Showing posts with label Foreign Mar 2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foreign Mar 2016. Show all posts

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Controversial Sikh Businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik Among 21 Sikhs Removed From India’s Blacklist

Chandigarh: Controversial Sikh businessman and 1985 Air India bombing accused and later acquitted Ripudaman Singh Malik, Resham Singh Babbar, accused of being one of the conspirators in former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh’s assassination case; and Massa Singh, an aide of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, are among 21 Sikhs whose names have been struck off the “blacklist” of Sikhs by India’s Union Home Ministry.
With the names of 21 Sikhs — some involved in terrorist activities in Punjab in the 1980s and 1990s and others having separatist political leanings — being struck off the so-called blacklist, these persons will now be able to come to India, though some of them may have to face trial in criminal cases pending against them.
The idea, say top government officials, is to bring these people back into the mainstream by making them pledge their allegiance to the Indian Constitution.
The former head of Dal Khalsa International Manmohan Singh Bajaj; member of the Panthic committee that organised Sarbat Khalsa in 1986 Dhamma Singh alias Balbir; Babbar Khalsa International activist Avtar Singh Sanghera are also among the prominent Khalistan ideologues whose names have been struck off the blacklist.
30/03/16 Link

The strange case of an Indian citizen of Nepali origin and his “fake” passport

A Bengaluru man of Nepali origin has alleged that his passport was taken away by the police, a week after airport officials allegedly harassed him and cheated him of money.

On Monday, Beeru Bahadur (31) approached a senior police officer for help with his passport as airport officials had earlier claimed that it was a fake and questioned his citizenship.

However, when he met the officer, his passport was “cancelled” and the officer said Beeru needed a document from Delhi to prove his citizenship.

Beeru, however, says he was born in Bengaluru in 1985 and has studied up to Class 10 in the city. Under Indian citizenship law, any person born in India between January 26, 1950 and July 1, 1987 would be granted citizenship automatically. Different rules apply to people born in India after 1987.

When The News Minute contacted the officer in question, the officer denied any knowledge of Beeru.

Coupled with the events of the last week at Bengaluru airport, Beeru is a thoroughly confused man.
30/03/16 Sarayu Srinivasan/News Minute

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Saab offers to make Gripen-E aircraft in India

Betul: Swedish aerospace firm Saab reiterated its offer to supply the next generation Gripen-E fighter aircraft to India through the "government-to-government" route and has offered to not only make the aircraft in India but also create the required manufacturing ecosystem in the country as part of the multi-billion dollar project.
"We are not saying don't go ahead with Rafale with France. We know that the Indian Air Force has a much bigger requirement than the 36 aircraft being negotiated. Over the next seven years, the IAF will be down to less than 30 squadrons. We are offering the Gripen through the government-to-government route, which is the best process," Saab, air systems vice-president Sudhir Varma said on Tuesday.
A day earlier, a US think tank had pointed out vulnerabilities in the Indian Air Force's strength and said that air dominance was vital for the country if it were to have deterrence stability in southern Asia and for preserving the strategic balance in the wider Indo-Pacific region.The formal offer was along the lines of Saab's $4.68 billion fighter deal with Brazil where the Swedish company is manufacturing aircraft in Brazil.
30/03/16 Times of India

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

All Systems on Crashed FlyDubai Jet Functioned Properly Before Take Off

Moscow: The investigation into a FlyDubai passenger plane crash in southern Russia has not discovered any malfunctions of on-board systems prior to the catastrophe, the Interstate Aviation Committee said Tuesday.
According to the statement, the decoded data from the voice recorder will not be made public in line with international and Russian regulations.
"As a result of the preliminary analysis of flight recorders, no malfunctions of the plane's on-board systems or engines have been found…the plane was technically sound at the take-off," the IAC said in a statement.
On March 19, a Flydubai Boeing 737-800 plane with 55 passengers and 7 crew members on board crashed while attempting to land at an airport in southern Russia. The plane was flying to Rostov-on-Don from Dubai. Nobody survived the crash, which occurred during conditions of poor visibility.
29/03/16 Sputnik 

Early probe finds no technical fault in FlyDubai jet crash

Moscow: A task force investigating the crash of a FlyDubai jet in southern Russia says an early probe did not find any technical faults in the plane.
The Boeing 737-800 crashed on landing in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don early March 19, killing all 62 people on board.
The Inter-State Aviation Committee investigating the crash said in a statement Tuesday that the readout from the plane’s flight recorders showed no technical faults in the engine or other elements of the plane. The investigators, however, stopped short of citing a cause of the crash at this stage.
Several planes had trouble landing at the airport due to strong winds at the time of the crash.
29/03/16 AP/Washington Post

'Jet staffer responding to treatment'

Mumbai: Jet Airways employee Nidhi Chaphekar is recovering well at the hospital in Brussels, after she was injured in the airport blasts on March 22. According to his sister-in-law, she has not yet spoken to her husband, Rupesh, or the brother-in-law, Nilesh, who are in Brussels right now.
"She is in the burns unit and nobody is allowed there. Her husband and his brother go to the hospital every day, see her, and then sit in the waiting room for the whole day," added her sister-in-law. "We do not know how much time it will take for her to recover completely, but I am told she is doing fine. She is responding to the treatment," she added.
Nidhi, a mother of two, has suffered burns and a fracture in the blast at the airport.
29/03/16 Yogiota Rao/Times of India

More Daily Flights to Oman

Kochi: Oman Air, the national flag carrier of Sultanate of Oman, will operate double daily flights from Cochin International Airport, as part of its new summer schedule which came into effect on Sunday and will be in force till October 29 this year.

The Oman Air flight no: WY 226 will be departing from Kochi daily at 7.25 am and arrive in Muscat at 9.30 am. The second flight, WY 224, will be departing Kochi at 3.50 pm and arrive in Muscat at 6 pm on all days of the week.
29/03/16 New Indian Express

AI Express launches service to Ras Al Khaimah

Malappuram: Air India began operations from the Calicut International Airport to Ras Al Khaimah on Monday. The inaugural flight took off from the airport at Karipur at 10.45 a.m.

Air India will operate four flights a week between Calicut and Ras Al Khaimah via Al Ain. The flight will be operated on Monday, Wednesday,

Friday and Saturday. On Monday and Friday, Flight IX331 will leave Calicut at 10.40 a.m. and reach Ras Al Khaimah at 2.35 p.m. via Al Ain.

The return flight IX 332 will leave Ras Al Khaimah at 3.20 p.m. and reach Calicut at 8.40 p.m.
29/03/16 The Hindu

Monday, March 28, 2016

Pilot's attempt to land despite captain's objection led to Flydubai crash?

It could be an attempt by the first-officer to land at Rostov-on-Don itself  despite the objection of the captain that led to the crash of Flydubai flight981 at the airport  on 19th morning, this month. The transcription of the last minute of the two-hour long cockpit voice recorder points to this possibility alone.
Though Rossiya-1, a Russian  television channel, that leaked the transcription, has suggested that the crash was caused by an inadvertent activation of the elevator while the aircraft was climbing, an analysis of the transcribed voices indicates something far more grave and intriguing.
Continue Reading >>

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Jet Airways commences flights to new European hub Amsterdam

New Delhi: Jet Airways today started daily non-stop services from the national capital, Mumbai and Toronto to Amsterdam, the airline's new European hub.

The carrier has shifted its European gateway from Brussels as scheduled. Days before shifting out, the airport at the Belgian capital saw bomb attacks on March 22 that killed over 10 people and injured many, including two Jet Airways staffers.

In a release, Jet Airways said the three flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Toronto landed at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on schedule.

"Today marks the start of our new service connecting three continents, together with our code share partners KLM and Delta Air Lines," Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal said.
27/03/16 PTI/Economic Times

Flights resume at TIA after security clearance

Kathmandu: The Tribhuvan International Airport resumed its operation this late afternoon following a bomb hoax.

Security personnel including Nepal Army’s bomb disposal carried out an extensive search of the Jet Airways Flight 93 260 coming from New Delhi but explosives was found in it as claimed by an unidentified caller.
27/03/16 Himalayan Times

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Possible Pilot Error Is Cited in FlyDubai Crash in Russia

An error by a crew member committed during adverse weather conditions may have been responsible for the crash of a passenger jet last week in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don that killed 62 people, a report broadcast by Russian state television said.

The Rossiya-1 television channel said late Friday that it had obtained a transcript of the pilot interactions a minute before the FlyDubai passenger jet nose-dived to the ground, killing all the passengers and crew members onboard. A source in the investigative commission with access to flight recorders provided the channel with the transcript.

The channel emphasized that its interpretation of the transcript could not be considered the official version of what had happened.

Flying from Dubai, the plane was not able to land on its first attempt because of heavy rain and wind, and it entered a holding pattern for two hours. On the second landing attempt, the crew decided to pull up and try again, but 40 seconds after beginning the ascent, one of the pilots switched off the autopilot, possibly in response to sudden turbulence, the report said. Seconds after the autopilot was turned off, the plane plunged to the ground.

“Don’t worry,” one of the pilots says, according to the transcript, which was translated into Russian, seconds before saying, “Don’t do that!” The last words recorded were repeated calls to “Pull up!” Only “inhuman screams” could be heard for the last six seconds.
26/03/16 Ivan Nechepurenko/New York Times

"Don't do that": Chilling final words of FlyDubai pilot seconds before Boeing 737 plane crashed killing 62

Moscow: A TV station has aired the final words of the pilot manning the FlyDubai passenger jet that crashed in Rostov-on-Don killing 62 people.

The transcript suggests that a pilot error could be to blame for last week's disaster.

However formal investigations are still ongoing.

Russia's Rossiya-1 channel said it had obtained a transcript of the last words exchanged between the pilot and his crew just moments before the Boeing 737 hit the ground.

It is claimed that the final words emerged from a source in the investigative commission with access to the plane's black box.

Arriving from Dubai, the plane exploded into a fireball last Saturday after missing the runway in the southern Russia city.

