Get ready to fly abroad from Hubballi airport

Hubballi: Private airlines such as IndiGo may soon start connecting flight service to facilitate people to travel to international destinations from Hubballi airport.
IndiGo, which is operating daily flights to Bengaluru, Cochin, Ahmedabad and Chennai from Hubballi, has decided to operate ‘connecting flight’ service to international destinations from December 1.

After the airport was developed to international standards at a cost of Rs 130 crore, the city was chosen under the regional connectivity scheme, Udan, one of the flagship projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At present, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India are operating direct flights to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa, Mumbai, Kochi, and Mangaluru from Hubballi airport, thereby increasing the number of fliers from the city.

Currently there are no direct flights to any international destination from Hubballi. IndiGo is planning to provide connectivity to Abu Dabi, Kuwait, Doha, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other international destinations from Hubballi for the convenience of fliers.

Reliable sources from IndiGo confirmed that the airline will start connecting flights to international destinations from December 1 from Hubballi. Indigo will offer three connecting flights to Bangkok and Singapore via Chennai every day except Sunday, three flights to Dubai via Ahmedabad on every Sunday, five flights to Hong Kong via Bengaluru and four flights to Male via Cochin.

Six flights to Singapore via Bengaluru will also be run out of which three will be operated every day of the week except Sunday, while three flights will operate on Sundays.

Of the six flights to Abu Dhabi via Cochin, three will operate on every Tuesday and the other three will run on every day of the week except Tuesday. The three flights to Colombo via Chennai will be run every day of the week except Wednesdays and Sundays, said sources.

30/11/18 Basavaraj Kattimani/Times of India

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MP warns of mounting political pressure on AAI for international flights

Surat: Navsari BJP MP CR Paatil has warned that he would mount political pressure on the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and India’s flagship carrier Air India Express asking them to start international flights from Surat.

Addressing the meeting of airport advisory committee, which he chairs, Paatil said that the required infrastructure for the international operations is almost ready and that the airport is awaiting deployment of the customs and immigration staff. There is the issue of the time slot between AAI and Air India Express, which is a trivial thing and can be sorted out, he claimed.

Talking to TOI, Paatil said, “The wait is getting longer and people are asking me about the international air connectivity. Now, it is time to bring political pressure to get things going on a fast pace. I want to assure that the international connectivity between Surat and Sharjah will be in place very soon.”

Paatil added, “The last domestic flight leaves the airport at 9:30pm and after that the airport is empty. The Surat-Sharjah flight could depart at 11:30 pm and the passengers could be accommodated at the terminal building.”

30/11/18 Times of India

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Air forces of the US and India to hold joint exercise 'Cope India 2019'

Air forces of the United States and India are scheduled to participate in a 12-day joint exercise 'Cope India 2019' at two air force stations in West Bengal next month, the US Consulate said here Thursday.

The exercise will be held from December 3 to 14 at Air Station Kalaikunda and Air Station Arjan Singh (Panagarh).
The exercise showcases efforts and commitment of the two nations to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, a communique from the US Consulate said.
The Cope India exercise is being held after a gap of eight years, with the last one having taken place in 2010.
"Exercise CI19 is a long-standing bilateral US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)-sponsored Field Training Exercise (FTX), conducted with the Indian Air Force (IAF), focused on enhancing US-Indian mutual cooperation and building on existing capabilities, aircrew tactics and force employment," the communique said.
29/11/18 PTI/Economic Times

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Stockholm airport wingtip hit: Air India grounds both pilots, orders probe

New Delhi: Air India has grounded the pilots of its Wednesday’s Delhi-Sweden flight after the Dreamliner’s wingtip struck a building at Stockholm's Arlanda airport on arrival while taxiing to the gate there.
The aircraft had 179 passengers and there were no injuries. However, the Boeing 787 is grounded there for checks and repairs.
“We have derostered (taken off flying duties) both the pilots. Further investigation is on,” said a senior AI official. The Stockholm police, in a statement, said the 179 passengers "could disembark from the plane on a mobile staircase and thereafter enter the terminal.”
The incident had happened at 5.45 pm (GMT) when the plane was about 50 metres from the airport’s terminal 5.
29/11/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Abusive passenger onboard AI flight released

