India removes restriction on air space usage

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday said in a tweet that it has removed all the temporary restrictions on all air routes in the Indian air space. The Indian Air Force had put temporary airspace restrictions on Indian air space on February 27.

The tweet is expected to set the ball rolling for Pakistan to remove similar restrictions that it has placed on use of its air space. The IAF put the air space restrictions a day after its fighter bombed Balakot in Pakistan territory.

The restrictions are being removed less than 24 hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his second term.

Incidentally, Pakistan had extended the restriction on Indian aircraft over flying its territory till June 15 earlier this week.

Explaining the process of removing the ban on the air space, sources said that on February 27 India did not allow any aircraft flying over Pakistan airspace to use any of the 11 to 12 entry and exit points into India which had been established and were open before that date.

Pakistan followed suit and it also banned all aircraft flying from India into its airspace to continue their onward journeys.
31/05/19 Business Line

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Soon, fly to foreign shores from Indore

Indore: The infrastructure for immigration services at Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport has been completed and the service will be started soon, said airport officials on Wednesday.
This came a day after Ministry of Home Affairs released a gazette notification designating Indore airport as an authorized immigration checkpost for international flyers.

“We have got authorization for immigration clearance from the Centre and the first international flight to Sharjah is expected soon,” said airport director Aryama Sanyal.

She said that permission for customs was already granted, and the only obstacle for airlines willing to start international flights to and from Indore was authorization for an immigration facility, which has also been cleared.

“We have everything in place, and only wait is for airlines to obtain necessary permission from DGCA and start international flights,” added Sanyal.

Currently, the airport sees around 54 domestic flights flight on a daily basis. And monthly passenger footfall has also gone up to 2.24 lakh.

Airport’s advisory committee member and former chairman of CII, Indore Ranjan Mimani said, “Infrastructure-wise, the airport is ready for quite some time now. We are now waiting for the first flight to take off. And Indore will then be listed as an international airport, and more carrier would come forward to introduce flights on international routes,” said Mimani while speaking to TOI.
30/05/19 Times of India

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Kozhikode team meets Emirates officials

Kozhikode: A delegation of business community in the city met the top officials of Emirates Airlines in Dubai on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum urging the airlines to resume wide-bodied flights from Karipur airport.
The delegation of Malabar Development Council and Malabar International Airport Committee was headed by MDC chairman C.E. Chakkunni, chief coordinator of Airport Development Committee. The team met the Emirates team headed by group vice-president Adel Ahmad Al-Redha, who is also the Chief Operating Officer of the company, at the Emirates headquarters, Dubai.
The delegation said that passengers from the region opt for the Emirates flights due to the excellent service and connectivity across the world. At present the sector is receiving international services from IndiGo, Spice Jet and Fly Dubai, which are flying at their maximum occupancy rate.
30/05/19 Deccan Chronicle

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KLM to increase flights to India, takes over Jet's slots at Amsterdam

KLM is increasing its flights to India and taking over slots it gave to Jet Airways at Amsterdam airport. Jet, which operated four daily flights from Amsterdam (Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Toronto), suspended operations on April 17. KLM is stepping in to fill up the capacity void caused by Jet’s grounding. From October end, the Dutch airline will launch thrice-weekly service from Amsterdam to Bengaluru and operate daily flight to Mumbai. Currently, it has a daily flight to Delhi and thrice-weekly service to Mumbai. “The thrice-weekly connection from Bengaluru will open up more opportunities for travel from India with easy connections to Europe and North America via the convenient hub of Amsterdam Schiphol,” KLM said. Jet moved its European gateway from Brussels to Amsterdam in 2016 forging close commercial ties with Air France-KLM and Delta.
After the grounding of Jet's operations, KLM is taking over slots which it gave to Jet while other slots held by the Indian airlines will be go to the common slot pool, Dutch media reported on Tuesday. A Boeing 777 aircraft belonging to Jet was seized in Amsterdam last month over unpaid dues while last week a Dutch court declared the airline as insolvent.
29/05/19 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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600 passengers left in lurch in London as Air India cancels 2 flights to Mumbai

Nearly 600 passengers travelling between London and Mumbai were stranded at a hotel next to Heathrow Airport after two Air India flights did not take off two days in a row.
A total of 293 passengers from the 13.15 Air India Flight on May 28 spent the night at the hotel while hundreds more booked on the same time flight on May 29, too, were sent to the hotel. Passengers complained there was no information from Air India staff.

Albashi Baig, 24, a student in London, was flying home to be in hospital in Thane for his 60-year-old father’s cardio-surgery, taking place on Wednesday night. But his Tuesday flight was grounded and the same flight on May 29 did not take off too.


He told TOI how had had begged Air India to get him on another flight but they did not. “None in Air India picked up the phone and we went to the airport and they told me to buy a new ticket costing up to £1,800 (Rs 1.5 lakh) one way. I am so upset.” Baig said another passenger was desperate to get to his sister on a ventilator, one’s father had died and he could not get to the cremation and one had missed a connecting flight to Australia where his wife had had an accident.

“It was chaos trying to get luggage on to the hotel bus,” said Heather Gupta, 49, a British group HR director living in Mumbai, who has missed a work meeting. Gupta had flown to London to collect her two sons, Jake, 8 and Noah, 6. She had spent Rs 6 lakh on tickets for the trip, since Rs 2.5 lakh had gone on cancelled Jet Airways tickets.
30/05/19 Naomi Canton/Times of India

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India to UK flight bookings surge for World Cup

New Delhi: India will have the most travelling fans at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, which begins in the UK from Thursday, according to an analysis.

As of May 21, flight bookings overall made through all global distribution systems (GDS) to the UK for the period of the tournament, plus two days either side, had increased by over 47,939 (over 3 per cent) compared to the same period the previous year, according to an analysis conducted by travel commerce platform Travelport, read a statement.

Out of the countries that are participating in the cricket tournament, which will end on July 14, the greatest growth in flight bookings to the UK had come from India (over 17,505). This was followed by South Africa (over 2,654), Bangladesh (over 1,565) and Pakistan (over 1,449).

Stephen Shurrock, Chief Commercial Officer, Travelport, said in a statement: "We are pleased to see the Cricket World Cup is attracting more people to visit the UK, with overall flight bookings up by more than 45,000 during the event. With two previous Cricket World Cup wins to its name and a hugely passionate supporter base, it is no surprise to see there has been a significant surge in flight bookings from India."

Shurrock continued: "Supporters based in South Africa also appear optimistic about their chances of winning the tournament with the second highest number of travelling fans. While flight bookings from Australia are slightly down, with a large expatriate community already in the UK, booking volumes from Australia in excess of 90,000 for the period of the tournament and the team among the favourites to win, we're sure their supporters will be out in full force."
29/05/19 IANS/Gulf News

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British Airways opens centenary archive collection to celebrate its 100-year history

Mumbai: British Airways’ has opened its archive collection to the public for the first time to share never-before-seen memories of key moments from its 100-year history.

The never-before-seen photographs and videos from its 100-year history will be hosted on the airline’s dedicated centenary site.

Among the images include those of Concorde, Royal flights and vintage airline posters. "An interactive year-by-year timeline illustrates how British Airways became one of the world’s leading airlines," said a press statement issued by British Airways.

It explores moments from the very first international flight with its predecessor airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited (AT&T) on August 25, 1919 carrying a journalist, Devonshire cream, leather and several brace of grouse, to the latest images of its brand-new Club Suite.
The airline statement said that the collection showcases hundreds of historical photos and videos, as well as articles explaining how the British Airways evolved from a single-engine De Havilland aircraft flying the world’s first daily international scheduled flight to Paris, to become an airline flying more than 45 million customers a year to more than 200 destinations across the world.
28/05/19 Manju V/Times of India

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Aviation links among BRICS countries discussed

The Regional Aviation Working Group of the South African Chapter recently hosted their counterparts in Johannesburg as part of the BRICS Business Council Mid-Term Meeting and handover.

According to Javed Malik, chair of the Regional Aviation Working Group BRICS Business Council SA Chapter, it was characterised by robust discussion and engagements under the theme "Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution".
Present were representatives of aircraft manufacturers such as Embraer (Brazil), COMAC (China) and Sukhoi (Russia). Representatives of South African Airways (SAA), China Eastern Airlines, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), the SA Department of Public Enterprises and Denel SOC were also present.
Associations in attendance included the Commercial Aviation Association Southern Africa (CAASA), the Board of Airlines Representatives of South Africa (BARSA), the Black Business Council (BBC), as well as South African private airlines and air charter companies.
According to Malik, it was agreed that, following the tenth BRICS Summit (2018) at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, at which the signing of the BRICS Memorandum of Understanding on Regional Aviation by all BRICS Ministers of Transport took place, the vision should be to expand and deepen cooperation in regional aviation.
Report backs on five projects were presented by each of the countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
29/05/19 Carin Smith/fin24

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Airbus celebrates 50 years; eyes fastest growing airplane market in India

Toulouse: “We have entered an era of mass manufacturing. This year we are ready to deliver 880 to 890 aircrafts,” said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, adding, “Airbus’ story is one of ambition and progress, and has been a showcase of European integration. Over five decades, we have brought together civil and defence aviation businesses from throughout the continent.” Airbus celebrates its 50th anniversary today.

India is the world’s fastest-growing market for air travel and budget airlines. Airbus dominates the single-aisle aircraft in the country with IndiGo, GoAir, Air India, Vistara and AirAsia India operating its aircraft and the airplane manufacturer is trying to make its mark in the long-haul airplane market, which is dominated by Boeing, sources said.

Said Faury, while interacting with media persons in Toulouse recently: "We are always looking for opportunities and always see a market for our aircraft. We are trying to be long-term oriented for India, which is the fastest growing market and there is a lot of demand."