The crash happened while the pilots were making a second attempt to land in heavy wind and rain.
The transcript suggests that one of the pilots lost control of the plane after switching off the autopilot setting.

"Don't worry," the pilot says in the transcript.

A voice is then heard: "Don't do that".

Moments before the crash, the last words are repeated calls for the plane to "pull up".

Screams are then heard.

Analysts looking at the transcript suggest that the pilot accidentally switched on a stabilising fin at the tail of the plane.
This apparently took place as the pilot tried to pull the plane back to a horizontal position.

With this fin activated, "the plane practically does not react to the pilot's control panel", it was claimed.

"The pilots clearly did not understand that the stabiliser was to blame for the steep dive."

Investigators are now probing if poor weather or a pilot error were to blame for the crash.

They will also examine is a technical fault is responsible.
26/03/16 John Shammas/Mirror

Fliers recall the horror

In scenes reminiscent of the recent movie, Airlift, passengers stranded at Brussels airport are being evacuated through a circuitous route as the airport was locked down after Tuesday's blasts. Only this time, a private airline has pulled out the stops to get its guests safely home. After spending some nervewracking moments at the airport - bombs tore through Zaventem airport minutes after the Mumbai- Brussels Jet flight landed there - passengers braved bone-chilling temperatures and rains before they were put in 15 buses and sent to Amsterdam, some 210 km away.
Jet announced on Thursday that it was operating special flights from Amsterdam to Delhi and Mumbai and to Toronto for its guests headed towards the Americas. At the last minute, the Mumbai-bound flight, which was to depart Amsterdam at 1400 hours on Thursday developed a snag and had to return to base. Jet said that it would accommodate the Mumbai-bound passengers in its Amsterdam-Delhi flight and then fly them home. "With the airport shut, we operated empty ferry flights to Amsterdam from Brussels," an airline official said.
Several passengers took a little time out to speak to Mirror despite the harrowing time they had been going through after the blasts in the EU capital. Bangalore-based Dr Bhaskar Rajkumar, who was returning home after attending a medical conference in Boston, said that people started running the moment the blasts ripped through the airport. "There was immediate chaos all around," he said, adding that he ran into Delhi resident Sukhvir Lota and then two other Indians, Afshaa R and Nandita V, moments after the blast. The four kept running for over 10 minutes across the terminal building before they reached the tarmac and founf some 1,000+ fliers gathered there. In another part of the airport, Koshy Jacob, a retired IAF wing commander had just landed at Brussels from Newark when the blasts ripped across the departure terminal.
26/03/16 Mumbai Mirror

Brussels attack: Stranded Indians return without luggage, glad they escaped death

Mumbai: For Mangalore-based Francis D’Souza, who landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai Friday morning after being stranded in terror-hit Brussels, what transpired over the last three days will remain “hard to forget”. He was one of the 214 Indian passengers at the Zaventem airport when the twin blasts struck Tuesday, killing at least 31 and injuring hundreds. Three days later, D’Souza has only a back-pack to bring home. The rest of his luggage remains stashed in the belly of an aircraft in Brussels, where the airport is still shut for operations. D’Souza, who spent hours after the strike trying to establish contact with the Indian embassy, claims it provided no support the first day and arrangements for food and shelter were looked after by the Belgium government. “There was just one embassy official but he kept asking the airlines to handle us,” says D’Souza.
He had landed in Brussels at 7.30 am Tuesday from Newark airport. Fifteen minutes later, he saw people running towards his direction at terminal B40, followed by a single urgent command on the public address systems: “Evacuate.” “There were Indians, Chinese and a lot of European passengers. We were first taken to the runway for an hour. Then we were asked to leave through parking where I remember seeing a suitcase unattended. The commandos immediately took us to a military base camp in Brabanthal. I saw people bleeding, several lay injured while most ran without any direction at the airport,” said D’Souza.
26/03/16 Tabassum Barnagarwala/Indian Express

Brussels attack: Injured crew member stable, not in coma, says Jet Airways

Following reports that Nidhi Chaphekar, the Jet Airways staffer from Mumbai had been placed in a 'medically-induced coma' after she was injured in the Brussels attack, the Airlines on Friday refuted the statement saying that she is stable and is under sedation.

"We have spoken to Dr. Steve at the hospital where jet airways crew Nidhi Chapekar is under treatment. The Doctor has confirmed that Nidhi is in a stable condition and not in Coma. She is resting and under sedation for her comfort," Jet Airways said in a statement.
Chapekar, who suffered burns and fractured her foot in the explosions on Tuesday, is receiving treatment at a hospital near Brussels.

A picture of Nidhi went viral after the attack, where she is seen sitting on a chair inside the airport in a state of horror and shock as her yellow uniform coat is ripped and her hair and face are covered in soot and blood.
Meanwhile, a Jet Airways aircraft carrying 242 persons including 28 crew members, who were stranded in Belgian capital Brussels arrived in Delhi from Amsterdam on Friday morning.
25/03/16 Daily News & Analysis

Will give best medical attention to injured staff: Jet Airways

New Delhi: Jet Airways today said the airline would provide the best medical attention to its two staff members, who sustained injuries during the bomb attacks at the Brussels airport on March 22.
The airline's Chairman Naresh Goyal thanked the authorities for extending their support to help passengers and staff in the wake of the attacks at Brussels airport.
"To our two colleagues injured in the blasts and their families, we send loving prayers of support and assure that no effort will be spared to provide the best medical attention available," Goyal said.
Two Jet Airways crew members -- Nidhi Chaphekar and Amit Motwani -- were injured in the deadly bomb blasts at the Brussels airport on March 22.
In a message posted on his Twitter account, Goyal thanked the authorities for extending support.
26/03/16 PTI/Economic Times

Friday, March 25, 2016

FlyDubai pilot reported fatigue before plane crash

The FlyDubai captain whose plane crashed in Russia on Saturday was due to leave the airline because of exhaustion, according to a report by the BBC.

The crash, which killed all 62 people on board, took place early in the morning on Saturday, just short of the runway at Rostov-on-Don airport runway.
"I don't want to speculate on what caused the crash, but I think that fatigue must have been a contributory factor. I'm also not surprised it happened," a FlyDubai pilot told BBC.

"Crew are overworked and suffering from fatigue. It is a significant risk. Staff are going from night to day shifts without enough rest in between. I would say 50% of the airline's workforce are suffering from acute fatigue."

Three FlyDubai staff members told BBC that captain Cypriot Aristos Sokratous had resigned and was finishing his three-month notice. He had cited fatigue and lifestyle as reasons for leaving.

At the time of the crash, hazardous conditions — including rain and winds of 30 to 50 mph — were reported at the airport.

The Boeing 737-800 flew four hours from Dubai to Rostov-on-Don airport. The plane's first landing attempt had been aborted due to high winds and low visibility. Pilots circled the airport for two hours before making a second attempt at landing, which was captured by CCTV.
25/03/16 Cailey Rizzo/Mashable

Brussels attack: Jet Airways staffer Nidhi Chaphekar recovering in ICU

 Nidhi Chaphekar, the Jet Airways staffer from Mumbai who was injured in the Brussels attacks, is currently recovering in the ICU unit after being placed placed in a “medically-induced coma” last night.
A Jet Airways manager in Brussels said Chaphekar sustained over 15 per cent burns and was left with a fractured foot. He said Nidhi was out of danger.
Amit Motwani, a flight purser also injured in the blast, is being treated for injuries to his eye and ear.
25/03/16 Indian Express

Aircraft with Indians arrives from Brussels

New Delhi: Indians stranded in Belgian capital Brussels after the deadly terror attack on Tuesday, arrived back here on a Jet Airways flight on Friday morning.

An aircraft, carrying 242 passengers including 28 crew members, arrived here from Amsterdam. The flight landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here at 5:30 a.m., a Jet Airways spokesperson said.

The flight had 214 passengers and 28 crew members.

"A big welcome to our guests! Flight 9W 1229 from Amsterdam has landed at Delhi," Jet Airways tweeted on Friday morning.

The airline had on Thursday announced to fly three flights, one each to Mumbai, Delhi and Toronto from Amsterdam to fly its passengers, who were stuck in Brussels due to the terror attack on airport and metro stations.

However, the airline cancelled Mumbai flight due to a snag in the aircraft and combined it with Delhi flight.
25/03/16 The Hindu

Steward who sued SIA agrees to have suit dismissed

A flight steward who sued Singapore Airlines (SIA), claiming he suffered a spine injury when a bag fell on him, has agreed to have the lawsuit dismissed and leave the airline following a 21-day High Court hearing that stretched over two years.

Mr K. Jotheeswaran, 43, also consented to give up any wage claims or post-employment benefits under the High Court order from Justice Belinda Ang.

It is understood that glaring discrepancies in witness testimony made the suit unsustainable.
The court order issued last month does not preclude SIA's right to take further action against him.

In the suit, which started in 2014, Mr Jotheeswaran said that on July 8, 2009, he was helping passengers to board a plane in Chennai, India.

A bag fell from an overhead compartment, hitting the back of his neck. Despite treatment for back pain, his condition did not improve.

Five months later, he had spinal surgery. But even after this and physiotherapy, he said he still suffers from neck pain and numbness in his left arm. He said in his claim that he even developed a degenerative disease in his spine.

Mr Jotheeswaran, represented by lawyer Mohamed Niroze Idroos, sought damages from SIA, alleging that the airline had been negligent and breached its duty of care as an employer by failing to install safety measures such as netting to stop baggage from falling out.
High Court claims start at $250,000. But SIA, defended by Mr Niru Pillai, raised doubts whether such an incident even occurred.

A key turnaround as to Mr Jotheeswaran's credibility emerged when he was recalled to the witness stand on the 19th day of the trial.

Among other things, he had sworn in documents that he went home after returning from Chennai and remained there until July 13, by which time the pain had become unbearable, and he went to hospital.

But in court, he admitted to having flown to Penang on July 9, and remaining there for three days. He said he did not know it was important to mention going to Penang.
25/03/16 KC Vijayan/Straits Times

AI announces additional direct flight to Hyderabad

Air India Western Region Manager Noor Mohammed was felicitated by top Saudi businessmen at the Jeddah Diwaniyah. Noor Mohammed has done yeoman service for the Indian Hajis and was praised and appreciated at the well-attended function by Saudis.