The drunk Irish “international human rights and criminal lawyer” who hurled at Air India cabin staff after they refused to give her a bottle of wine on a between Mumbai and London this past Saturday has been questioned by police and under .
Metropolitan police arrested the 50-year-old at Airport at 1.30pm on Saturday after her Air India flight from Mumbai landed.
“She was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order, common assault and drunk and disorderly and taken to a west London police station. The arrest related to incidents that had occurred on board the plane. She was subsequently released under investigation,” said a Met police spokesman.
A spokesman for the UK civil aviation authority told TOI: “Acts of drunkenness on board an aircraft face a maximum fine of £5,000 and two years in prison. Endangering the safety of an aircraft can result in up to five years in prison. Disruptive passengers may also be asked to reimburse the airline with the cost of the diversion. Diversion costs typically range from £10,000-£80,000, depending on the size of aircraft and where it diverts to.”
In a video, the woman is seen swearing repeatedly at cabin crew, demanding a bottle of wine, claiming she is a “lawyer for the Palestinian people” and a “leader of the boycott movement”, threatening to arrange a boycott of Air India if they refused to serve her another bottle of wine. She shouts at her business class passengers and calls them “pathetic” for not standing up for her.
The Crown Prosecution Service legal guidance for travel offences states: “Courts in the UK have power to deal with offences which are committed on-board any aircraft whilst on the ground or in the air over the UK. Courts in the UK will have jurisdiction in respect of offences committed on a foreign aircraft (except for military aircraft) outside UK airspace in the following circumstances: in the case of an aircraft registered in a foreign country the act or omission must constitute an offence both in this country and under the law in force in that foreign country (the ‘dual criminality’ test) and after the act or omission occurs, the next landing of the aircraft is in the UK.”
29/11/18 Jospeh Taylor/ZTribune

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Gigaba ‘pushed SAA to give Mumbai route to Jet Airways’

During his tenure as minister for public enterprises, Malusi Gigaba put pressure on South African Airways (SAA) to make a deal with Jet Airways aimed at getting SAA to relinquish the Johannesburg-Mumbai route, the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture heard yesterday.

In her testimony, former SAA chairperson Cheryl Carolus, who was on the board from 2009 to 2012, said: “The first thing Gigaba did after being appointed to the public enterprises portfolio was to call a meeting to discuss the Mumbai route. I sent CEO Siza Mzimela and the board’s head of audit to explain our approach and they reported back to me.

“Gigaba made the SAA team wait for three hours for unidentified people who were going to be part of the meeting. Later, two Indian gentlemen walked in, one of whom happened to be Jet Airways founder and chair Naresh Goyal.”

Carolus said Gigaba took a back seat, allowing Jet Airways to drive the discussion.

“The Jet Airways executives were disrespectful to Mzimela. They wanted SAA to terminate the route. Only deputy minister Ben Martins supported the SAA team, saying the Indian delegation had no business in the SAA Mumbai route.”

Carolus said there were four flights a week on the route and it was important as a growing network route for the east-west corridor expansion to service India, Africa and South America.

“No one had the connectivity we had, as Mumbai was marketed as a package. The strategy was to bring more people to SA using a hub strategy with many spin-offs for business and the economy.”
30/11/18 Brian Sokutu/The Citizen

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Jet Airways may cede reins to Etihad, puts Tatas' proposal on back burner

Mumbai/New Delhi: Naresh Goyal-run Jet Airways is said to have agreed to give up its controlling stake, paving the way for Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways to increase its holding in the troubled Indian airline up to 49 per cent — the maximum permissible limit for a foreign entity.
At present, Etihad owns 24 per cent of Jet Airways, while Goyal holds a 51 per cent stake.
According to sources, founder and chairman Goyal, who has been reluctant to give up control, is now preferring Etihad’s offer to the ones being discussed with Tata Sons and other private equity funds.