On Wednesday, Airbus launched a global campaign to celebrate the company’s 50 year anniversary, showcasing key moments of pioneering progress throughout the past five decades. A formation of Airbus family aircraft, including the A220, A320 Family, A330neo, A350 XWB, A380 and BelugaXL, along with Dassault Alpha Jets of the Patrouille de France, flew over Toulouse and completed a flypast over Blagnac airport.
29/05/19 Somit Sen/Times of India

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IndiGo, India's low-cost conqueror, is coming for Emirates

The world’s largest airline by international passengers hit an air pocket in the 12 months through April, with net income falling by more than two-thirds to its lowest level since 2002.
On the far side of the Arabian Sea, meanwhile, an upstart competitor has been limbering up. InterGlobe Aviation looks to have flown clear of a horror year for India’s aviation industry, posting a fourfold increase in fourth-quarter profit Monday as the collapse of Jet Airways India Ltd. allowed the rest of the industry to bounce back.
With 50% of India’s domestic market, the carrier known as IndiGoNSE 0.22 % isn’t resting on its laurels. Capacity on international routes rose by 60%, compared with 24% domestic growth, to about a fifth of the total. A long-held dream for IndiGo – and India, for that matter – seems within grasp: to become a serious player on global routes.
That’s a threat to Gulf carriers such as Emirates. About a quarter of India’s international air traffic is carried on Gulf airlines, rising to almost 40% if you include Etihad Airways PJSC’s late partner Jet. More than half of Indians flying overseas travel via hub airports in the United Arab Emirates, and routes to and from India alone account for about 9.4 percent of Emirates’ traffic.
A major change came at the end of last year, when IndiGo received the first of the 150 A321neo aircraft it has on order. Those longer-range jets put all of the Middle East and East Asia within reach, and potentially a slice of eastern Europe. At some point, perhaps with an order for wide-body aircraft, low-cost flights to London might even be on the cards.
Most airlines have to be careful about expanding their international presence because such routes tend to be more competitive than the sewn-up domestic market where they’re based. In India, it’s the other way around, with steep fuel taxes levied only on domestic flights and short-haul tickets that sell for just a few rupees making overseas flying a relatively attractive option.
IndiGo’s fleet of single-aisle planes and no-frills services means its costs are drastically lower than the competition. Per available seat kilometer, it spent about 5.17 cents in the year through March, about a quarter less than the 6.8 cents expense at Emirates. On top of that, IndiGo’s revenue grew 13.6% in the past 12 months on international routes versus 6.2% domestically.
29/05/19 David Fickling/Bloomberg/Economic Times

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India Tourism could start working out of Air India's overseas offices

New Delhi: Cash-strapped Air India may soon join hands with the Ministry of Tourism for a working partnership overseas. The plan includes shifting of tourist offices at eight overseas destinations to Air India offices.
Discussions for the partnership are on between the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Tourism. The move is part of cost restructuring by the Ministry of Tourism and will require it to shut offices at prime tourist destinations, like London, Paris, Amsterdam, Toronto, Tokyo, Sydney and Milan. As part of the arrangement, India Tourism will pay rent to Air India along with a nominal amount for the service rendered by the Air India staff.
India Tourism, that had close to 15 such overseas offices, was asked by the government to bring the number down in two-three years and shift operations to the embassies in those cities. But the tourism ministry argued that the embassies are better equipped to handle diplomatic relations while travel and tourism promotion related matters should be with India Tourism. The embassies also raised security concerns, saying that they cannot be opened to unlimited public access. “Since Air India has offices in prime locations in those cities, both functions can be handled from a single office and by the same workforce,” said a person aware of the development.
A clear-cut business deal between India Tourism and Air India could also help in cleaning up the books of the state-owned air carrier before the Union government starts the process of the airline’s sale.
Air India reported a net loss of Rs 5,377.7 crore in the financial year 2017-18 and total revenue of Rs 23,900.4 crore.
29/05/19 Megha Manchanda & Arindam Majumder/Business Standard

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Pakistan extends airspace ban till June 15

Pakistan on Wednesday extended the ban on use of its airspace from May 30 to June 15.

New Delhi: A notice to airmen (NOTAM), issued around 11 a.m., informed airlines about the extension of the ban , which has been in place since February 26, after the IAF struck Jaish-e-Mohammed targets in Balakot, Pakistan.

The earlier NOTAM issued by Pakistan's civil aviation authority was until 3.30 p. m. on May 30 and this has been pushed to 5.30 a.m. on June 15, a senior official of the Ministry of Civil Aviation confirmed.

A spokesperson of Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had said that it was waiting for India to de-escalate tensions before taking a decision to lift the ban.

Several Central Asian airlines as well as those providing connectivity to Europe and the United States from Southeast Asia were forced to cancel their flights due to the ban. Air India, too, is seeing a daily loss of ₹ 5-7 crore as its flights towards Europe and the U.S. are forced to take a longer route as well as make a stop en route for refuelling.
29/05/19 Jagriti Chandra/The Hindu

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Pakistan willing to open airspace, puts rider

New Delhi: Losing heavily on overflying charges, Pakistan is keen to remove airspace restriction for airlines flying to and from India provided the latter decreases army build-up on the border between the two neighbouring countries.

In the wake of escalating tension following an airstrike by Indian Air Force in Balakot last February, Pakistan had restricted its airspace for airlines to and from India.
"Pakistan is incurring huge loss due to airspace restriction. Now that general election is over, it wants India to de-escalate tension on the border. If that happens, it is keen to remove airspace restriction," said a senior official aware of the development.
Pakistan had earlier said that use of its airspace would remain restricted until May 30 and a further decision on it would be taken after re-assessing the overall situation.
The Islamic country had made a rare exception last week allowing the plane flying External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to fly directly through Pakistani airspace to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in Bishkek last week.
The restriction has been hurting India carriers too as they have to take long detours to reach destinations in Europe, US and Canada.
28/05/19 IANS/Economic Times

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A free stopover at Amsterdam

Being a grandfather is true joys of life. Nothing is better than meeting grandchildren, playing with them, eating and relaxing. They’re very happy, for they’re finally returning home past six months stay with children in Houston in the US state of Texas. They felt lousy after travelling 10 hours last night.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines finally made a stop in the early morning at midpoint Amsterdam. The stopover was merely for catching another flight and accommodates new passengers and rest and refreshment at a pleasant lounge in the Schiphol airport.

They boarded another KLM flight for New Delhi at 11:00 hours. The cockpit announcement was made for half an hour delay followed by extending an hour. Passengers were happy being offered water and chocolate. They felt glad keeping more chocolate to help to balance air pressure for another 11 hours home bound flight. Nevertheless the third announcement was fairly disappointment. The air route closed down for border incident and the flight was cancelled. The incident terrified 400+ boarders.

The airlines took all passengers to airport lounge and offered refreshment. It took an hour to issue new VISA for staying overnight. Things went on smoothly yet very surprising for them. Very quickly airport taxi from Schiphol Plaza picked them up to a hotel near Amsterdam City Center. While moving 15 km, KLM took passengers for sightseeing on the way. The travellers found it very convenient and easy way to travel.

It was 22:00 hours, Prof Brojen Talukdar and his wife Mrs Binita Talukdar were confused as to where it went wrong. After dinner, they viewed to TV screen saying restriction and closure of air space over Pakistan. Soon a call came from his son. In a pre dawn airstrike on 26 Feb, India avenges Pulwama attack by bombing terrors camps at Balakot through aerial route by IAF Fighter when enemy was unaware of rapid seek and destroy operation.

The things went clear. Pakistan imposed airspace restrictions and closed the country’s airspace to aircraft flying over it, to and from India. Hence, flights flying west, Europe and America are flying longer distances to circumvent Pakistani airspace, adding time, costs and inconvenience caused to the passengers.

The closure of Pakistani airspace hampers India’s normal flight operations as it’s difficult to fly over the mountain range Himalayas. Also there is another factor that commercial airlines generally fly from east to west globally with several entry and exit points.

This was not the first incident that isolated aviation airspace. Russia closed its airspace during cold war for American flights. Pilots and airlines avoid conflict zones. Recall what happened to the Malaysian Airlines that disappeared from the radar over conflict-hit Ukraine in 2014 which was brought down by a missile, killing all 283 passengers. Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan also faced in the past.
28/05/19 Kamal Baruah/E-Pao.net

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Dubai’s Emirates cooperating with authorities after Jet Airways founder held in Mumbai

Dubai: Emirates airline said on Sunday it is “cooperating fully” with relevant authorities after two of its passengers, one of whom is the founder of India’s Jet Airways, were barred from flying.

Naresh Goyal, former chairman of Jet, and his wife Anita Goyal, a former board member of the carrier, were held at Mumbai’s airport as they were flying to London via Dubai. The couple was stopped from flying as they were in an Emirates aircraft, which was heading to the runway for take-off.

Media reports said Goyal and his wife were offloaded from the flight and stopped from leaving India. Airport officials provided no explanation as to why the couple was held, but reports added that they were allowed to leave the airport later.

In a statement, Emirates said it is cooperating, and that it abides by the laws of the various countries where it operates. The airline did not provide more details on what happened onboard.
26/05/19 Gulf News

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Airlines fined for serving non-veg to P’kula family

Panchkula:The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed AirAsia, an international airlines, to pay Rs 1.54 lakh to a Panchkula family for serving them non-vegetarian food and for stopping them from boarding the plane.
According to the complainant Vijay Kumar Trehan (61), he, along with seven members of his family, was returning to India from Malaysia on October 13, 2018. They reached Kuala Lumpur Airport in time and reported for the security and baggage drop. They got their baggage clearance and boarding passes more than two hours before flight take-off time. However, there was a huge rush at the immigration counter and also at the security check, which took nearly one-and-a quarter hour for clearance for the complainant’s family, which comprised senior citizen, a woman and children. The distance from the boarding pass counter to the exit gate of the terminal was about 1 km and quite confusing, as there was no signage or any guidance by any airport personnel.
Despite all these hurdles, the officials at terminal gate refused them to board the plane, citing reason for a delay of 10 minutes by the complainants in arriving at the gate. The plane was still stationed at the runway and had not even started revving for taking off.
The complainants had to buy fresh tickets for next day flight of the same airlines. They had to spend Rs 27,106 in cash and Rs 76,404.70 via a credit card of a friend. Not only this, they were served chicken sandwich when they ordered vegetarian food.
Complainants’ counsel Sapna Vasudeva said a notice was issued to the airlines on November 22, 2018, which was not received back either served or unserved; hence, due to non-appearance of the airlines, it was proceeded ex-parte.
“Despite reaching the airport in time, getting their boarding passes in time, they were not allowed to board the flight, we find deficiency in service on the part of the airlines. Instead of permitting the complainants to board the flight, the airlines proceeded to offload their luggage,” stated the forum.
27/05/19 Tribune

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Maldives govt says, no taxes payable by GMR on Male airport contract compensation: Media report

Shares of GMR Infra will be in focus today as a PTI report stated that the government of Maldives has decided not to press for income tax and fines of over $20mn from the company on the compensation it received from the island nation for the premature termination of Male International Airport contract.