Hussam Al Kahtani, praised the contribution of Noor Mohammed and introduced him to the gathering. “Saudi Businessmen are really delighted to have Noor among them. And I assure their support to Air India for its growth in the Kingdom,”he said.

Introducing Noor Mohammed, Mir Gazanfar Ali Zaki, general secretary of Indian Youth Welfare Association (IYWA), too praised his services and contribution for Saudi and Indian community. He also said that in the recent community meeting at CGI premises with Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. Dr. V.K. Singh, both Consul General. B.S. Mubarak and Gen. Singh commended Air India’s Haj operation 2015 as excellent. He praised the airline for their services without even a single disruption.
25/03/16 Saudi Gazette

Lanka arrests Indian national for smuggling foreign currency

Colombo : An Indian national, who attempted to smuggle foreign currency out of Sri Lanka, was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake this morning, Sri Lanka Customs said.

The Customs officials arrested the Indian national when he was preparing to board a flight to Sharjah. The 44-year-old suspect had currency equivalent to Rs. 7.5 million, reports Lanka Page.
25/03/16 ANI/Hans India

Suspect in Egypt violence held at Mumbai airport

An Egyptian national, suspected to be involved in the widespread violence in his country in 2013 following the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, has been arrested from the city airport, a senior police official said on Friday. The suspect, identified as Hossam Mohamed, was arrested on Thursday at the Mumbai international airport upon his arrival from Qatar, after his name was flagged by a Red Corner Notice issued by Egypt. "When his papers were being checked at the immigration counter, the airport official found that the Interpol had issued a red corner notice against him," the official said. They brought the matter to the notice of police following which he was arrested. -
25/03/16 PTI/Mid Day

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Brussels Attack: Stranded Jet Airways passengers moved to Amsterdam

Passengers from India stranded in Brussels following multiple bomb blasts in the Belgium capital are on their way to Amsterdam in about 15 buses from where flights will take off for Delhi and Mumbai on Thursday afternoon.
According to a Jet Airways spokesperson, while one flight is scheduled to depart at 2.00 pm GMT (6.30 pm IST) for Mumbai, a second flight will leave Amsterdam at 4.00 pm GMT (8.30 pm IST) for Delhi (Flight details below).
“Our guests are currently on their way from Brussels to Amsterdam by road transport. They are being accompanied by Jet Airways staff. The airline has made hotel arrangements in Amsterdam for their overnight stay, before they continue onward journey to their destination,” a statement from the airlines said.
Several blasts had rocked Brussels on Tuesday leading to the death of over 30 people. Two Indians injured were Jet employees — in-flight supervisor Amit Motwani and in-flight manager Nidhi Chapekar. Among the Indians witness to the attack is 24-year-old Natasha. The family was heading to the United States via Belgium. On Tuesday morning, when the blasts took place at Zaventem Airport , they were evacuated to a convention centre 30 miles away from the airport where they spent the night. They are currently on a four hour drive from Brussels to Amsterdam.
24/03/16 Tabassum Barnagarwala/Indian Express

Family members of injured crew to travel to Brussels: Jet Airways

New Delhi: Jet Airways on Wednesday said that it has made travel arrangements for the family members of its injured crew in Brussels to travel there. "We have made arrangements for family members of the injured crew to travel to Brussels," the airline said in a statement. Two members of the airlines staff were injured in the bomb blasts that rocked Brussels' Zaventem airport on Tuesday morning. According to the airline, the injured crew are safe in hospital.
"Our staff in Brussels is co-ordinating with the local authorities and hospitals to ensure that all the required medical care is provided to them," the statement said.
"Jet Airways continues to closely monitor the situation in Brussels. The airline's emergency response centre in Mumbai and the local incident control centre in Brussels are working round-the-clock to provide all possible support to our staff and guests."
23/03/16 IANS/Sify.com

Jet Airways to fly its stranded passengers from Amsterdam

New Delhi: With authorities deciding to shut operations at terror-hit Brussels airport tomorrow as well, private carrier Jet AirwaysBSE 2.53 % today said it will ferry its stranded passengers from Amsterdam, which is all set to become the airline's new European gateway for international flights from Sunday.

The airline has deployed 15 coaches to transfer its stranded passengers from Brussels to Amsterdam today. It has also cancelled all its flights to and from Brussels till Saturday.

The airline will accommodate these passengers in various hotels during the night prior to flying them to their respective destinations from Amsterdam, an airline spokesperson said tonight.

All the airline's guests will travel today to Amsterdam in 15 buses and will be accommodated there in hotels.
23/03/16 PTI/Economic Times

‘By God's grace she is alive’: Family finds woman in iconic Brussels photo

Nidhi Chaphekar, a 40-year-old Jet Airways flight attendant, sat bloodied and dazed, her yellow uniform shredded from the force of the first blast of yesterday's deadly terror attacks in Brussels.
As she looked up, another woman took her picture.

The image of the mother of two from Mumbai, India, spread through social media Tuesday and onto front pages of newspapers around the world  Wednesday as one of the most iconic images of the horror in Brussels.

It was that haunting image that reached her family in India first.
"We were searching through the Internet to try and get details of the blasts when we saw the pics," her brother-in-law Nilesh Chaphekar told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "The first reaction was 'she's alive. By God's grace she is alive.'"
Her family, including her husband, 11-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son, is now trying to get to Brussels to be with her.
23/03/16 Natalie DiBlasio/USA Today

Mumbai family stranded in Brussels, now taken to Amsterdam

Nagpur: After more than a day of being holed up inside a convention centre on the outskirts of Brussels, stranded passengers of Jet Airways comprising mostly Indian citizens, have now been shifted to hotels in Amsterdam. At 8.45pm (IST) on Thursday, Jet Airways tweeted that it had arranged for 15 buses to move its passengers to hotels in the Dutch capital.
Passengers will be taken to their final destinations on Thursday evening, the airline added later. Minister for external affairs Sushma Swaraj also confirmed the development.
Koshy Jacob, a retired wing commander of Indian Air Force, along with his wife and daughter got stuck in Brussels after his flight to New York made a stopover on Monday just half an hour before the bomb explosion. "This is a big relief to over 800 passengers of Jet Airways here at the convention centre as we were all eager to continue our journey," said Jacob.
This brings to end a harrowing wait for those whose flights got cancelled after Belgium shut down its airspace following the terror attacks. The decision by Jet Airways to move them came at the right time as despite the chilly weather in Brussels, temperatures inside the convention centre had started to flare up.
24/03/16 Abhishek Choudhari/Times of India

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Mumbai-Hong Kong flight: Cockpit door snag grounds aircraft

Mumbai: Fliers travelling to Hong Kong from Mumbai via Cathay Pacific flight (CX 660) were inconvenienced after it was cancelled due to the non-functional cockpit door.
The aircraft (Airbus 333) was taxiing when it was called off the runway upon detection of the glitch. The flight that was supposed to take off at 1.25 am on Tuesday was delayed by almost two hours for technical inspection and was then cancelled by 3.30 am. All the 224 passengers were asked to alight and provided accommodation. However, a few of them chose to continue their journey via different airlines.
A Cathay Pacific spokesperson said, “Flight CX660 departing Mumbai for Hong Kong on March 22 was cancelled due to an unresponsive computer part in the cockpit. While a few of the passengers opted to return home, others were accommodated in hotels. Our airport team is also working hard to make alternative arrangements for the affected passengers. We are now working to rectify the technical issue and the new departure time is now scheduled at 8.30 pm (Wednesday). We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to our passengers.”
23/03/16 Neha LM Tripathi

‘Everyone was in panic at airport’

Surat: "A portion of the ceiling above me vibrated and a part of it fell on the ground in front of me before I could react to the loud explosion I heard," said Surat-based businessman, Ankit Pansuriya who was at the Brussels airport when the bombs exploded there Tuesday morning.
Pansuriya of Pansuriya Impax has offices in Surat, Mumbai, Antwerp and Hong Kong. He visits Antwerp once in a month and had arrived in Brussels on Tuesday morning. He was waiting to collect luggage at conveyor belt when the first blast took place.
"Initially, I could not understand what was happening. I had heard the blast but was not sure if it was a bomb explosion. I could hear noise of breaking glass and later saw people shouting and searching for shelter," Pansuriya told TOI over phone.
"First time in my life I witnessed a terror attack from so close. One blast took place near departure entry while another near American Airlines counter, which was beside Jet Airways of India. If the blast had happened at close distance to the Jet Airways counter many Indians would have died," he added.
Pansuriya said that while rushing out of airport following instruction from authorities, he saw many injured trying to find a safe location. "Apart from those injured in the bomb blast many suffered serious injury due to broken glass at the airport. Every where there was panic. We were asked to leave airport immediately. My luggage is still at the airport," he recalled.
23/03/16 Times of India

Brussels terror: 'Any news of mama?', asks child of wounded Jet manager

Mumbai: Tuesday was like any other day at the Chaphekars' Andheri residence until family members received an overseas phone call at 1 pm.
The call was from Brussels. The family was informed that blasts at the airport had wounded Nidhi Chaphekar 41, a Jet Airways inflight manager who had flown to the European city a day earlier.
Nidhi and another employee, Amit Motwani, were wounded in the blasts.
The Chaphekars stayed glued to the television after that, breaking into tears often, as they waited for a call from Nidhi. After an agonizing wait, Nidhi's family learned on Tuesday evening that she had been admitted to a hospital in Antwerp.
"She was being operated upon for injuries and burns. We hope to talk to her once the surgery is done," said Rupesh Chaphekar, Nidhi's husband.
"For the whole day we did not have any information. All they told us was she is safe. But how do I know if they are not just giving us false hopes? I just want to hear her voice once. Only the airline's base manager is contacting us with information. We are not able to get through any of the helpline numbers," said Rupesh, a businessman.
23/03/16 Yogita Rao/Times of India

Flydubai crash: Indian victim's parents await DNA clearance

Dubai: Family of Indian couple Shyam Mohan and Anju, who were among the 62 that died when the ill-fated Flydubai FZ981 crashed in Rostov-on-Don, are patiently waiting for DNA clearance before conducting the last rites.

