyevo Moscow International Airport, will fly home on Friday (June 21). Around 25 Indian passengers, including five Keralites, got trapped at the Moscow Airport in Russia after they reported late for a flight.

The Central government has started efforts to bring back the Indians trapped in Moscow Airport. As per reports, the passengers were not allowed to enter the Aeroflot flight, though they had completed the check-in procedures. The luggage of the passengers were taken into the flight. The passengers did not get food and water since morning, the reports said.

One of the students, who is a Keralite, called up Union minister V Muraleedharan, who promptly intervened in the issue and talked to officials with the Indian Embassy in Moscow. Later, officers from the Indian Embassy reached Moscow Airport and rescued the Indians.

Former Kerala BJP president V Muraleedharan was sworn in as a minister of state in the second Narendra Modi government on May 30.
21/06/19 MyNation

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Airbus signs MoU with Pawan Hans to introduce 2 new categories of helicopters

New Delhi: Airbus Thursday said it has signed an MoU with Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) in Paris for collaboration in introducing two new categories of its helicopters - H145 and H225 - in the latter's fleet sometime in the future.
The Airbus also said according to the MoU, signed on Wednesday evening, it would provide "predictive and scheduled maintenance" for the repair, maintenance and overhaul of PHL's existing fleet of AS365N Dauphin helicopters.

Government-owned PHL is the largest customer in the world for Airbus Dauphin helicopters. It currently has 37 Dauphin units deployed for offshore oil and gas operations, VIP transportation and other utility duties.

"The MoU stipulates that Airbus Helicopters will support PHL in growing its onshore, offshore and inland travel markets by introducing the best-in-class H145 and H225 rotorcrafts (helicopters) into their fleet," Airbus said Thursday.

The H145 and H225 are multi-role helicopters, ideal for supporting PHL's wide range of missions across the country, Airbus said.
20/06/19 Times of India

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B.C. proclaims June 23, 2019 as “Air India Flight 182 Remembrance Day”

The Province of British Columbia has proclaimed June 23, 2019 as “Air India Flight 182 Remembrance Day.”

The bombing of Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985, off the coast of Ireland killed 329 people. Also, the Narita airport explosion in the luggage meant for another Air India plane in Japan on the same day killed two baggage handlers.

The proclamation signed by Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin notes that “on June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182, carrying luggage loaded in Vancouver, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland … all 329 people on board were killed … most victims were Canadian citizens of Indian origin who were travelling to India to spend time with their loved ones … the dead included 86 children who would have contributed to Canadian society.”
It also notes that “the bombing remains the worst mass murder in Canadian history, and … memorials in Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal will forever stand as a reminder of the innocent lives lost.”
20/06/19 Rattan Mall/VoiceOnline

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Air India anniversary: Who remembers the children killed in Canada’s largest mass murder?

The Air India bombing has been described as the largest mass murder in Canadian history and an act of aviation terror without precedent. But the catastrophe remains unknown, or at most little-known to most Canadians.
Why do Canadians not remember the tragic loss of so many children on Air India Flight 182?

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Top 10 airlines of the world 2019: Qatar Airways leads; IndiGo best low-cost airline in Central Asia and India

Qatar Airways has once again emerged as the world's best airline in the Skytrax World Airline Awards. On Tuesday, airline leaders and top airline management from across the globe attended the 2019 World Airline Awards held at Paris Air Show to receive their accolades voted for by customers. Skytrax said in a release, "Qatar Airways scooped the top award being named the World’s Best Airline, also winning awards for the World’s Best Business Class, the World’s Best Business Class Seat and the Best Airline in the Middle East."

India's IndiGo has been awarded as the best low-cost airline in Central Asia/India.

In the top10 list, Qatar Airways is followed by Singapore Airlines, which has also won top accolade as the World’s Best Cabin Crew. Singapore Airline has been honoured with awards for the World’s Best First Class, Best Airline in Asia and the World’s Best First Class Seat.
Excited over the award, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are thrilled to be globally recognised by our customers by winning these four prestigious awards. Becoming the first airline to be named as ‘Airline of the Year’ for the fifth time is a landmark achievement and, combined with three other major Skytrax awards, it is testament to the tireless efforts of the entire Qatar Airways team.”
Top 10 airlines of the world:
1. Qatar Airways
2. Singapore Airlines
3. ANA All Nippon Airways
4. Cathay Pacific
5. Emirates
6. EVA Air
7. Hainan Airlines
8. Qantas Airways
9. Lufthansa
10. Thai Airways
20/06/19 ZeeBiz

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Amazon starts selling domestic air tickets in India

Bengaluru/Paris/Singapore: When Karan Mehrotra booked a flight from Delhi to Guwahati, he did not go to a travel agent or an airline website.
Instead, he turned to Amazon, the world’s biggest online retailer which now sells tickets to Indian customers and offers them an easy payment process and cash-back offers.
“It was just a lot simpler,” Mehrotra said of booking a flight through Amazon. “They are integrating most of my lifestyle needs under a single platform.”
Airlines are concerned that Amazon’s quiet launch of domestic plane ticket sales in India last month is only the start of a global trend and the beginning of a battle for control of valuable traveler data.
For years, airlines have found it difficult to compete with online travel agencies like Expedia Group Inc. and corporate travel agents that control a large number of customers, Travelport Chief Executive Gordon Wilson said.
“They have nothing left if Google is in that position, or Amazon,” he said at a CAPA Center for Aviation conference this month. “I think the airlines are being very watchful over this.”
Some carriers, like AirAsia and Easyjet are building digital travel businesses to help boost profits and keep passengers loyal beyond flying.
AirAsia’s website and app offers an all-in-one travel and lifestyle marketplace selling flights, hotels, activities and retail products. It has launched a digital wallet business called BigPay.
“The volume that we generate from our ticket sales is huge — bigger than a lot of other travel agents would sell. So we might as well do it ourselves, and probably sell a lot more,” AirAsia Executive Chairman Kamarudin Meranun told Reuters at the Paris Airshow.
Europe’s easyJet is signing direct booking contracts with hotels to give it more flexibility in pricing packaged holidays on its website. The easyJet Holidays product should be available for summer 2020 bookings by the end of the year, the airline said in a results presentation last month.
But companies like Amazon and Alphabet’s Google have the upper hand because their broader knowledge of purchasing habits might give them an edge over airlines in presenting attractive offers, travel industry executives said.
20/06/19 Reuters/Arab News

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