As per reports, the Maldivian Attorney Generals Office has issued a statement on May 23. The statement says that no sum will be imposed on GMR by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority on the Final Award Sum in respect of taxes.

In 2017, the Maldive government had issued a notice seeking $20.5mn towards income tax and fines from GMR Male International Airport Private Limited, a GMR group company, that won $270mn arbitration against the premature termination of the contract for modernization and operation of the Male airport. The Indian infrastructure major refuted the tax claim by Maldives.
27/05/19 India Infoline

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Buddha Air starts its journey from Kolkata Airport

Buddha Air, one of the leading airline companies of Nepal on Monday started its maiden flight from Kolkata to Kathmandu, an official said.
"The airline will operate three ATR-72 flights weekly between Kathmandu and Kolkata," it added.
"On its inaugural flight, 56 passengers arrived from Nepal's capital city Kathmandu by flight number U4 163," an official statement of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport said.
Also, 64 passengers departed from Kolkata on flight number U4 164.
"The airline will operate three ATR-72 flights weekly between Kathmandu and Kolkata," it added.
27/05/19 IANS/Indiatv

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IAF to send forensic team to France to investigate possibility of data theft during Rafale office break-in

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is likely to send a forensic team to France to probe if there was any data deft during the break-in into the Rafale project management team office in Paris on May 19.

The IAF team, comprising 3 to 4 personnel, will check the computer systems of the Indian Rafale Rafale Project Management Team office in France, sources said.

The Indian Rafale team office is in the vicinity of French Dassault Aviation office in Saint Cloud suburb of Paris.

The latest development comes after some unidentified people last Sunday had broken into the facility of the Indian Air Force's Rafale Project Management Team in a suburb of Paris. The police is currently investigating the case.

However, media reports said that that no hard disk or document were stolen.

The main aim of the break-in could have been to steal data as valuables or money are not kept in these administrative offices.
26/05/19 Manjeet Singh Negi/India Today

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Nepal police arrest 3 Pakistani nationals with fake Indian currency

Kathmandu: Three Pakistani nationals have been arrested from Nepal's Tribhuvan International Airport for carrying fake Indian currency with a face value of Rs 76.80 million, police said Monday.
The Pakistani nationals -- Mohmad Akhtar, 49, Nadia Anwar, 39 and Nasiruddin, 67 --- were arrested from the airport on Saturday as they arrived in the country from Doha with the fake currency, they said.
Three Nepalese nationals, who reached the airport to pick up the fake currency, were also arrested.
27/05/19 PTI/Times of India

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Venezuelan national apprehended at Delhi airport; cocaine seized

Narcotics Control Bureau on Monday arrested a Venezuelan national and seized cocaine here at Indira Gandhi International airport, according to a press release by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NBC).

The accused was apprehended by NCB officers at Delhi airport after receiving information from a reliable source. The accused was later brought to a government hospital in New Delhi for X-ray test.

"Upon scrutinizing the test report, the doctors opined that there are foreign objects in the stomach of the accused. They further advised for the admission of the accused so that he could be treated for the expulsion of the foreign objects," NCB said in a statement.
After appropriate medication, a total of 65 capsules of cocaine were expelled from the body of the apprehended person, it added.
27/05/19 ANI/DNA

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Pakistan allows Sushma’s overflight on India’s request

New Delhi: Islamabad made a rare exception for External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to fly directly through Pakistani airspace to attend the SCO meet in Bishkek last week, officials in Delhi and Islamabad confirmed to The Hindu.
The permission for Ms. Swaraj came even as thousands of travellers continue to suffer flight cancellations, delays and soaring ticket prices due to Pakistan’s decision to close its airspace for flights to and from India after the Balakot strikes on February 26.
“The Indian government had requested us to allow Ms. Swaraj to fly over Pakistan to avoid the longer route, and we gave them permission,” said Mohammad Faisal, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
Government sources in Delhi confirmed the development.
“The overflight permission was granted by Pakistan based on route permission filed by relevant [Indian] authorities. External Affairs Minister’s flight to Bishkek was over Pakistani airspace both ways,” a source said.
Ms. Swaraj had attended the SCO Foreign Minister’s meet in Kyrgyzstan on May 21 and 22, along with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. While the government denied that the two leaders held substantive talks on the sidelines of the conference, they had held a brief conversation in the special lounge where “pleasantries” were exchanged, the MEA had said.
Without the special permission from Pakistan, Ms. Swaraj’s flight, which took four hours to the Kyrgyz capital, would have taken nearly eight hours each way.
26/05/19 Suhasini Haidar/The Hindu

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AirAsia asked to pay Rs 1.54 lakh for harassing, serving non-veg food to passenger

A consumer court has asked Malaysia-based AirAsia to pay Rs 1.54 lakh to a passenger for serving him non-vegetarian food instead of vegetarian meal and allegedly harassing his family.

In a complaint to Panchkula consumer forum, Vijay Trehan (61) eldest member of the family said he booked onward and return tickets for the journey between Amritsar and Kuala Lumpur in Air Asia on October 7, 2018, and October 13, 2018, respectively.

In the complaint, Trehan said he had paid Rs 59,482 and Rs 15,016 for onward and return journeys, respectively. Trehan stated that there was no issue in the onward journey to Malaysia.
However, they faced problems during their return journey to India, according to a report in The Indian Express.

On October 13, 2018, the family reached Kuala Lumpur Airport and got their baggage clearance and boarding passes by 5.15 pm. The flight was scheduled to take off at 7:20 pm.

However, due to a huge rush at the immigration counter and also at the security check, it took around one and a quarter hour for clearance for the entire family comprising five adults and three children.
26/05/19 Business Today

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Qatar Airways requests for additional flights to India

Doha: Qatar Airways has requested Indian Aviation Authority for a temporary increase in seats on their flights to India.

The official airline for Qatar wants to increase seats on its high volume routes such as Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bangalore.

A PTI report published in Indian media said that according to the aviation framework between India and Qatar, one country's airlines can fly a maximum of 24,292 passengers per week.

Qatar Airways statement issued to the PTI read, “Our contingency plan is designed to make an additional number of seats available on certain high volume routes (Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore), but only on a temporary basis and without formal changes to the current weekly seat capacity entitlement established under the 2009 Qatar-India bilateral aviation framework.”

The blockade on Qatar and withdrawal of 28 weekly between Doha and cities of New Delhi and Mumbai has increased the pressure on available seat capacity in Qatar-India routes, the airline said.
26/05/19 Peninsula

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Indian airlines pay price for Modi’s folly

The closure of Pakistan’s airspace following skirmishes with India has affected operations of several airlines, most notably of India. As a result, the air travel has become more expensive while several airlines have suspended or reduced flights. Pakistan closed its airspace to commercial flights originating in India or transiting through the Indian airspace after the Indian attack on Balakot forests on February 26. The attack destroyed nine pine trees.
Soon after, India was forced to shift some flights from New Delhi to Mumbai while international airlines cancelled several flights to India. “The closure of Pakistani airspace has led to a sharp increase in fares — by 40pc to 50pc for same-day bookings and, in some cases, up to 200pc for last-minute purchases, according to travel portals. Imports and exports have also become costlier as cargo planes too have to make lengthy detours,” says a report. The Air India flies 66 weekly flights to Europe and 33 to the US, and most of these flights use the Pakistani airspace. Nearly all of them have been affected. The losses to India’s airlines have alone crossed Rs700 crore or more mark while the closure has inspired great unease among the Indian aviation.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been forced to deploy more air traffic controllers at the Mumbai airport as the flights there have increased more than 50 percent while those from New Delhi have gone down. A report quoted an AAI official as saying that “flights from Iran, Iraq or the US used to come via Pakistani airspace, but they have now shifted to Muscat airspace and come from the Mumbai side. Some flights took just 60 minutes via Pakistani airspace but the travel time has now doubled.” It has been reported that 451 kilometres are added extra to a flight originating from London to Singapore after taking the Oman route.
26/05/19 The News

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Terminally ill illegal Indian expatriate in Dubai flown home

Dubai: An Indian expatriate who was critically ill and had been living illegally in the UAE with huge debts was flown to India on Wednesday night to be reunited with his wife and three children in Hyderabad, thanks to an initiative by the Indian consulate.

According to sources at Thumbay Hospital, Ajman where he was admitted, William Temple Nelapati, 54, was diagnosed with lung cancer which metasised to his bones, his spine and many other organs of the body leaving him with slim chances of survival.