Speaking to Emirates24|7 from Perumbhavoor, Jayan, Shyam’s childhood friend and neighbour said: “They are devastated. And to add to their pain, they know that they will never get their children’s bodies.”

He informed that Shyam’s father C V Mohannan, who is slowly recovering from a stroke from a few months ago, was admitted to the hospital after he complained of uneasiness. Even his mother was admitted complaining of chest pain. They have both since been discharged, and are back home.

“Even Shyam’s sister was admitted after her blood pressure dropped. The family is shattered.”

According to Jayan, the officials in India have collected the blood samples of Shyam’s parents and Anju’s mother, and have sent it to Delhi. From there, it will be forwarded to Rostov-on-Don, where officials will identify their remains based on the DNA samples.

“They will have to wait for a few more days before they get the clearance.”

Once the identification is completed, they can then travel to Russia for the last rites.
23/03/16 Sneha May Francis/Emirates 24|7

FlyDubai Airline System Keeps Pilots Grounded if Suffering From Fatigue

Dubai: arlier in the day, a former FlyDubai pilot said in an interview with the RT broadcaster that the co-pilot of the crashed plane was extremely exhausted after working 11 days in a row ahead of the fatal flight. The pilot added that excessive workloads were common for pilots with the airline as the operator arranged schedules that did not allow enough rest time between flights.

But a spokesperson for the airline said Tuesday that a security monitoring system introduced by the FlyDubai airline prevents crew members from working on flights if they have not had sufficient rest before departure.

"If a crew member feels that he has not had a chance to have a rest for required time before the flight for any reasons, the security monitoring system makes pilots declare themselves unfit to perform the flight," the spokesperson told RIA Novosti.

He added that the company strictly adhered to the service instructions, while scheduling working hours, and payed a special attention to factors affecting crew fatigue, including the duration of their previous shifts and the number of the rest days.

The Russian Investigative Committee is considering several scenarios that may have caused the crash, including human error, technical failure and difficult weather conditions.
22/03/16 Sputnik

First after crash FlyDubai plane lands at Rostov-on-Don’s airport

Rostov-on-Don: The plane safely returned tourists after their vacation in the United Arab Emirates. "The plane was expected to land 1:20am Moscow time according to schedule but it managed to do so even earlier - at 0:46am Moscow time," the airport’s director for strategic communications Olga Ladeyschikova said.
A FlyDubai’s Boeing 737-800 crashed at Rostov-on-Don’s airport in the small hours on March 19 during a second attempt to land in complicated weather conditions of strong side wind and rain. The plane served regular Flight FZ 981 from Dubai. The passenger jet capable of carrying 189 passengers had 62 people aboard, including the crew. None has survived.
The investigation looks into several leads: a pilot error, a technical malfunction, bad weather conditions, and others.
After the crash, FlyDubai temporarily suspended flights to the airport in Rostov-on-Don.
23/06/13 TASS

‘He couldn’t be to blame’: flydubai pilot’s friend speaks of grief


A close friend of flydubai captain Aristos Sokratous has described the Cypriot aviator as a “calm professional” who he says would not have panicked in a crisis.

Andreas Christodolou, 43, said that all those in the pilot’s home town of Limassol have been devastated by Saturday’s crash, which claimed the lives of all onboard, including 55 passengers and seven crew.

He also said that friends and relatives do not believe Sokratous could have caused the tragedy.

Russian investigators say they are probing whether either human error, the weather or a fault in the aircraft could have led to the accident.

Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith has said it would have been the pilots’ decision to land, but urged against any speculation as to the cause before the investigation is complete.

Speaking by phone from Cyprus, Christodolou told 7DAYS that his family had been saddened by the suggestion that pilot error could be a factor.

“Everyone who knows him says he is a very calm, professional guy, the way he used to speak to people, the way he was at work,” Christodolou said, adding that he had known Sokratous since they were young men and had travelled Europe on their motorbikes.

“He was good at everything he did.

“I don’t believe it could have been the pilots’ fault – no one does here.
23/03/16 Rory Reynolds/7 Days

Flydubai Black Box Data Quality Good, Decoding May Take a Month

Dubai: A flight data recorder from the crashed flydubai passenger has been opened and authorities said records found to be of good quality.

"The flight data recorder has been opened and a damaged cable has been repaired," Sergei Zaiko, chief of the Interstate Aviation Committee, revealed to Russian news agency TASS.

"The memory module of the data recorder was tested and switched on. Data from it has been copied and its quality has been assessed as good," the news agency quoted Zaiko, who is heading the crash probe from the Russian side, as saying late Sunday.

Zaiko later told a Russian FM station that the black box was recording flight parameters until the very moment the Boeing 737-800 hit the ground.

Soon after the crash, investigators recovered the crashed plane's Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) known as Black Boxes. Aviation experts were of the opinion that since the flight records were severely damaged it is unlikely the cockpit voice and data recorders from the crashed jet will yield much information. Russia's airline regulator said it could take up to a month to decode the information.
21/03/16 Issac John/Mcclatchy/AviationPros

Flydubai 'recorders' will be examined by UAE team

Dubai: The UAE investigation team led by the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) has located the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) which are known as 'Flight Recorders', the General Civil Aviation Authority said.

Saif Mohamed Al Suwaidi, director-general of the General Civil Aviation Authority, said: "The investigation team will analyse the recorded data to determine the aircraft technical performance and crew control inputs. The CVR contains all communications and records the last two hours of the flight."
23/03/16 Haseeb Halder/Khaleej Times

Flydubai confirms names of flight 981 passengers and crew

Dubai: Flydubai has confirmed the names of the 62 on board flight 981 who died on Saturday when the plane crashed in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

The flight crashed and exploded in the early hours of Saturday morning trying to land for a second time at the city’s airport killing all passengers and crew on board.

The airline released the passenger and crew manifest late on Tuesday night having earlier said it would only do so once it had contacted the families of all the victims.
"Flydubai confirms, with great sadness, the 62 fatalities as a result of the tragic accident of flight FZ981. This confirmation is made after contacting each family member. flydubai confirms the names of those who sadly lost their lives on Saturday March 19 2016, the airline said on its  website.

The two manifests match, however, with some slight variations due to Russia’s manifest being released in Russian and translated into English. Flydubai’s list also confirms the nationalities of the crew members, which the airline had already released. The Russian list only identified one crew member as Russian and the other six as foreign citizens.

“flydubai would like to express once again its deepest sympathies to all those who have lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy. The families of all those who have been affected by flight FZ981 remain our top priority,” flydubai chief executive Gaith Al Gaith said in a statement on Tuesday.

There were 44 Russians among the 55 passengers on board, there were also eight Ukrainians, two Indians and one Uzbekistan. They were 33 women, 18 men and four children. There were 7 crew members on board including two pilots. The pilots were from Spain and Cyprus. The five cabin crew members were each from Spain, Russia, Columbia, Seychelles and Kyrgyzstan.
23/03/16 Alexander Cornwell/Gulf News

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

2 Jet Airways crew members injured in Brussels airport explosions

Mumbai: Two Jet Airways cabin crew members were injured in the explosions at the Brussels airport on Tuesday morning. There was no damages to four of its Airbus A330 aircraft at the airport.

The explosions took place around 8 am near check-in counters of the departure level area teeming with passengers. Following the explosions the Brussels airport was shut and all flights cancelled.

“The two explosions went off within seconds. Before people could realise the first explsion a second bomb went off. There was scramble and all passengers made a scramble towards the exit,” said a passenger who who was travelling on Jet Airways flight to Mumbai.

Brussels is Jet Airways gateway in Europe. Daily two aircraft fly into  Brussels from Mumbai and Delhi and go onward to Newark and Toronto and with same pattern in the return leg.

Jet Airways flights from India, US and Canada had arrived into Brussels between 7.20 to 8.30 am today and were scheduled to depart on same routes at around 10.15 am.
22/03/16 Business Standard

Jet flight landed within minutes of Brussels airport blasts

New Delhi: Two Jet Airways flights — one from Delhi and the other from Mumbai — had landed just a little before the twin bomb blasts at the Brussels airport, data with aviation website Flightradar24 showed on Monday. The airline confirmed that two of its cabin crew were injured in the explosions.

According to the data with the website, Jet Airways flight 9W 228 from Mumbai landed at Brussels at 7.11 am local time while the one from Delhi 9W 230 landed at 8.08 am.

The Delhi flight would have reached Brussels just minutes after the bomb blast at the Departure airport at 8.00 am.
Twin explosions tore through the departure hall of the airport.
22/03/16 IANS/Tribune

Jet Airways Sees Greater Connectivity Between India And Europe

Jet Airways, India’s second largest airline, will launch two daily flights from India to Amsterdam and expects greater connectivity between India and Europe after shifting its base from Brussels to the Dutch capital.

The Mumbai-headquartered airline will operate two non-stop flights from Mumbai and Delhi to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport from March 27.

Jet Airways has relocated its European base to Amsterdam after being in Brussels for about nine years. The airline is also closing its Newark service as the route is not profitable.

It will also operate a daily flight to Toronto from Amsterdam.

Schedules of all three flights have been planned to allow quick, convenient and seamless connections between India and Toronto via Amsterdam, the airline said on Monday.

Jet Airways has also entered into a codeshare partnership with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Delta Air Lines to provide connections to and from destinations across Europe and North America via Amsterdam.

"We are delighted to announce the launch of our new daily services to Amsterdam. This is a significant step for Jet Airways and demonstrates our continuous endeavour to provide greater choice and better connections for our guests. The strategic codeshare partnerships with KLM and Delta will enable us to offer wider access, unmatched connectivity and seamless travel from India to key destinations in Europe and North America," said Gaurang Shetty, a director of Jet Airways.
21/03/16 Haider Ali Khan/Business World

All-clear for Dubai flight

Your more than six-month-long wait to catch an international flight from the new Chandigarh airport would end this summer. Private airline Indigo has obtained the necessary approval to launch Chandigarh-Dubai flight from Indian as well as Dubai authorities. The timing would be released in the summer schedule to commence from March 27. Highly-placed sources said an aircraft having a capacity of 180 seats would fly daily between the two cities.
Assistant solicitor general Chetan Mittal made a formal communication about the final clearance before the Punjab and Haryana high court through a status report on Monday. Mittal said Indigo currently has an unutilized allocation of seven flights/1,260 seats per week in each direction on Chandigarh-Dubai route and it would commence its operations in the forthcoming summer schedule of flights. The private airline confirmed about the commencement of international flight from Chandigarh to the ministry of civil aviation in its communication on March 18.
The proposal from Indigo was pending for past many years. Recently, the Dubai airport authorities had allotted a slot to the private airline for operating a Dubai-Chandigarh flight. Regarding the offer of Fly Dubai and Bulgarian airlines to operate Chandigarh-Dubai and Chandigarh-Sofia flights, the assistant solicitor general told the high court that the ministry of civil aviation has no objection but these airlines have to seek permission from their governments. It was stated that their governments should initiate diplomatic talks for amendments in existing bilateral agreement regarding allocation seats to run foreign flights.
22/03/16 Ajay Sura/The Times Of India

Russia may amend civil aviation rules after plane crash

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered officials on Monday to examine whether Russia's flight safety rules need to be tightened up after a passenger jet crashed in southern Russia killing all 62 people on board.

Investigators were trying to repair the damaged voice recorder recovered from the plane, so they could recreate the conversations of the pilots in the moments before their Boeing 737-800 slammed into the ground.

The plane, operated by Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai, crashed in the early hours of Saturday at Rostov-on-Don airport in southern Russia in strong, gusting winds on its second attempt to land.

Medvedev told the government to analyse the reasons behind the crash.

"If there are some technological issues, then they should be analysed and, at the conclusion of that analysis, proposals should be made to the government so that some amendments can be made to technical equipment, if that's needed, or to the rules that exist in our country's aviation," he said, without elaborating.

The stricken plane's flight data recorder survived largely intact, but the cockpit voice recorder - which should shed light on the pilots' final conversations before the crash - was badly damaged and needs to be restored.

That process could take weeks, officials have said.

There is so far no suggestion of terrorism.

Russian media say the two main theories under consideration by investigators are possible pilot error or a technical failure.
21/03/16 Deccan Chronicle

Air India Express to increase UAE frequency; offer free food

Indian budget carrier Air India Express will increase the number of flights connecting the UAE and India by doubling its daily flights from the UAE to Mumbai and Delhi.

Starting this summer, Air India Express will increase the number of weekly flights in the India UAE sector from the current 107 weekly flights to 146 flights per week, with twice-a-day service to Mumbai and New Delhi starting next month.

The carrier earlier faced protests over the cancellation of some flights to and from the Gulf.

K Shyam Sunder, Chief Executive Officer, Air India Express, said the carrier is trying to connect 12 Indian cities with four emirates in the UAE using six new leased Boeing 737 aircraft that will be added to the existing fleet.

In addition to starting twice daily services to Mumbai and New Delhi, the carrier will start four flights a week from Ras Al Khaimah International Airport to Calicut from later this month (March 28).

A formal inauguration of the Ras Al Khaimah-Calicut flight was held at the VIP Launch of Ras Al Khaimah airport.

As per the new summer schedule of the carrier, Dubai-Mumbai and Sharjah-Mumbai daily flights will begin April 7, 2016, utilising the leased aircraft from General Electric Capital Aviation Services, a US-based leasing company.
22/03/16 VM Sathish/Emirates 247

Brussels attack: No Indian causality so far, says Swaraj

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday confirmed there are no reports of any Indian causality in the twin bomb attack at the Brussels airport.

Swaraj said that the Indian Embassy in Brussels will provide all necessary assistance to the Indians stuck in Belgium, adding that she has spoken to Ambassador Manjit Puri in this regard.

"I am in touch with Mr Manjeev Puri Indian Ambassador in Brussels. He has informed me that so far there is no report of any Indian casualty," Swaraj tweeted.

"However, an Indian lady crew member of Jet Airways is injured. She has been rushed to the hospital. Please do not worry. Indian Embassy in Brussels will provide all assistance," she further said in series of tweets.

Meanwhile, the government has issued high alert at all airports and metro stations of the country.
22/03/16 ANI/Business Standard

23 killed as terror strikes Brussels' Zaventem airport and metro station

Brussels: At least 23 people were killed as two deadly explosions rocked the Zaventem airport and another the main metro station here on Tuesday, four days after the arrest of the Paris terror attack suspect in the Belgian capital.

In what looked like a coordinated terror strike, a suicide bomber was apparently involved in the airport carnage where two quick explosions just after 8 a.m. left a part of the departure hall looking like a war zone. At least 13 people were killed and over 30 injured, Belgian media said.

Even as Belgium raised its terror alert to the maximum, a third equally powerful blast occurred -- at the Maalbeek Metro station near the European Union building killing at least 10 people.

An Indian woman crew member of Jet Airways, which had just landed at Brussels, was injured and rushed to a hospital, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted. The plane had taken off from Delhi.

It was not immediately clear how the crew member got wounded. An hour earlier, another Jet plane had landed -- from Mumbai.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel appealed to people to "avoid any movement". The airport was hurriedly evacuated and both the airport and Metro station were shut down.

Belga news agency reported that shots were fired and shouts in Arabic were heard before the two blasts, BBC said.

People were seen coming out of the airport building with blood on their faces.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "News from Brussels is disturbing. The attacks are condemnable. Condolences to the families of the deceased. May those injured recover quickly."

Initial reports said the blasts were centred at the American Airlines check-in desk. The false ceiling in that building came crashing down while all the glass windows, furniture and machinery were shattered.

A later report said one explosion occurred at the departure area, where public access was easy, and another at the runway.

BBC and most media outlets said several people were killed at the airport. Belgian broadcaster RTBF quoted hospital sources to say that 10 people had been killed and 30 injured. Daily Mail of London put the death toll at 13.

Pictures showed the terminal windows blown out from the force of the explosion and plumes of smoke rising high into the sky. Video also showed terrified passengers running for their lives out of the terminal.
22/03/16 IANS/Business Standard

Bomb blast at Brussels Airport: Bollywood singer Abhijeet’s wife and son trapped

Several people were killed when the two explosions devastated the departure area of the Zaventem airport in the Belgian capital on Tuesday morning, triggering panic. There is no Indian among the casualties following two massive explosions

Singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya on Tuesday said that his wife and son were safe at the Brussels airport where two explosions were reported killing 11 and injuring many.

“#Brussels jet spoke to my wife and son at #BrusselsAirport..They r bn evacuated to a safe zone God is great,” tweeted playback singer Abhijeet.

Twin blasts ripped through the Brussels airport and shortly after another blast was reported at the Maelbeek Metro station, which is located near European Union.
22/03/16 Siasat Daily

Pilots ‘worked to death’: Flydubai whistleblower says fatigue-related crash predicted

An accident involving a Flydubai plane was inevitable, a former Flydubai captain told RT on condition of anonymity. He revealed that pilots are forced to work while exhausted, while saying he had been “worked to death” despite complaints.

Speaking to RT in Doha, the former pilot said Flydubai’s top management was aware of the issue, but had done nothing to resolve it. “When I was still at the company, one of the last things I told management is that there would be an accident because of pilot fatigue,” he said.

The reason for fatigue is simple – pilots are being repeatedly overworked and not given enough time to sleep between flights.

The whistleblower provided documents showing that pilots, junior pilots in particular, are being assigned multiple flight shifts in a row. He argued that the crew often does not have enough time for sleep readjustment.
“Everybody at the company has these dangerous shifts from day flight to night flight, and then back to a day flight, and then back to a night flight, and it has definitely been a big issue for a long time.”

The former captain added he was sure that sleep deprivation had contributed to the Flydubai flight FZ981 crash in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, which killed all 62 passengers and crew on board.

“The way that [Flydubai] … builds the schedules does not account for circadian rhythm … they do not allow pilots to get the right amount of rest, or the proper rest before a flight, and that is exactly what both of these pilots were, the situation that they were in, for sure,” the pilot said.

RT also obtained the flight log of the co-captain of flight FZ981, which revealed that Alejandro Cruz Alava had worked for 11 days with only one day off prior to the crash. The whistleblower commented on the documents, stating that Alava had been transferred from day flights to night flights without being given enough time to readjust his sleep pattern.
22/03/16 RT Online

FlyDubai CEO Defends Decision to Land Plane in Bad Weather Before Fatal Crash

FlyDubai’s top executive said conditions for landing were appropriate when one of its flights crashed at a windy airport in southern Russia, even though three other carriers rerouted flights to other destinations.

“As far as the operation of the flight, the airport was open, it was good enough to operate and it was good enough to land, as per the authorities,” Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer of the Middle Eastern budget carrier, told reporters Sunday at a press conference in Dubai.
Ultimately, the pilot makes the final decision to land based on the best information available and in coordination with the authorities, Ghaith said. All FlyDubai aircraft operate with enough fuel to circle in the air or divert to another airport, he said, without specifying how much.

Investigators began work by examining the two flight recorders, known as black boxes, recovered after the jet broke apart while trying to land in gusty winds in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, killing all 62 people on board. Flight FZ981, a Boeing Co. 737-800 with 55 passengers and seven crew, was making a repeat landing attempt in poor weather about 3:40 a.m. when it crashed and burst into flames.
21/03/16  Deena Kamel Yousef and Henry Meyer/Insurance Journal

Flydubai crash: Late night party, lost passport save 2 lives

Duibai: A long night of partying saved a Russian woman from death on board the ill-fated FZ981, Russian media has reported.

Elvira Isaeva, 33, told Russia's LifeNews that she was in the UAE for a vacation and was out celebrating a friend's birthday on Friday night. She overslept the next day and missed her airport transfer, as well as flight FZ981.