Indian Consul General Vipul told Gulf News: “We are happy we were able to help Nelapati reunite with his family. We provided the air tickets and an outpass to the patient and worked with several volunteers to waive off various outstanding bills that the patient had.”
Kasturi Deepika who liaised with courts, police and immigration authorities and the Nelapati family, told Gulf News: “Several people helped in this. The Emirates Islamic Bank waived off a Dh98,000 bounced rent cheque amount, the immigration [department] waived off his fines, the Thumbay Hospital waived off the hospital bill of Dh30,000,” she said.
Indian NRI cell member Chandra Prakash told Gulf News: “The family of William Temple Nelapati appealed for help. Nelapati who had come to UAE in 2006 initially worked in a government agency as the head of IT, he then worked in a private firm and subsequently started his own business which failed. As the losses mounted, and cheques bounced, Nelapati began staying with friends and eventually his visa expired in 2016. He was not keeping well and last month he was admitted to Thumbay Hospital for a femur fracture. Further diagnosis indicated that he had lung cancer which had spread to his bones. Since then Nelapati never left the hospital bed.”
24/05/19 Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary/Gulf News

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India-US air traffic to pick up, says Air India

New Delhi: National carrier Air India, which flies 33 weekly flights from India to the United States, expects demand for seats in the sector to pick up in the summer vacation season.

“We have seen pick up in this sector in recent times and being the only domestic carrier that offers non-stop flight from India to US, we expect growth in passenger traffic in the summer vacation season,” Ashwani Lohani, chairman and managing director of Air India, said while flagging off a Rapid Metro in Gurugram, which advertises AI’s Delhi-Washington non-stop flight.

The thrice-a-week flight has completed two years of operation. At present, AI connects India with five US destinations. AI officials said the duration of flight from Delhi to US has increased since Pakistan banned domestic airlines from using its aerospace.
25/05/19 New Indian Express

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Rafael deal: Centre avers apex court interference will affect defence preparedness

New Delhi: The Centre has filed its detailed written replies to the Supreme Court in connection with the review petitions regarding the big-ticket government-to-government deal to procure Rafael fighter jets from France.
 On Friday, the Central government, in its written replies, stated that the Rafale review pleas should be dismissed. Interference by the court will affect operation preparedness. The Modi dispensation has submitted its final note in Rafale review case. It has sought dismissal of all the review petitions on various grounds, including the fact that any interference at this stage will also affect the operational preparedness of the Indian Air Force.
 In its written submissions, the Centre sought dismissal of review pleas and affirmed that petitioners used certain documents with the intention to present a selective and incomplete picture. The Centre also asked the apex court not to interfere in matters of defence preparedness, procurement of fighter aircrafts and leave it to experts, including the Defence Ministry.
 Union of India also cited the Comptroller and Auditor General report which said the price negotiated by the present governmentt was 2.8% lesser than what was finalised by the United Progressive Alliance dispensation.
 25/05/19 UNI

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Kerala man unzips as woman cabin crew asks him not to smoke on board

New Delhi: A 24-year-old Kerala man unzipped in front of a woman cabin crew to oppose her request of lighting a cigarette in the flight.

Abdul Shahid Shamsudeen, a resident of Kottayam was travelling to New Delhi from a Saudi Airlines aircraft when he allegedly attempted to smoke, Hindustan Times reported.
“As told by others present in the plane, when a woman cabin crew asked the man to put the cigarette back, he refused and abused her verbally. When the woman called other cabin crew members for assistance, the man created a ruckus and allegedly unzipped his pants and made obscene gestures at her,” an official said.

Following the incident, the flight crew filed a complaint with the airport operations control centre and the Central Industrial Security Force personnel were asked to be on alert.

“As soon as the flight landed, the man was detained and escorted to the IGI Airport police station by the CISF men. He was handed over to the Delhi Police for further legal action,” the officer said.

The man was booked under IPC section 354 (molestation) and 509 (using word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman under section 509, Deputy commissioner of police (IGI Airport) Sanjay Bhatia said.
25/05/19 Asian Age

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Air India delays Colombo flights

Mumbai: Air India has postponed the launch of flights from Mumbai to Colombo the capital of Sri Lanka until 1 July.

India’s national airline earlier confirmed the new service would start 1 May, but due to the ongoing security crisis following the Easter Sunday bombings the airline delayed the launch.

If the security situation in Colombo improves the airline will schedule five weekly services using an Airbus 321 effective 1 July.


 Travel advisors from various countries including the UK the US and Australia warn against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka.

Air India’s advance timetable information reported by Airlineroute earlier this week shows flights will depart Mumbai at 2300 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, a month after the devastating Easter Sunday terrorist bombings that claimed 258 lives including 46 foreigners the organisers of the prestigious Conference of Parties (COP18) of CITES have still not confirmed new dates for the event that was supposed to have been hosted, 23 May to 1 June in Sri Lanka’s capital.
24/05/19 TTR Weekly

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Korean Air to hold two-day job fair in India to hire pilots from grounded Jet Airways

Korean Air will hold a two-day "road show" in Delhi on Friday and Saturday to hire pilots from the grounded Jet Airways which has seen an exodus of staff in the wake of suspension of operations.

The foreign carrier is looking at hiring around 300-400 pilots for flying its wide-body airplanes such as the B777-300s. Korean Air connects 124 cities with a mix of Boeing and Airbus aircraft. The airline owns 167 aircraft connecting cities in 44 countries.

"The road show is a kind of job fair for pilots. The executives from Korean Air would brief us about their requirements. The job fair is being held in both Delhi and Mumbai," a senior pilot said.
Jet Airways' pilot union National Aviators Guild (NAG) has arranged the road show and is facilitating interactions with the members.

According to an internal email, seen by IANS, the road show is for all ranks of pilots from the B777, A330 and B737.

"The information sessions are important to understand growth prospects, routes flown, home base rotation etc. It will be conducted by the Korean expat cell who will be handling the Jet Airways pilots as well," the mail addressed to pilots said.

The NAG Vice President Captain Asim Valiani said that road show was on for hiring pilots but added that he still hoped that Jet Airways will be revived and pilots will hold on for some time.
24/05/19 IANS/News Minute

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US aviation regulators meet global counterparts over 737 MAX

Washington: Officials of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) met aviation regulators from over 30 countries over the safety of the grounded Boeing 737 MAX jets.

After the closed-door meeting on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas, acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell told the media that "we are going through an incredibly intensive and robust process to make the safety case to unground the MAX", adding that the FAA won't let the plane fly "until we have made that safety case", reports Xinhua news agency.

According to industry analysts, the meeting in Fort Worth, about 420 km north of downtown Houston, is crucial to the FAA efforts to convince other international regulators to lift their bans on the aircraft.

International regulators have said they plan to conduct their own reviews of Boeing's software changes and have stressed the need for additional pilot training.
24/05/19 Outlook

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Pak airspace still shut, pay more for summer flights

New Delhi: Get ready for higher fares if you are flying between Delhi and the east coast of north America this summer as Air Canada has decided not to operate its daily Delhi-Toronto flight between June 14 and August 1 due to the continued closure of the Pakistan airspace.
The closure has forced the airlines operating on this route to take a longer route. Only three airlines have direct flights between Delhi and the east coast of America — Air India, United and Air Canada. The Delhi-Newark flight of United remains suspended for the same reason since early April and it may resume on July 2.

The airlines are forced to make a stop since Pakistan has closed its airspace for overflying on February 27. For a significant part of this summer, which also happens to be a peak travel month, AI will be the only one to continue on the Delhi-east coast (New York) route.

“In the Delhi-New York JFK sector, our flight takes a fuelling stop. Due to favourable tail winds during the return, we fly to Delhi nonstop. So we are the only direct connection between the east coast and Delhi as of now,” said a senior AI official.

The flights between Delhi and the west coast of North America have, however, not been cancelled due to the airspace closure. Air India continues to operate its Delhi-San Francisco (SFO) flight nine times a week while Air Canada has decided to make its six-day-a-week Delhi-Vancouver flight a daily from June 3.
24/05/19 Times of India

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Russian woman arrested by customs at Delhi airport for smuggling 'growth hormone'

New Delhi: A Russian woman was arrested by the customs officials at the Delhi airport for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country growth hormone medicines worth Rs 32 lakh, according to a statement issued on Friday.

The accused was intercepted after her arrival from Hongkong on Thursday, it said.

A detailed personal and baggage search of the passenger resulted in the recovery of Zptropin anSomatropin medicines having total market value of Rs 32.16 lakh, the statement issued by the customs department said.
The passenger is married to an Indian man. The duo run a chain of gyms in Haryana, mainly in Gurgaon.

On enquiry, she revealed that her husband was waiting outside the airport to collect the medicines.
"Based on her input, her husband was also apprehended from outside the Delhi airport," a senior customs official said.
24/05/19 Tribune

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ED seeks arrest of former Airbus India chief Kiran Rao

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate has moved court seeking the arrest of former Airbus India chief Kiran Rao under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The ED has accused seven people, including Rao, of money laundering in a Rs 8,000-crore deal to supply 43 aircraft to erstwhile Indian Airlines in 2005.
The agency applied for a non-bailable warrant against Rao before the special CBI Court of Special Judge Santosh Snehi Mann in New Delhi on Wednesday, one person said.
The CBI judge took cognisance of the fact that Rao is a British national and asked the ED how it proposed to summon him to India for questioning, according to a person aware of the matter.
An Airbus spokesperson told ET: “We can confirm Kiran Rao is no longer a part of the company. We cannot comment on any ongoing investigation.”
“ED counsel sought time to file judgments and documents to show the procedure adopted. No non-bailable warrants were issued and no orders were passed today on the application as of now,” said one person. The matter was adjourned for further hearing and orders to May 25.
23/05/19 Maulik Vyas/Sachin Dave/Economic Times

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Air India adds new flights to meet summer demand

New Delhi:National carrier Air India on Wednesday announced adding new flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Dubai, besides expanding its domestic footprint to meet the peak demand for air travel during the summer vacation season.

Effective from June 1 this year, the carrier will offer 3,500 more seats per week on Mumbai-Dubai route; from June 2, it will offer another 3,500 seats per week on Delhi-Dubai route by operating two more new flights.

The airline will offer one-way economy class promotional fare of Rs 7,777 (all Inclusive) from both Delhi and Mumbai to Dubai for travel up to July 31.

The government had, while allocating Jet Airways’ international flying rights to other airlines, announced that Air India would be given priority, as it hopes the move to normalise airfares that had overshot post grounding of Jet.