"It was just sheer luck," she said. "I just overslept. That's it."

She added that she woke up to the news the next day, but didn't understand the magnitude of what happened until later on.

"I woke-up to a phone-call from Rostov, where I bought the tour (to the UAE)," she is quoted as saying. "I didn't even understand what they meant when some trembling voice asked me 'are you alive'?"

"I said yes and went back to bed," she added. "And then, when I woke up and turned on the news. I was horrified. I don't know, is it my luck, a guardian angel watching over me or my mother's prayers, but I'm in dismay."

Isaeva -- who is still planning to fly back to Russia on flydubai -- said she was saddened by the loss of people with whom she shared happy times while on vacation.
21/03/16 Khaleej Times

Experts Say Weather, Not Glitch, Likely Cause of FlyDubai Crash

Officials have yet to identify the cause of FlyDubai Flight FZ981's crash at Rostov-on-Don airport in Southern Russia on Saturday, but preliminary reports indicate either pilot error or a technical failure were the likely culprits. Meanwhile, independent aviation experts cast doubt on the developing official narrative, and instead pointed to dangerous wind conditions as the likely cause.

“I see a clear tendency to blame everything on the crew,” said Vadim Lukashevich, a Russian aerospace engineer who has worked for Sukhoi, one of Russia's primary aircraft design firms. “In my understanding, an error on the part of airport management must also be considered. If they closed the airport, people would have been saved,” he said.

Lukashevich was referring to reportedly dangerous weather conditions around the Rostov-on-Don airport on Saturday.

While conditions did not technically surpass the threshold to be considered unsafe, the FlyDubai aircraft was not the only plane to experience difficulties landing that day. As such, air traffic should have been closed, Lukashevich said.

The plane, operated by a low-cost subsidiary of Emirates airlines, first attempted to land two hours before it crashed, killing all 62 people aboard. The pilot apparently attempted to abort his second landing attempt at an altitude of 900 meters, but the aircraft suddenly dropped and exploded.
21/03/16  Anastasia Bazenkova/The Moscow Times

Black-box data retrieved from flydubai plane

Moscow: Russian investigators said on Monday they had been able to retrieve data from a damaged cockpit voice recorder recovered from the scene of a plane crash at the weekend in southern Russia that killed all 62 people on board.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered officials to examine whether Russia's flight safety rules needed to be tightened up after the crash, which happened as the Boeing 737-800 tried to land at a regional airport in strong, gusting wind.

Questions have been raised about why the aircraft went ahead with its attempts to land when another jet heading for the same airport a short while earlier had diverted elsewhere because of the bad weather.

The crashed jet, operated by Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai, came down in the early hours of Saturday at Rostov-on-Don airport in southern Russia on its second attempt to land after flying from Dubai.

The Dubai government said on Twitter that Flydubai would resume flights from Rostov-on-Don on Tuesday. Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said other flights to and from the city had resumed. The airport was closed for a time after the crash.
22/03/16 Khaleej Times

Flydubai crash: Mother of Indian victim hospitalised

Dubai: Their children are dead. And they can’t even cremate them. “We now know that there are no proper remains,” Prasanth K.V. told Gulf News

He is Shyam Mohan and Anju’s brother-in-law, the young Indian couple who were working as ayurvedic masseuses at a spa in Rostov-on-Don and died in the plane crash early Saturday morning.

Speaking to the newspaper from the family home in Perumbavoor, Kerala, he said that health officials from the Ernakulam District Collector’s office had collected blood samples from Mohan’s parents and Anju’s mother and brother on Sunday, at around 9pm.

“The blood samples were sent to New Delhi yesterday and from there to Rostov-on-Don in Russia, to match the DNA, for the identification of the remains.”
22/02/16 Gulf News

Monday, March 21, 2016

Jet Airways announces daily non-stop flights from Amsterdam to Delhi, Mumbai from March 27

New Delhi: Jet Airways today announced launch of daily non-stop flights between India and Amsterdam from March 27, 2016, thus, shifting its base in Europe from Brussels to Amsterdam.
Jet Airways will operate two daily non-stop flights from its international hubs in Mumbai and Delhi, to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. "Jet Airways will also operate a daily flight to Toronto from Amsterdam. Schedules of all three flights have been planned to allow quick, convenient and seamless connections between India and Toronto via Amsterdam," said a release from the carrier.
On the airline shifting its base to Amsterdam from Brussels, Guaran Shetty, wholetime Director, Jet Airways, said: "Customers want option and we are providing them one more option and we expect this flight to be a success."
21/03/16 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

Thai AirAsia adds India link

Bangok: Thai AirAsia will inaugurate a daily flight service connecting Thailand’s Bangkok (Don Mueang Airport) to Kochi, in India, starting 16 May.
The airline CEO, Tassapon Bijleveld, said the intent was to serve, not only major tourist cities, but also economically important destinations such as industrial hubs and port towns.
“The new service ensures Thai AirAsia is the first Thai airline to operate a direct flight to Kochi, adding to its list of Indian destinations, which includes Chennai and Bangalore.”
He said: “The AirAsia brand is already recognisable in India following the success of our Chennai and Bangalore routes, which both saw load factors of 84% in 2015… on the new route, we expect to achieve load factors over 85% within the first three months as well as further growth in the future.”
Kochi is both an important port city and industrial hub for India, and has maintained an economic growth rate of 8.3% per year, making it a rapidly developing economic city.
21/03/16 Wanwisa Ngamsangchaikit/TRWeekly

Custom officials seize 146 tortoises at Mumbai Airport

Mumbai: The Custom officials on Sunday seized 146 tortoises from a mishandled baggage of a Nepal citizen at the Mumbai airport.

The incident happened when the Jet Airways staff brought one left behind baggage to officers of Air Intelligence Unit (AIU), saying that some suspicious images (shell like) had been noticed by GVK Security.

The bag was said to belong to a transit passenger, who arrived from Madagascar and flew to Kathmandu leaving this bag behind. Officers of Air Intelligence Unit examined the bag and recovered and seized 146 tortoises.

Out of the 146 tortoises, 139 were Radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) and seven were Angonoka tortoises (Astrochelys yniphora), both critically endangered tortoise species of Madagascar.
Two radiated tortoises were found dead with broken shell.
20/03/16 ANI/Deccan Chronicle

FlyDubai crash: Kerala couple's relatives send DNA samples to Dubai

Authorities on Monday sent blood samples of the relatives of a young couple from Kerala Shyam Mohan and his wife Anju, who were among 62 killed in the FlyDubai passenger jet crash, to Russia for DNA test to identify their bodies.

A close relative of Mohan said a team of health officials from Ernakulam district administration collected blood samples of his parents and Anju's mother and brother last night for the purpose of conducting DNA test.
"The blood samples have been sent to New Delhi this morning. It will be sent to Russia via foreign office to conduct DNA matching," he said.

Relatives said they were informed that DNA matching has to be done with the remains of passengers and crew of the flight to identify the bodies.

Mohan and Anju were among 62 passengers who were killed when the Dubai airliner --FlyDubai Boeing 737 -- crashed while trying to land in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday.

The couple hailed from Vengola village, near Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district. Both were working as therapists at an Ayurvedic spa in Russia.

Officials said the state government and Lok Sabha MP Innocent are in touch with the External Affairs Ministry to complete formalities involved in bringing the couple's mortal remains back to Kerala.
21/03/16 PTI/The News Minute

FlyDubai Plane Flight Data Recorders Severely Damaged

Moscow: Black boxes from the FlyDubai FZ981 flight, which crashed on Saturday in Russia on its way from Dubai, have severe damages, Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC or MAK) said in a statement on Sunday.
On Saturday, the FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 crashed on landing at Rostov-on-Don airport, killing all 62 people on board, most of them Russians. MAK is carrying out the inquiry together with the Russian Investigative Committee.
There were 44 Russians, eight Ukrainians, two Indians and one Uzbek national among the 55 passengers onboard the crashed plane. The seven crew members were from Russia, Cyprus, Spain, the Seashells, Columbia and Kyrgyzstan.
The statement added that IAC specialists in cooperation with the specialists from France and the United Arab Emirates had already started the preparations for the analysis of the information recorded by the black boxes.
Investigators earlier found the crashed plane's first and second flight data recorders, and its first voice recorder.
The Investigative Committee presented three versions of the cause of the tragedy: a technical fault, severe weather conditions and human error.
20/03/16 Sputnik 

Top Russian Investigator Flags FlyDubai Crash as Special Case

Moscow: Russia’s chief investigator Alexander Bastrykin held an emergency meeting in Rostov-on-Don on Sunday where he ordered the Investigative Committee to prioritize the case of FlyDubai’s Boeing crash, Committee's spokesman Vladimir Markin said in a statement.

On Saturday, FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 plane coming from Dubai crashed while attempting landing amid poor weather conditions at the Rostov-on-Don Airport (ROV). All people on board, including 55 passengers and seven crew members, died in the crash.
"During his visit to the crash site, Alexander Bastrykin inspected the work of a team of criminal investigators… and made several orders, including handing the criminal case over to the Investigative Committee’s department dealing with particularly important cases for further investigation," Markin's statement.
So far, the Committee's investigators have interviewed more than 40 people, including relatives of the crash victims, airport staff, air traffic controllers, and representatives of the UAE-based FlyDubai low cost carrier, as well as experts from the Rostov Meteorological Center, Markin added.
20/03/16 Sputnik

FlyDubai aircraft was fully fit. So, what went wrong?

Dubai: Given that the flydubai flight FZ981 crash happened only 36 hours ago (at the time of going to press), there will be a lot of information that will be collated in the time to come which will help form the basis of the investigation and the eventual report detailing what happened and why.

There are a few facts that we already know.

We know the airplane in question, a Boeing 737-800 operating as FZ981, built in 2011 as A6-FDN, had a major C-check in January 2016 and was fully fit for service. By any metric, this is a very young airplane. A 737 takes off or lands somewhere in the world every 3 seconds.