In the domestic market, Air India will introduce new flights on Bhopal-Pune route as well as between Varanasi and Chennai from June 5. The number of flights on Delhi-Bhopal will be raised from 14 to 20 flights per week. Flights on Delhi-Raipur route will be increased from seven to 14 flights per week. New flights will be introduced on routes such as Delhi-Bengaluru, Delhi-Amritsar, Chennai-Ahmedabad and Chennai-Kolkata.
23/05/19 New Indian Express

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IKEA innovates at airports for new campaign 'A tribute to India'

IKEA has come up with a new campaign “A tribute to India”. “Anglatarar” is a textile collection inspired from the synergy of Indo-Sweden cultures. The brand has put two in-house designers to work on the designs, creating a new collection showcasing the collaboration of the two countries.

The collection used Indigo as one of the colours bringing out its relevance with the Indian history. The ethnicity and livelier designs were fitted in a vast range of products, right from its living room to the bedrooms. With this concept, the real challenge for Kinetic India was to display this new collection in a unique way, which will not only help the consumers to relate to the brand but also redesign their comfy spaces in a calming Indian avatar. So, the agency decided to create a new media exclusively for this collection.

With the rise in low-cost airlines, airports are the new busy transit points and are a good way for consumers to experience the product. IKEA has replaced the plain brown curtains at the ladies frisking booth with real IKEA curtains.
22/05/19  exchange4media

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Upcoming government needs to do much more for aviation: Experts

The new Indian government coming to power will need to do much more for the country’s aviation sector than its predecessor did in the last five years, said industry experts and airline executives.
The priority for the new government—predicted by many Exit Polls to be formed by BJP in its second consecutive win after 2014–should include a review of the aviation policy introduced in 2016. The government should address most aspects, especially the regional connectivity scheme, bilateral policies and airport infrastructure, industry experts said. Separately, there must also be fresh measures to deal with airline failures, given almost every new regional carrier failed to take off and India’s oldest airline Jet Airways grounded operations for want of funds.
The government needs to “review the aviation policy and address all challenges especially bilateral policy, ground handling, the regional connectivity scheme called UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) schemes for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) units etc,” said Kapil Kapil, south Asia CEO of Sydney-based consultant CAPA Centre for Aviation.
Under the regional connectivity scheme which focuses on air-connecting India’s smaller towns, the government has in the last three years awarded close to 700 routes to various airlines but according to reports, only a fourth seem to be getting regular flights operations while the rest have faced prolonged grounding or infrastructural issues.
22/05/19 Economic Times

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Attempted break-in at IAF office in France that houses crucial Rafale data

Unidentified individuals reportedly broke into the Indian Air Force's Rafale project management team office located in the suburbs of Paris on Sunday night. The break-in might be a possible espionage attempt to steal crucial data related to the Rafale jets that are being procured by India. No documents were reported to be stolen. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has already briefed the defence ministry on the break-in and the local police are investigating the matter, news agency ANI reported.
"There was a break-in into the Indian Air Force Rafale project management team office which is located in a suburb of Paris in France. No hard disk or document has been stole. More details are being ascertained about the motive," news agency ANI quoted IAF sources as saying. The Indian Rafale team office is located in the Saint Cloud suburb of Paris. It falls in the vicinity of the office blocks of Dassault Aviation, which is supplying the Rafale fighter jets to India. The motive behind break-in could have been to steal crucial data as valuables and money are not kept in these administrative offices, ANI report said while quoting sources.
The Rafale project team is headed by a Group Captain-rank official. The team looks after issues related to the procurement of 36 Rafale combat jets, including the production timelines and training of Indian personnel who are meant to fly and maintain the aircraft. The Indian government had signed a deal worth Rs 59,800 crore with France-based Dassault Aviation to procure 36 Rafale aircraft to introduce fifth generation fighter jets into IAF squadrons. The deal has since been in the crosshairs of Opposition parties in India which have alleged wrongdoings on the part of the outgoing Modi government. The matter has since ballooned into a major political issue during the recently concluded 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
22/05/19 Business Today

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Coimbatorians demand non-stop flight to Dubai

Coimbatore: With industrialists and citizen groups continuing to mount pressure on the civil aviation ministry to connect the city with Dubai, Air India is offering flights from Coimbatore to Dubai with a stopover in Chennai.

During the weekend, several passengers received a message from Air India stating that it is offering a one stop service from Coimbatore to Dubai. A 321 would leave the city at 3.05pm and reach Chennai at 4.15pm. Passengers could then take the 6.45pm flight that reaches Dubai at 9.45pm. They can return in the 11.10pm flight from Dubai and reach Chennai at 4.55am. They can then shift into the 5.50am Alliance Air flight to Coimbatore and land here at 7am.
Air India clarified that the flight is already operational. “The new addition is the 7am Alliance Air flight. But catching this flight might be difficult if passengers get delayed in the customs and immigration,” said Girija, Air India station manager in Coimbatore. “But the flight going to Dubai is comfortable, because the 2.5hour stopover will give passengers adequate time to walk to the international terminal and clear immigration and customs,” she said.
21/05/19 Pratiksha Ramkumar/Times of India

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Suspension of Lufthansa, Jet flights hits e–tourist visa service at airport

Pune: Response to the e-tourist visa service at the city airport has nosedived after an encouraging take-off two years ago.
Officials said close to 30% passengers, especially those travelling to Pune on Lufthansa, were opting for the service.

“More than the Jet Airways grounding its service, the suspension of Lufthansa’s Pune-Frankfurt flight has affected the e-tourist visa facility. There was a steady rise in the number of passengers from Germany opting for the e-tourist visas during their visits here,” an official told TOI.

“We were looking at anything between 25% and 30% flyers opting for the e-tourist visas while visiting India via the Pune airport. The percentage has now dropped to 15,” he said.

Lufthansa had suspended its flight from Pune to Frankfurt from February this year after PrivatAir, with which the German airline had a wet lease agreement, filed for bankruptcy in December 2018.

When the airline was asked about an update on the situation, a spokesperson said, “Lufthansa is doing everything in its power to find a successor solution, in which the technically necessary aircraft for Pune can be offered with the appropriate intercontinental equipment. Lufthansa is currently investigating the market for this purpose.”
21/05/19 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Virgin Atlantic Launching Flights To Mumbai

Virgin Atlantic’s expansion continues! So far this year Virgin Atlantic has announced new routes to Tel Aviv and Sao Paulo, and now they’re announcing yet another new route.

Virgin Atlantic will be launching daily flights between London Heathrow and Mumbai as of October 27, 2019. Flights are expected to go on sale as of Tuesday, May 28, 2019.

This announcement marks a service resumption, as the airline canceled their Mumbai route about four years ago. It also marks Virgin Atlantic doubling their capacity to India, given that they currently only fly to Delhi.

Virgin Atlantic intends to use a Boeing 787-9 for the Mumbai route, featuring 258 seats. This includes 31 Upper Class seats, 35 premium economy seats, and 192 economy seats.
This flight covers a distance of ~4,500 miles in each direction, and is blocked at 8hr55min eastbound and 10hr10min westbound.
21/05/19 One Mile At A Time

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India Delivers Two Mi-24V Attack Helicopters to Afghanistan

The Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Vinay Kumar, has handed over the first two of four retrofitted Mi-24V helicopter gunships from Belarus to the Afghan Air Force (AAF) at an air base in Kabul on May 16, the Indian Embassy said in a statement.

“These [Mi-24s] are a replacement for the four attack helicopters previously gifted by India to Afghanistan in 2015,” the embassy said, adding that it will boost the AAFs “effectiveness in “combating the scourge of terrorism.”

Afghanistan, Belarus and India signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding regarding the purchase, all paid for by the Indian government, in 2018.
Previously, India completed the delivery of four Mi-25 (Mi-24D) helicopters and three HAL Cheetah light utility helicopters to the AAF in December 2016.

Notably, all seven Indian-supplied helicopters, in addition to five Mi-35 helicopter gunships supplied by the Czech Republic in 2008, have been grounded for most of last year’s fighting season.

It is unclear whether some of the Indian-supplied helicopters will be able to return to active duty during this year’s fighting season in Afghanistan.
21/05/19  Franz-Stefan Gady/Diplomat

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Man with fake Canadian visa held at KIA

Bengaluru: The city police have unearthed a fake visa racket after a 34-year-old electrician from Tamil Nadu was arrested by immigration officials after he landed at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) from Kuala Lumpur with fake Canadian visa on Saturday.
The accused, identified as Tamilselvan, was handed over to the BIAL police, who booked him under forgery and cheating. He was later produced before the magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.
The police said they have sent a letter to their Malaysian counterparts to deport four others who are said to be in Kuala Lumpur and also involved in the fake visa racket.
During the interrogation, Tamilselvan claimed that he was working as an electrician in Canada for British Petroleum for the past two years and returned home on vacation.
Police said that a Chennai-based travel agent, identified as Vijaya Prathaban Jothi and the kingpin of the scam, had promised better jobs in Canada to Tamilselvan and three others - Krishna Murthy Ananda Shankar, Ramalingam Venkatesan and Muthukrishnan for a sum of Rs 4.5 lakh.
21/05/19 Umesh R Yadav/Deccan Herald

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Air Asia India to fly to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur from September-end

New Delhi: Air Asia India is all set to launch international flights from September end. The airline had sought permission from the government this January.
The airline is a joint venture between the Tatas, who have a 51 per cent stake, and Tony Fernandes-controlled Air Asia, which holds the rest of the stake. Sanjay Kumar, chief operating officer of the airline, said: “Our plan is to first fly to the Southeast Asian market and start with flights to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Our target is that we will fly about 7-8 per cent of our total available seat kilometres to international locations in the first year of operations.”
Kumar said while the Indian locations have not been decided, it would be perhaps from Delhi, Bengaluru or Kolkata. The eventual plan is to fly from most of the 19 destinations that it currently flies in and add in another two for international destinations.
However, the plan for the second year is to go beyond Southeast Asia to West Asia, China as well as CIS countries in the next phase, which would require about four planes. The CIS countries are: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.
Kumar said slots were available for the Thailand and Malaysia routes, however, the carrier hoped to apply for some that have been vacated by Jet Airways in the West Asia if it got permission by that time to fly abroad. “While we will compete with our Malaysian partners Air Asia, we will try and minimise the competition as much as possible. Our main battle will be with IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India, which is putting in more flights in these routes.”
20/05/19 Surajeet Das Gupta/Business Standard