The 737-800, that is part of the flydubai fleet, has a dispatch reliability rate of 99.77 per cent and flydubai's fleet operates with a daily utilisation rate of about 14 hours - one of the highest of any 737 operators, demonstrating its high reliability rate.

It's frankly impossible to find a better airplane anywhere in the industry to even come close to this when you compare numbers like these. The 737 isn't Boeing's biggest selling and fastest selling jet without good reason. It is a piece of engineering brilliance and perfection.

Put simply, the 737 family is one of the safest airplanes you could ever hope to fly. Its evolution on a technical, engineering and safety basis is beyond amazing and jets like this simply do not fall out of the sky without a very good reason.

Based on the information at hand, it does not appear that there was any mechanical or structural failing of the 737-800 and this is supported by the fact that the jet circled for almost two hours after its first landing attempt. If there was something amiss, then I am sure that the pilots would have declared an emergency landing, but as we know, there was no distress signal or mayday call.

Weather, as well as human aspects will be investigated. Until information from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders is not extracted, we simply have no idea at this stage what the pilots were encountering as they attempted to land for a second time.
21/03/16 Saj Ahmad/Khaleej Times

Flydubai crash: Language barrier 'an issue' for pilots globally

Dubai: While both pilots and the air traffic controllers (ATC) on the ground follow (International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) rules, language barriers and wide-ranging accents can still pose problems.

“You must speak English. That’s the rule,” says Andrew Charlton, managing director of Aviation Advocacy based in Switzerland. “The ICAO rule commands both pilots and controllers on the ground be able to speak English. Of course, they can also talk in local languages approved by ICAO.”

This is how it works. The official ICAO language may be used as a secondary language provided both the ATC and pilot speak the language. The ATC, however, must still be able to control in English.

The ill-fated flydubai flight FZ981 from Dubai to Russian city of Rostov-on-Don was flown by Captain Aristos Sokratous from Cyprus and Alejandro Cruz Alava, the plane’s co-pilot, of Spanish origin.

“Globally, it is an issue. The ICAO standards limit you to technical English. The problem occurs when it’s not quite by the book,” a pilot told Gulf News on the basis on anonymity.
“Diverse accents and languages can become a problem sometimes, especially if it’s beyond the minimum [ICAO] requirement … when it’s something conversational. That’s when [communicating with] ATC becomes an issue,” the pilot added.
21/03/16 Shweta Jain/Gulf News

FlyDubai representatives arrive in Rostov-on-Don

Representatives from the FlyDubai airline company that owned the Boeing passenger airliner which crashed at the Rostov airport have arrived in Rostov-on-Don.

They have begun studying the materials relating to the air crash, a representative of the regional emergency headquarters in charge of the clean-up operation said on Sunday.

The group consists of 14 people, an airport source told Interfax.
20/03/16 Interfax/Russia Beyond Headlines

‘No worries, they were Russians’: Latvian police officer under fire over Flydubai crash ‘joke’

Police in Riga have rushed to apologize and are looking into a case of unacceptable behavior after one officer wrote on his Facebook page that he saw nothing tragic about the Flydubai Boeing 737 crash, as most of its passengers had been Russians.
A reaction to the outrageous comment was quick to follow, with the head of Riga Municipal Police making a statement on Sunday, promising that the case would be looked into and the offender punished accordingly.

“In connection with this tragic incident, one of the employees of the Riga municipal police posted an unacceptable comment on social networks,” the statement by Juris Lucas reads.

“Having realized the incongruity of his actions, the employee in question has removed the comments and apologized for the statement, expressing condolences to the relatives of the people who died in the tragedy,” the police chief said.
21/03/16 RT

First ultra long range Falcon 8X set for delivery to Indian operator by end of 2016

Hyderabad: Dassault Aviation presented its fleet of Falcon large cabin, long range business jets at India Aviation, India's biggest civilian aviation exhibition.

The fifth edition of this prestigious event, which opened on March 16 at Hyderabad Begumpet Airport, featured Dassault's popular 4,000 nm/7,410 km range Falcon 2000LXS widebody twinjet.

Dassault is the Indian market leader for large cabin, long range aircraft, with 22 aircraft currently in service and several more on order. This position stems in part from the Indian Air Force's long experience with Dassault fighters, whose advanced technologies, notably digital flight control, served as the basis for that on the Falcon 7X.

"We expect the country's accelerating economic growth to translate into rising Falcon sales going forward," said Dassault Aviation Chairman/CEO Eric Trappier. "No other business jet line is more suited to local requirements, whether it be in terms of cabin design, flying performance, fuel economy or versatility, than Falcon."

Dassault's popular Falcon 2000 twinjet - now approaching the 600th production mark - accounts for the largest portion of the present Indian fleet. Sales are currently being driven by the Falcon 2000LXS, the newest edition in the 2000 line, which offers a short-field capability comparable to smaller midsize and super midsize business jet models but with a range and comfort level far better than these aircraft.

This summer, the Falcon 2000 line will be certified to carry Dassault's new FalconEye Combined Vision System option, allowing the LXS and the shorter range Falcon 2000S entry level jet to be offered with this revolutionary head up display, the first in the industry to meld synthetic and enhanced vision capabilities.
21/03/16 Theodore Koumelis/Travel Daily News

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Two foreign firms in for Maldives' new airport terminal

Two foreign contractors have applied to develop a new terminal at the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), Haveeru has found.

However, airport operator Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has so far refused to confirm the reports.

MACL Managing Director Adil Moosa told Haveeru on Sunday that the contract to develop the new terminal worth between USD300-350 million will be signed in the next two months. However, Adil also refused to confirm the number of companies interested in the project.

"The parties that have expressed interest are globally renowned firms at airport development. We are now working to evaluate the bids and sign the contract at the end of next month or early May," he explained.

Development of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) is a key development project undertaken by the government. The airport, an important infrastructure in the Maldives tourism-based economy, is also a defining factor in local politics as had been seen with the GMR fiasco in 2012.

The government of President Mohamed Naseed had in 2010 leased the airport to Indian infrastructure giant GMR to develop and manage it. The issue of a foreign company managing one of the key assets of the country became central to the opposition protests which ultimately forced the resignation of President Nasheed on February 7, 2012.

Nasheed’s successor later annulled the agreement with GMR, causing unprecedented rifts in the bilateral relations between the Maldives and its closest neighbour, India.

Meanwhile, The government of Saudi Arabia has assured to expedite the loan of USD 100 million (MVR 1.5 billion) from the Saudi Fund for Development to develop the Maldives’ main airport, announced the finance ministry late Saturday.
20/03/16 Mohamed Visham and Abdullah Jameel/Haveeru Online

Russian air crash leaves a Kerala family shell-shocked

Kochi: They were huddled in front of the TV hoping against anguished hope, watching the rescue team in Russia sifting through the plane wreckage. Until the names of their kin flashed on the screen, as the two Indians who died in the crash.

Some of them were too shocked to react, some broke into tears, one of them fainted.

Little did members of the Chamakkala House in Perumbavur know that the celebratory goodbye that their son, Mohan Shyam made while for Russia with his wife Anju Kathivel Ayyappan would plunge them into mourning so swiftly. The newly wed couple lost their lives when their FlyDubai flight crashed in the Southern Russia city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday.

"Shyam and Anju were seen off from the airport only on Thursday night and in less than 48 hours, we are at their home to mourn their death’’, Raghunath, Shyam’s uncle said.

Shyam, 27 and Anju, 27 have been in Russia, where Anju used to work as a Panchakarma nurse in an ayurvedic clinic. Married on November 2, 2014, they had been in Kerala for a two-month long vacation. The couple left for Russia on Thursday night from Nedumbassery airport to Dubai, from where they boarded the ill-fated carrier in the wee hours of Saturday.

Anju, who began her career as an Ayurveda nurse in New Delhi, had been working in Russia for the last four years. Shyam Mohan, who pursued a physiotherapy course after the marriage, joined his wife last year.

Shyam’s father Mohan is a carpenter and mother Sheeja a house wife at Vengola village near Perumbavoor. Anju, daughter of the late Kathirvelil Ayyappan, was a native of Panichiyam in Kottappadi near here. She is survived by mother Geetha and brother Ajith.
20/03/16 The Hindu

FlyDubai pays $20,000 per crash victim to family

Dubai : Dubai-based low-cost carrier FlyDubai said on Sunday it will pay $20,000 per victim following the crash of its plane from Dubai to Russia.
The airline said it was their priority to identify and contact the families of those killed in the accident and provide immediate support to those affected by Saturday's tragedy, Xinhua reported.
"FlyDubai will additionally organise a programme of hardship payments to the families amounting to $20,000 per passenger, in accordance with our conditions of carriage, with the aim of addressing the immediate financial needs," it said.
The FlyDubai flight 981, which came from Dubai, was making its second attempt to land at the Rostov-on-Don airport at 3.50 p.m. (Moscow time) on Saturday when it missed the runway and crashed.
"We ensure the highest standards of investigations and express our deep condolences to the family members of the victims and the crew," said CEO Ghaith Al-Ghaith on Saturday.
20/03/16 New Kerala

An Indian Air Hostess Writes An Emotional Farewell To Her Colleagues On The FlyDubai Aircraft That Crashed In Russia

FlyDubai flight FZ981 from Dubai to Russia crashed in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, killing 62 people onboard, including the crew and passengers, two of them who were from Kerala.
Gilu Joseph, an Indian Air Hostess working with FlyDubai is still in the shock of losing five of her loved colleagues in the accident.

In an emotional Facebook post, Gilu bids a teary-eyed adieu to her friends.
"Thanks to everyone who called me or got in touch with me through Facebook and messages after hearing about what happened to the FlyDubai flight.
Even though I am alive, I lost five people whom I knew very closely. It will take more than a day, may be an entire lifetime to get out of this shock.
Some of my close friends are a bit scared to board the flight, I used to joke about them on this.
In the six years of my life in air, I have gone through a lot of stories and experiences.
From now every time the flight lands, I will feel it in my heart, not because of  fear, but over the lose of my friends, some of them who were together with me even till last week.
FlyDubai is a family which grows in number every day. Earlier everyone used to know everyone else, but now there are a lot of new people in the airline who don't know each other.
But on the ill-fated flight were people like  Laura, who shared a lot of fun and joy when we flew together, and even more loveable friend Maxim.
Still can't believe that such an incident has happened and two ever smiling, always pleasant and helpful people are gone.
Life is a drama with huge twits. The direction of God, who makes the spectators go from crying to a state of being frozen, is a really strange one.
Last week while flying together with Laura, just for time-pass I had learned some Spanish words, one of them was "Te echo de menos" (I miss you). Today it has happened that I have to tell the same to you, my friend.
We will miss you guys and you will be remembered forever. You are never gone , you will live among us in our hearts.."
The post was originally published in Malayalm on Gilu Joseph's Facebook account.
20/03/16 Bobins Abraham/India Times

Flydubai crash pilot was about to quit airline

Dubai: Aristos Sokratous, the Cypriot pilot of the flydubai jet that crashed in southern Russia, had informed the airline that he was leaving for a job with Ryanair on Monday, a source close to Sokratous told Gulf News.

Sokratous, recently married and expecting a son with his wife, was just days away from starting a new life back home in Cyprus.

The friend told The Associated Press that Socratous was an experienced pilot who had no complaints or problems with flydubai. He said Sokratous was "very happy" about flydubai promoting him to full captain a year and a half ago.

The president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, sent his condolences to the family of Sokratous.
20/03/16 Gulf News

Russian plane crash: Last words from cockpit of doomed Flydubai 981

The Flydubai jumbo jet smashed into the ground and burst into flames as it was approaching Rostov-on-Don airport in southern Russia at about 3.50am local time.

In the audio recording the voice of plane's captain Cypriot Aristos Socratous and co-pilot Spaniard Alejandro Álava Cruz can be heard asking air traffic control whether it is safe to land.

The conversation is in English and Russian and shows their concern about the weather conditions and visibility.
The pilots are heard on the radio talking to the air traffic controllers with both sides discussing the increasingly bad weather.

The plane crashed inside the airport's perimeter about 250 yards short of the start of the runway during its second landing approach amid horrific weather conditions.
The plane's wing hit the ground on the second landing attempt and burst into flames.

All passengers – including 33 women, 18 men and 4 children and – seven crew members were killed in the tragedy.

And there may have been three foreign victims aboard the plane, according to reports which have yet to be confirmed.
19/03/16 Patrick Knox/Daily Star

Flydubai plane crash is airline's first tragedy

Dubai: After nearly seven years of operations, flydubai saw its first tragedy on Saturday when one of its aircraft crashed in Russia killing all passengers and crew on board.

Flydubai started operations in June 2009 with a maiden flight to Beirut in Lebanon. The airline instantly started turning heads. Set up by the government of Dubai to replicate the success of European and American low cost carriers it ordered 50 Boeing 737-800s in 2008.

On Saturday, flydubai flight 981 carrying 62 passengers and crew crashed and exploded attempting to land at an airport in Rostov-on-Don in southwestern Russia exactly 8 years after the airline was set up on March 19, 2008. It launched flights 15 months later in 2009.
19/03/16 Alexander Cornwell/Gulf News

Crashed FlyDubai Boeing Sent No SOS Messages

The crashed FlyDubai Boeing's pilot did not send SOS messages, the company's CEO said. Ghaith al-Ghaith ruled out a bomb attack as a possible cause of the plane's crash in Russia.

"What is the cause…we will wait and see until the investigation is over, to early to see… There is no doubt that there was no bomb aboard,"" al-Ghaith told reporters.

FlyDubai Boeing 737-800 plane coming from Dubai crashed at about 03:50 Moscow time (00:50 GMT) on Saturday while attempting landing amid poor weather conditions at the Rostov-on-Don Airport (ROV). All 62 people on board, 55 passengers and seven crew members, died in the crash.

"FlyDubai airline will release the first results of the investigation [into the crash] within a month," al-Ghaith added.

Investigators earlier found the crashed plane's first and second flight data recorders, and its first voice recorder.
The Investigative Committee presented three versions of the cause of the tragedy: a technical fault, severe weather conditions and human error.
19/03/16 Sputnik News

‘Flight commander makes final decision to land in bad weather conditions’

A properly trained pilot should be able to land under harsh weather such conditions, Oleg Smirnov, former deputy civil aviation minister of the USSR, told RT.
A Boeing 737 passenger plane belonging to budget carrier Flydubai crashed in Rostov-on-Don in south-west Russia on Saturday morning. Sixty-two people including 6 crew members were killed in the accident.
RT: If the first landing attempt fails, is it the pilot or ground control who makes the decision to try a second time?

Oleg Smirnov: All the international rule and regulations assign this right to the commander of the crew. It is his call, it is just the crew commander; he is in charge, he makes the decision.
RT: Another plane trying to land there around the same time decided to divert to another city - why didn't the FlyDubai jet do the same?

OS: Well, it is a good question and it really reveals the extent of professionalism. The crew which made the decision to divert and go to another airfield after analyzing weather conditions at Rostov Airport…
RT: As we know so far, there were rain and heavy winds of around 22 m/sec. How dangerous are such conditions for landing a plane?

OS: Exactly, like I was saying, the crew commander, which made this decision acted professionally. And the pilot who made a decision to go for the landing and who failed – this was unprofessional. Of course, strong wind is a problem when landing. But such weather conditions do not absolutely prevent you from landing. A properly trained pilot should be able to land under such conditions, and he should be able to land safely. If he is not confident or if he is not properly trained he has to divert to another airfield.
19/03/16 RT

Ugandan held at Delhi Airport for smuggling Rs 7.5 lakh worth cocaine, 109 grams of contraband recovered

New Delhi: CISF today arrested a Ugandan national in connection with smuggling of Rs 7.5 lakh worth contraband item, which is suspected to be cocaine, today at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The accused who has been identified as Webula Micheal  was trying to smuggle 109 gms of contraband item from Delhi to Bangalore around 10 AM at Terminal-III of IGIA.
Security personnel carried out a thorough frisking during which, they said, a total of 109 grams of narcotics suspected to be cocaine was recovered from his baggage.
They said Micheal was later handed over to anti-narcotics sleuths who arrested him under relevant laws.
19/03/16 India Today

Saturday, March 19, 2016

FICCI pitches for 100% FDI in aviation sector

Hyderabad: India should go for 100% FDI in airlines sector to realise the full potential of the country’s aviation industry, a joint report of FICCI-KPMG has suggested.
The report was released yesterday at the ongoing India Aviation show 2016 here. Noting the rapid growth that Indian civil aviation sector has been witnessing over the past few years, the report pitched for open sky policy and urged the government to finalise the civil aviation policy at the earliest to resolve the vexed issue of international flying norms for local carriers.
At present, government allows up to 49% investment by a foreign airline in an Indian carrier. However, it has proposed to hike it to over 50% in the draft policy unveiled in October last year.
“For super-charging growth in the aviation sector, urgent remedial measures are required. India needs to be promoted as a trade and tourism hub in order to derive synergistic benefits for the aviation industry. Leading aviation hubs like the US, EU, UAE, Singapore and China have a robust industrial, trading, maritime and tourism ecosystem that both supports and benefits from their aviation sector,” the report said and called for close collaboration between Ministry of Civil Aviation and related ministries.
18/03/16 Tribune India

Ethiopian Airlines to launch additional flight from Delhi

African carrier Ethiopian Airlines will start an additional daily flight from the national capital to Addis Ababa, taking the total number of departures from the country to 28 per week.

Besides, the airline is looking to start operations from Chennai or Bengaluru in the near future, a senior official said today.

At present, the carrier operates two daily flights from Mumbai and one from the national capital.

All the flights fly to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

“We have great interest in India. We will be launching our second frequency from Delhi in the coming summer season, that is end of March.

“This will make the total frequency to 28 (per week), 14 each from Mumbai and Delhi,” Ethiopian Airlines Regional Director (India Sub-Continent) Tadesse Tilahun told reporters here.

The airline has seen over 77 per cent load factor — an indicator of seat occupancy — on its Delhi flight and also improved demand.
18/03/16 Geeska Afrika Online

Indonesia looks to increase Indian arrivals to 350,000 in 2016-17

Boosted by the free visa entry initiative for Indians by the Republic of Indonesia, the Indonesian ministry of tourism is looking to increase Indian tourist numbers. Speaking at the second convention of the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) at the Pan Pacific Nirvana Resort in Bali today, Taufik Nurhidayat, deputy director, ministry of tourism, Republic of Indonesia, said, “This year we are looking to increase the number of Indian visitors to Indonesia to 350,000 from the current 118,000. Already the India market has shown a 35 to 40 per cent growth year on year over the past three years.
The visa free access and hopefully direct flight connectivity will boost these numbers. We are hoping Air India and our own national carrier, Garuda Indonesia, will start direct flights soon. Both airlines have the permissions but certain technicalities have to be worked out and probably in the next few months we will see some action.”
Nearly 240 delegates attended the convention which also saw an MoU being signed between the Turkish Indian Tourism Council (TITC) and OTOAI.
19/03/16 Steena Roy/Financial Express

Foreign student admits molesting girl on flight to Newark

Trenton: A student studying in the United States on a student visa admitted in federal court Friday that he molested a young teenage girl on a flight from India, court records show.
The student, Sushan Patil, pleaded guilty Friday before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson to one count of simple assault, records show.
According to a criminal complaint, Patil and a girl under the age of 16 were seated next to each other on a flight from Mumbai, India to Newark Liberty International Airport on Aug. 26, 2015 Patil and the girl did not know each other, it said.

During the flight, court records said, Patil touched the girl's breasts under her shirt, put his hand down her pants and touched her groin and buttocks through her clothing. When she resisted, he restrained her and squeezed or pinched her, records say.
The girl reported the assault to a member of the United Airlines crew, who confronted Patil, the criminal complaint says. It also says he admitted his acts.

Patil, who is living in Brooklyn while studying here, was arrested on arrival at Newark airport.
18/03/16 Tim Darragh/NJ.com