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AirAsia India eyes corporate clients, foreign flights

New Delhi: Seeking long-term travel commitment, Tata Group joint venture Air Asia India plans to tie up with about 200 companies in the next few months, offering them a slew of benefits, including flexibility in last-minute flight change and onboard meals.
The aggressive business pitch is set to help the low-cost carrier widen its customer base before launching maiden international flights by year-end.
The airline is looking at Southeast Asian destinations, such as Bangkok and Singapore, for its overseas operations. The foreign flights would cover short-haul destinations with 3-4 hours of flying.
Speaking to IANS, Air Asia India Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sanjay Kumar said the airline had restructured some of its operations, launched a loyalty programme as well as a new in-flight menu to enhance customer experience.
"We have a new in-flight menu. We have also started a loyalty programme called Big Loyalty. We are the only low-cost airline in the country offering customers a structured loyalty programme, which allows them to earn reward points," said Kumar.
20/05/19 IANS/Economic Times

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Vistara eyes new destinations post Colombo attacks

Mumbai: Carrier Vistara has stalled plans to fly to Colombo, after the spate of terrorist bombings that recently ravaged the Sri Lankan commercial capital and is instead looking at South Asian destinations for its maiden international flight.
“Colombo flights were to start this month. But the airline had to delay it in view of the attacks. It is now working on a plan B,” said a person close to the development. He did not disclose which specific destinations in the region are being looked at in place of the Lankan city.
Earlier this year, Vistara received government approval to start overseas flights. A five member committee had been looking at its proposal, a unique move as Vistara is part owned by Tata Sons, whose other airline venture AirAsia India, was being probed for alleged irregular lobbying for international flying rights.
India has an open skies— or unlimited flying rights —agreement with Sri Lanka, which made it easy for Vistara to chart plans as soon as it got the approval. However, on April 21, Easter Sunday, three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo were targeted in a series of suicide bombings by terrorists. There were also smaller explosions in a housing complex and a guest house. More than 250 people were killed.
Vistara, a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines, had in a proposal to the aviation ministry last year, said it planned to connect Sri Lanka and Maldives to Delhi and Thailand to Delhi and Kolkata. It also had referred to plans to connect destinations in Bangladesh, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to Delhi and Singapore to Pune.
20/05/19 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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Air India Delhi to Muscat flight lands in Jamnagar after passenger suffers cardiac arrest in flight

Ahmedabad: An Air India flight from Delhi to Muscat was diverted to Jamnagar Air Force base Sunday night after a 33-year-old passenger suffered a cardiac arrest onboard.

After landing at the Indian Air Force base, the patient was rushed to the Jamnagar civil hospital accompanied by an IAF doctor.

"AI 973 Delhi Muscat flt diverted to Jamnagar Air Force Base at 2230 with an Indian passenger aged 33 sufferng cardiac arrest in flight. IAF responded promptly. Diversion to civil airfield wd hv taken more time. Patient shifted to hospital accompanied by IAF doc," PRO Defence Gujarat Puneet Chadha said in a tweet late on Sunday night.

He later said patient was taken to Guru Govind Singh Hospital for treatment.
20/05/19 PTI/Business Today

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Ambassadors of 40 countries to visit CIAL as part of ISA delegation

Kochi: As part of International Solar Alliance (ISA)’s initiative to find out suitable models to be incorporated to achieve its ambitions plan of massive deployment of solar energy, a delegation consisting of 40 ambassadors/high commissioners are visiting Cochin International airport here on Wednesday.
 Cochin International airport, the worlds’ first airport fully operated on solar energy has been identified by ISA as one of the models and the proposed visit will give a fillip to CIAL’s effort in taking its project to next level so that it can contribute globally as a consultant, a CIAL release said here on Monday.
 The high profile delegation will reach CIAL at 1000 hours on Wednesday and would have a discussion with CIAL authorities, it said. Later, they will be guided to CIAL’s main solar power plant for a field visit. CIAL achieved power neutral status in August 2015 and won “ Champions of the Earth award “ in 2018; the highest environmental honour instituted by the United Nations, it said adding that at present CIAL’s total installed capacity is 40 MW producing 1.63 lakhs unit of power a day whereas the requirement stands at 1.53 lakhs units.
 The delegation comprises of the ambassadors/high commissioners of 25 African countries including Egypt, Senegal, Nigeria and Tanzania and also from countries like France, Brazil, Chile, Malaysia, Bolivia and Sri Lanka.
 20/05/19 UNI

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Israel’s Skylock Explores Sale Of Anti-Drone Systems In India

New Delhi: Even as commercial drones are waiting in the wings to take off, foreign majors are eyeing big opportunities in the sector in India.

Skylock of Israel has started scouting for deals in the fledgling sector and is exploring the sale of its systems for securing civilian airports, sources told IANS.

“The Israeli anti-drone system specialist Skylock is looking at opportunities in India. The firm is keen to sell its systems for securing Indian airports from unauthorised drones,” said an industry source.

Given its usefulness in fields like photography, agriculture, logistics and infrastructure, the government has proposed to allow remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), or drones, for commercial purposes. It has already come out with a drone policy but the regulations to allow private firms to use drones for commercial purposes are yet to be operationalised.
19/05/19 Odishatv.in

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Pilots weave through 300 obstacles to land in Chennai

Chennai: Pilots flying into the city airport need to watch out for more than 300 obstacles on the approach paths of the two runways, according to terrain and obstacle data released by Airports Authority of India (AAI). These are buildings, high mast lamps, electric poles, mobile phone towers, water tanks and dish antennas atop buildings and hoardings.

In addition to the buildings, the metro rail’s elevated line and stations also pose a risk. The electric overhead cable poles of the metro rail line from airport to Alandur, Nanganallur metro station, canopy over metro rail lines from airport and St Thomas Mount to Alandur station and the Alandur metro rail station itself violate permissible height limit for structures around the airport.
There are 46 obstacles on the approach path to the Guindy-end of the main runway, 154 at the Pallavaram-end and 120 at the Manapakkam-end of the second runway.

The map shows that the metro rail elevated line with a canopy over it from St Thomas Mount to Alandur is 40.3 metres high, while the permissible limit at the location is only 37.5m. The Nanganallur metro rail station is also an obstacle, as the elevation of the line with the train will exceed the limit by 10.6m. The stations and the elevated line fall in the approach path of planes coming in to land at the Guindy-end of the main runway.

AAI recently released electronic Terrain and Obstacle Data (eTOD) to help airlines and pilots understand obstacles likely to be faced while making flight plans and while descending into the airport.

Air safety expert and former pilot Mohan Ranganathan said the permissible height in airspace on the approach path to a runway is decided based on the assumption that if a plane loses one engine, it will require an obstacle-free space to glide down safely to the runway.

Planes are between 76m and 91m high as they glide down while coming in to land.

“Pilots will be able to see the buildings and trees but lone masts and flood light masts are riskier because they cannot be spotted,” said Mohan. A pilot said, “The obstacles are available on the aviation charts. We ensure that the highest obstacle is cleared so that we will be safe during landing.”
20/05/19 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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AirAsia aims international flights by October

Mumbai: AirAsia India aims to start international operations in by October this year, its chief operating officer said Monday.
The joint venture carrier between Tata Sons and Malaysian low fare airline AirAsia Berhad is looking at short haul destinations in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Kuala Lumpur, Sanjay Kumar told ET.
The airline recently received its 21st plane and aims to take the fleetsize to 40 in a year, Kumar added. It operates 154 daily flights.
Earlier this year the airline presented a plan to its board to deploy 40% of its fleet overseas in five years. The government had been investigating the airline for alleged irregular lobbying for international rights. Kumar didn’t comment on the probe but indicated its plans for starting flights by October were firm.
AirAsia India last month got a boost from its parents by getting a fund infusion of Rs 500 crore for its expansion.
AirAsia India last month got a boost from its parents by getting a fund infusion of Rs 500 crore for its expansion.
20/05/19 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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Singapore-Bound Private Flight Makes Emergency Landing At Chennai Airport

Chennai: A Singapore-bound flight of a private carrier, which took off from Tiruchirapalli, made an emergency landing at the Chennai airport today following a "spark" in the engine, officials said.
The flight landed safely. Nobody was injured in the incident and all 170 passengers were safely disembarked, they said.

The pilots detected the "spark" while the plane was still in the Indian airspace, the officials said.

Immediately, the pilots contacted the Chennai airport for an emergency landing. Permission was granted and fire fighters were put on standby, they said.
20/05/19 PTI/NDTV

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Delhi-Muscat Air India flight diverts to Jamnagar due to medical emergency

Muscat: An Air India flight from Delhi to Muscat was diverted to Jamnagar Air Base on Sunday night after a passenger suffered a cardiac arrest on board.

Speaking to Muscat Daily, an official from Indian Airlines - Muscat, said, “The passenger was immediately rushed to the hospital in Jamnagar and things were taken care of immediately. This happened on Sunday night. The flight from Delhi to Muscat was slated for 10 pm arrival time but due to this diversion, it finally landed at 1am here on Monday.”

Air India also tweeted the same, “A young passenger en-route to Muscat suffered cardiac arrest on board prompting the pilot in command to seek landing at Jamnagar Air Force Base, which was immediately accepted. Due to the timely help of Indian Air Force - Media Coordination Centre, life of the passenger was saved.”

“Due to the timely help of Indian Air Force - Media Coordination Centre, life of the passenger was saved.”

Meanwhile, torrential rains resulted in two Oman Air flights being diverted to nearby airports in the region on Sunday night.
20/05/19 Muscat Daily

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Israel’s Skylock Explores Sale Of Anti-Drone Systems In India

New Delhi: Even as commercial drones are waiting in the wings to take off, foreign majors are eyeing big opportunities in the sector in India.

Skylock of Israel has started scouting for deals in the fledgling sector and is exploring the sale of its systems for securing civilian airports, sources told IANS.

“The Israeli anti-drone system specialist Skylock is looking at opportunities in India. The firm is keen to sell its systems for securing Indian airports from unauthorised drones,” said an industry source.

Given its usefulness in fields like photography, agriculture, logistics and infrastructure, the government has proposed to allow remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), or drones, for commercial purposes. It has already come out with a drone policy but the regulations to allow private firms to use drones for commercial purposes are yet to be operationalised.
19/05/19 IANS/Odishatv.in

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1.5 kg gold worth Rs 50 lakh seized by Customs at airport

Chennai: Customs officials on Monday seized 1.5 kg gold valued at Rs 50 lakh from seven passengers, including a woman, who arrived from Colombo, at the Anna international airport here. An official release said the customs officials intercepted six male passengers, Sathakathullah (57)of Thuraipakkam, Alagarsamy (63) of Karur, Anvar Batcha (47) of Pudukkottai, Hanif Mohamed (39) of Ramanathapuram, Yasin Arafath (25) and Syed Ibrahim (40) of Ramanathapuram; and one woman passenger Egambal (42) of Thanjavur, who arrived from Colombo by Spicejet airlines on suspicion of carrying gold.
 They were questioned and taken up for personal search. During examination gold in rubbery form kept concealed in their rectum was recovered from them, along with eight gold bits of 24K weighing 88 grams on their person.
 On extraction 1.42 kg gold was recovered from the rubbery spread. Gold totally weighing 1.51 Kg of 24 K purity valued at Rs. 50 lakh was recovered and the same was seized under Customs Act, 1962. Further investigation is under progress.
 20/05/19 UNI

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Rohingya Muslim arrested at IGI with fake Indian passport and Aadhaar card procured through his contacts in Hyderabad

In a shocking development, a Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar was arrested Wednesday from Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi with fake Indian documents. According to reports, he was arrested for procuring fake Indian passport and Aadhaar card for travelling to Indonesia. Identified as Mohammed Faisal, the 24-year-old’s application seeking refugee status with the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) was under consideration.

While nothing suspicious was reportedly found out in the joint interrogation of the man by the Delhi police and the Intelligence Bureau officials, an FIR has been registered. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport), Sanjay Bhatia, Faisal was interrogated for terror links. “He told us that he is a Rohingya and was going to Indonesia in search of work”, Bhatia added.

According to the police, Faisal introduced himself as an Indian passenger during immigration clearance after his arrival at the airport. “Faisal had introduced himself as an Indian passenger and produced Indian passport and Aadhaar card before the immigration officer. He was caught after some discrepancies were found in his travel documents,” a police officer said.
Apart from the fact that he failed to give satisfactory answers regarding his trip to Indonesia, a UNHCR document was also recovered from him, which established his Myanmar nationality. “Also, when he was questioned about his trip to Indonesia, his replies were not found satisfactory. After this, all the documents he was carrying were checked, and a copy of a certificate issued by the UNHCR, dated March 20, 2017, was recovered, which established him as a citizen of Myanmar. The documents mentioned his permanent address as Rakhine, Myanmar,” added the police officer.
19/05/19 OpIndia

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IBS to acquire Canadian aviation software major

Thiruvananthapuram: In an attempt to step up its efforts to become a major technology provider in the global aviation industry, Technopark-headquartered IBS Software has entered into a multi-million-dollar agreement with Massachusetts-based Kronos Incorporated to acquire AD OPT.

AD OPT, founded in 1987 in Montreal by a group of mathematicians and operations research experts, was acquired in 2004 by Kronos, a multinational workforce management software and services company employing nearly 6,000 professionals worldwide.

Currently, the IBS staff strength is above 3,000 and are specialists in aviation software, supporting flight operations of large airlines, including British Airways, KLM and Emirates.

AD OPT is a market leader in aviation software that provides crew management solutions to some of the biggest airlines across the world.

The frontline crew planning and optimization platform of AD OPT currently powers some of the top airlines in the world, including Air Canada, EasyJet, Emirates, FedEx, Garuda, Lion Air, and Qantas.

The acquisition is an integral part of IBS' growth strategy to become the leading technology provider to the airline industry worldwide.
19/05/19 Outlook

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Air India to Increase the Number of Flights to Dubai from Early June

Seeking to fill the void created by Jet Airways' suspension of operations and peak summer travel demand, state-run Air India has added capacity on the busy Delhi-Dubai, Mumbai-Dubai and Delhi-Mumbai sectors.
India-Dubai is considered one of the most lucrative sectors as demand is always very high on the route due to high business as well as leisure travel. About half a dozen local and domestic carriers connect 20 Indian cities with the city-state. The new flights would be launched in the first week of June using B787 airplanes. Bookings of all the new flights have started.
"The flights to Dubai would be started utilizing the additional overseas flying rights by the government recently," said an official.
Preferring Air India over the private carriers, the civil aviation ministry earlier this week decided to allot about 5,700 weekly seats to the airline out of grounded Jet Airways' unused quota on the lucrative India-Dubai route. The public sector airline was also promised over 5,000 seats on India-Qatar route besides about 4,600 additional seats to and from London.
19/05/19 IANS/News18.com

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Are foreigners the new carriers for smugglers?

Chennai: When it comes to gold carriers through airports, foreigners are becoming the new choice. Customs seizure data at the Chennai international airport threw up this new trend. While the number of Indians arrested for gold smuggling has decreased slightly, there has been a two-fold increase in the number of foreigners in 2018-19 as compared to the previous year.
Last year five foreigners were arrested, whereas the number has gone up to 12 this year. The arrested foreigners were citizens of the UK, China, Korea, Thailand and Sudan. The corresponding number for Indians arrested is 65, down from 69 the previous year.
While the number of foreigners is not high, two of the biggest seizures by customs officials in Chennai were from foreign nationals. On May 8, 2018, 40kg of gold worth `12.53 crore with Chinese markings were seized at the airport. Two men from China, who had arrived from Hong Kong, had dumped the gold in the airport the toilet after witnessing the tight vigilance. They were nabbed later from a city hotel. On January 12, two Korean women from Hong Kong were arrested for carrying 12kg gold each, worth `8 crore in all. Customs officials have in some instances found Malaysian men and women with newly-made passports also indulging in gold smuggling.
19/05/19 Times of India

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Rs 40 lakh gold seized at Kempegowda International Airport; 2 Lankan women among 4 held

Bengaluru:  Three women, including two Sri Lankans, who attempted to smuggle in Rs 39.6 lakh worth of gold into Bengaluru, were detained at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in three days. A male passenger was also detained with gold paste stuffed in his undergarments.
Two Sri Lankan women flying separately on Sri Lankan Airlines flight UL 173, which landed at KIA from Colombo in the early hours of Thursday, were intercepted by the air intelligence unit, following passenger profiling in the arrival area. A 75-year-old woman was found carrying 98.9g gold worth about Rs 3.3 lakh in her body and inside her luggage in the form of gold nuggets and a pair of ear studs, revealed customs sources.
Another woman, 44, was carrying a gold nugget, a bracelet and a pair of gold stud weighing 264.7g overall. The smuggled gold worth about Rs 8.8 lakh was hidden in her undergarments.
An Indian on the same flight was also caught attempting to smuggle gold in a similar fashion. He had 405.4g gold worth about Rs 13.3 lakh hidden in the form of paste in his undergarments.
19/05/19 Times of India

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Direct flights from Rwanda’s Kigali to link India, China soon

Kigali: RwandAir is all set to link China, India and Rwanda by launching direct flights from Kigali to Guangzhou with a stopover in India's financial capital, Mumbai.

The flag carrier airline of Rwanda will start its operation on June 18 this year. Round trips are going to be operated three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday with an Airbus A330 aircraft.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of RwandAir, Yvonne Manzi Makolo, the new air route is expected to bring more opportunities as Africa and China have seen increasing trade volume and demand for air capacity.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport sources said Guangzhou would be the second destination of RwandAir in the Far East, following Mumbai. The government of Rwanda believes that the new connectivity will develop the East African country's tourism sector as Guangzhou is one of China's most visited tourist sites with the iconic canton tower and Guangzhou Chimelong tourist resort.
18/05/19 Devdiscourse

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Mumbai-Paris fare today is Rs 1.2 lakh, but starts dipping for London

Mumbai: Over a month after Jet Airways ceased international operations, airfares on flights to European destinations like Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Zurich and Paris remain sky-high. For travel this weekend, the last-minute cheapest, one-way fare on non-stop Mumbai-Frankfurt or Mumbai-Paris flights started at Rs 1.2 lakh.
The good news is fares have cooled on the high-demand, Mumbai-London route. For travel next week, the cheapest one-way, ono-stop fare was Rs 70,000 and it comes down to Rs 51,000 in June. In April, direct one-way tickets were going over for over a lakh.

Usually, in summer, a peak travel time to European destinations, return fares to London are in the range of Rs 55,000-65,000. For Mumbai-Paris, it is usually around Rs 55,000.

On Friday, there were hardly any tickets available on non-stop flights to Amsterdam, Zurich for travel in the coming week. For a week later, the cheapest fare was Rs 76,000 on non-stop flights from Mumbai to Frankfurt or Zurich, while it was Rs 1 lakh on flights to Amsterdam or Paris.

"The hike is in the region of 20 to 30%," said John Nair of Cox and Kings, attributing the surge to Jet Airways closure, the cricket World Cup in England and the failure to no new capacity in the international sectors in the short term.
18/05/19 Times of India

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Amazon quietly introduces flight bookings for users in India

A possible sign of things to come for Amazon: the e-commerce giant has quietly introduced flight search and booking on its platform in India.

The service is only for flights within India at the moment and is powered by domestic online travel agency, Cleartrip.

Amazon is expected to outline further details regarding the service early next week.

The integration works through the Amazon Pay section in the site, where members can select services ranging from utility bills to gift cards.

A "Flights" button is now featured alongside and takes users to the white label version of the OTA's existing flight functionality.

Carriers such as AirAsia, IndiGo, Air India and GoAir are shown in the search results.
I accept the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
A 15% cashback offer is currently in play and is redeemed when users complete the booking.
The emergence of a flight booking tool comes amid ongoing speculation that Amazon will make a concerted effort to re-enter the travel space.
17/05/19 Kevin May/Phocus Wire

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Pak airspace to stay shut for Indian flights till May 30

Lahore: Pakistan on Wednesday decided not to lift its airspace ban for Indian flights till May 30, as Islamabad is awaiting the outcome of the Lok Sabha polls in India.
Pakistan fully closed its airspace after an Indian Air Force strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot on February 26.
However, Pakistan opened its airspace for all flights except for New Delhi, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur on March 27.
“The top officials of defence and aviation ministries held a meeting on Wednesday to reconsider opening its airspace for Indian flights.
They decided that Pakistan’s airspace will remain banned for the Indian flights till May 30,” a senior government official told PTI after the meeting.
He said the Civil Aviation Authority has also notified the airmen. The authority issued a notification after the meeting to pilots, advising them of circumstances relating to the state of flying.
The official said the government will now consider lifting of the ban on Pakistan’s airspace for Indian flights on May 30.
Pakistan’s science and technology minister Fawad Chaudhry early this week said the status quo will remain till the conclusion of elections in India.
“Status quo will remain till the elections are over in India. I don’t see any improvement in relations between Pakistan and India till the elections are over and a new government is installed.
The ban on airspace by each other I think will also continue till Indian polls,” Chaudhry said.
Owing to the flight ban on its airspace by India, Pakistan has suspended its operation for Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur which is causing a loss of millions of rupees per day.
17/05/19 Sangai Express

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Bid to farm out Jet foreign slots

The government on Friday said a rule-based approach would be followed for the allocation of Jet Airways’ lucrative international flying rights, with all the domestic players hankering for a piece of the pie.

The civil aviation ministry will create a transparent standard operating procedure (SOP) to allocate the rights on a temporary basis.

“We had asked airlines to confirm their requirement of (domestic) slots and (international) traffic rights...Their requests have been officially logged in,” civil aviation secretary P.S. Kharola said on Friday.

“Our people will do an analysis now and we will evolve a transparent SOP based on which the rights will be given,” Kharola said. He was speaking to reporters after a meeting with the senior executives of Indian airlines.

Analysts said the move to allot the overseas flying slots was another step to discourage the bidders of Jet from going ahead with their plan to rescue the debt-laden carrier.

According to DGCA data for 2017-18, Jet Airways was the biggest international player among the domestic carriers, with a market share of 13.8 per cent, followed by Air India at 10.4 per cent.

Jet was the second-largest operator in the domestic market after IndiGo.

All carriers have shown interest for Jet’s slots, including IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, GoAir and Vistara. But priority in terms of allocation will be given to Air India.

“Air India always gets (international flying rights) the priority,” Kharola said.

He clarified that the allocation of such rights would be temporary and subject to Jet Airways’ revival.

Analysts said Air India was likely to corner the bulk of of the rights to Europe, the US and the Far East. Neither SpiceJet nor GoAir or IndiGo has wide-bodied planes required to operate non-stop long-haul flights to Europe and the US.
18/05/19 Telegraph

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Mumbai-Jeddah Non-Stop Flight to be Launched by SpiceJet from July

Budget passenger carrier SpiceJet on Thursday said that it will introduce a daily non-stop flight on Mumbai-Jeddah-Mumbai sector from July 5. According to the airline, Mumbai is the third destination after Hyderabad and Kozhikode to be connected to Jeddah. On the domestic sector, it will launch six new domestic flights connecting the country's financial capital to other destinations from May 20. "The new domestic flights will help in minimising the passenger inconvenience caused due to the sudden shortage in capacity within the Indian aviation industry," the airline's Chief Sales and Revenue Officer Shilpa Bhatia said.
17/05/19 IANS/News18

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Boeing completes software upgrade on 737 MAX planes

New Delhi: U.S. plane-maker Boeing said on Friday that it has completed developing an updated software for the 737 MAX aircraft, which have been grounded globally for more than two months after they were involved in two fatal crashes in a span of five months.

Boeing has also completed simulator testing and conducted an engineering test flight for more than 360 hours and 207 flights with the updated software, it said in a statement.

Next, Boeing would work with American aviation regulatory body, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to provide information on how pilots interact with airplane controls and displays in different flight scenarios. Subsequently, Boeing and FAA would schedule a certification test flight and regulatory bodies of various countries will take a call on permitting 737 MAX to resume flying.
17/05/19 The Hindu

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Shreya Ghoshal flooded with support after airlines stops her from carrying a precious musical instrument

Singer Shreya Ghoshal might have won millions of hearts across the world with her exquisite voice and flawless singing, but she recently hit a wrong note with an international airlines. What happened was this — Shreya was stopped from carrying a precious musical instrument on flight.
The irked singer took to social media to express her displeasure. Here’s what she tweeted:
I guess @SingaporeAir does not want musicians or any body who has a precious instrument to fly with on this airline. Well. Thank you. Lesson learnt.

— Shreya Ghoshal (@shreyaghoshal) May 15, 2019
Soon after, the airlines apologised, tweeting, “Hi Shreya, we are sorry to hear this. May we seek more details of your concerns and what was last advised by our colleagues? Thank you.” Here, take a look their tweet:
Hi Shreya, we are sorry to hear this. May we seek more details of your concerns and what was last advised by our colleagues? Thank you.

— Singapore Airlines (@SingaporeAir) May 15, 2019
Shreya also won immense support from her fans and admirers across the world. One of them said, “When we ran Bollywood Abroad newspaper in the US we found @shreyaghoshal to be one the most down to earth and amazing celebrities that we interviewed. If she says something like this, you would do well to take it very seriously or lose customers!”
17/05/19 ETimes

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Etihad nominee director on Jet Airways’ board Robin Kamark quits

Grounded carrier Jet Airways Friday said Etihad nominee director on the airline’s board, Robin Kamark, has quit the company with effect from May 16.
After Kamark’s exit, only Ashok Chawla and Sharad Sharma remain on Jet Airways board, which ceased operations around mid-April.
The Gulf-based Etihad, which acquired 24 per cent stake in the then Naresh Goyal-promoted carrier in 2013, had two nominee directors, Kevin Night and Robin Kamark, on the airline’s board.
Night stepped down in March along with Jet Airways founder-chairman Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal on March 25 following a debt recast plan.
Naresh Goyal also stepped down from the post of chairman.
“Robin Kamark nominee director of Etihad Airways PJSC, has resigned from the company with effect from May 16,” Jet Airways said in a regulatory filing.
18/05/19 Prime Time Media

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Pakistan airspace closure: How Pakistan's behavior is hitting international air traffic and its own economy

What started as a defence exigency is now staring the latest political developments in both countries as India-Pakistan's airspace closure has been extended till May 30.
Pakistan closed its airspace entirely in February, following the IAF’s Balakot air-strike. It was partially opened for domestic flights and international flights that were either originating from Pakistan or are Pakistan-bound.
Flights between India and Pakistan are not operating. Flights using India-Pakistan airspace have been rerouted — resulting in long flying hours, overshooting costs, etc.
In February, it was a defence decision.
Three months down the line, it is political — beyond the aviation authorities of both the countries.
This is a bilateral situation, true. But the ramifications are international.
Both India and Pakistan are bearing the brunt of the closure — especially given Pakistan’s present economic crisis. (The dollar has reached a historical high of Rs 148 in Pakistan).
But the issue has evidently been put on a slow backburner.
Pakistan, of course, is blaming India for not showing any interest in “de-escalation”.
Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal told Dawn, “We want de-escalation. If de-escalation takes place, we would not like to have a ban (on our airspace for India) for a single day but for the purpose, it (India) will have to talk to us. India should show rational behaviour and must understand that issues will not be resolved through confrontation.”
From February to April, about 513 cases of ceasefire violations have been reported.
This figure, of course, doesn’t match the spirit of de-escalation.
So, why May 30?
The results of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 will be out on May 23.
So, Pakistan has bought time till May 30 to review the opening of its airspace.
It hopes by that time, the new government will be formed.
Whoever wins and whoever comes to the power, it is highly unlikely that a new Pakistan policy will be in place before May 30.
17/05/19 Poulomi Ghosh/Daily O

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Afghan couple held at IGI airport for using fake ticket to enter terminal

New Delhi: An Afghan couple has been apprehended at Delhi airport for allegedly using a fake travel ticket to enter the terminal, officials said Friday.

Md Zadi Khaliabad and his wife Farida were apprehended on Thursday noon when the CISF personnel, deployed for airport security, found them roaming suspiciously inside the Terminal-3 (T3) building of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, they said.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel were informed by them that they had entered the terminal to see off a family member, who was travelling to Kabul.

Officials said the two, holding Afghan passports, used a cancelled ticket to enter.
17/05/19 Outlook

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Kyrgyz woman held at Delhi airport for smuggling in gold, cigarettes

New Delhi: A woman from Kyrgyzstan has been arrested by customs officials at the airport here for allegedly trying to smuggle in gold and cigarettes worth Rs 27 lakh, the customs department said Friday.

The accused was intercepted after her arrival from Osh (Kyrgyzstan) via Moscow on Thursday.

A detailed personal and baggage search of the passenger resulted in the recovery of four gold chains (collectively weighing 803 grams) and 5,000 sticks of Davidoff brand cigarettes, the customs department said in a statement.

The gold and cigarettes worth Rs 26.73 lakh has been seized and the passenger was arrested, it said.
17/05/19 Outlook

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