“He has agreed to give up control. It was imperative,” said a person privy to the developments. If the deal materialises, Etihad will increase its stake to 49 per cent and, in return, the West Asian carrier will infuse cash through equity and loans.
“Etihad is likely to bring in another Indian entity, which too can invest alongside,” said a source. It is learnt that the airline is in talks with NRI businessman M A Yusuf Ali, the owner of Lulu Group, which owns hypermarket stores and shopping malls. Ali had joined the Air India board as an independent director in 2010. He has also invested in Cochin International Airport and sits on its board.
According to foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, an NRI is allowed to hold a 100 per cent stake in an airline. Ali didn't respond to multiple calls and text messages seeking response on the matter.
The shares of Jet Airways on Wednesday surged over 5 per cent amid reports that Goyal would sell a stake in the company. The stock soared 5.20 per cent to end at Rs 308.80 on the BSE.
29/11/18 Shrimi Choudhary & Arindam Majumder/Business Standard

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An Indian partner may help Etihad take control of Jet

Mumbai:Jet Airways and Etihad Airways are in discussions to rope in a third party—an Indian entity— which will partner Etihad in buying a majority stake and management control in Jet, said a person aware of the discussions.

He didn’t elaborate names but said private equity players have been approached.

“In line with its policy, Jet Airways does not comment on speculation,” said an airline spokesperson in response to an email seeking comment.

Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal is wooing Abu-Dhabi based Etihad to increase its stake in his airline from 24% currently to as much as 49%. But a foreign player can’t have management control in an Indian airline and that has spurted the search for an Indian partner.

Goyal earlier this month, flew to Abu Dhabi meeting not just the Etihad management but also the royal family including crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan.

These were meetings that helped resume discussions between the two airlines after Etihad had initially made its disinterest for further investment clear. Etihad, also has the right of first refusal, a crucial advantage at a time when the Jet Airways founder is scouring for investors.
29/11/18 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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India must renegotiate plan for HAL to build Rafale aircraft

The political controversy surrounding the procurement of the Rafale aircraft against a long-standing requirement of the Indian Air Force drew in its wake one more victim, with the president of the principal Opposition party addressing a gathering of past and present employees at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bangalore.

The three pillars on which national air power rests are the IAF, research and development and associated aeronautics’ manufacturing infrastructure and, to a lesser extent, civil aviation. The growth of HAL since Independence has been linked to that of the IAF: not only has the IAF been its biggest customer, but it has also provided test pilots, engineers, test facilities and three managing directors/chairmen who then moved on to become the chief of air staff. On the financial front, in the initial years, HAL billing to the IAF was on a cost plus basis. In later years, while fixed costs were quoted, HAL budgets were bridged by IAF and HAL mutually adjusting the annual man-hour rates to cover deficits.

As aeronautics and space activities expanded in the country, there was the welcome entry of private enterprises in the small and medium sector. This continues to expand with offset obligations for imports and Make in India efforts. HAL has been listed on the stock exchange and government holding diluted to nearly 90 per cent. These are welcome steps towards larger private ownership. In the long run, HAL must stand on its own to compete internationally, unshackled from the control of the ministry of defence and its dependence on the IAF, its one major customer.

The political debate surrounding the reasons why the previous proposal to manufacture Rafale aircraft at HAL was dropped has turned into one in which HAL finds itself on the back foot. The reasons why no agreement was reached are as follows: Dassault’s unwillingness to take responsibility for the quality of aircraft produced at HAL and, second, enhanced costs associated with HAL production man-hours being 2.7 times those of Dassault.
29/11/18 Brijesh D. Jayal/Telegraph

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CISF offers expertise to international agencies in aviation security in Montreal

New Delhi:  CISF director general Rajesh Ranjan and additional director general MA Ganapathy attended the Global Aviation Security Symposium 2018 at Montreal, Canada on November 27-28 during which issues like use of new technology like CT based screening system for cabin baggage, artificial intelligence and biometric control access were discussed.

The points discussed in the second global aviation symposium organized by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) are usually binding on the member countries, said sources.

CISF is already exploring the use of CT scanning technology for checking laptops inside the handbags. Currently, the technology is being examined at London's Heathrow airport.

In the two day symposium, the civil aviation security experts from various countries discussed the need of effective risk awareness, robust application of enhanced security measures in the wake of emerging threats and the need for establishment of a stronger aviation security oversight regime capacity building through training of human resources etc.

The aviation experts also deliberated upon the need for risk based approach to aviation security.
29/11/18 Neeraj Chouhan/Times of India

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Air India plane hits building at Stockholm airport, no injuries reported

New Delhi: An Air India aircraft, carrying 179 passengers, had a close shave after it hit a building at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport with its wingtip as it was taxing on Wednesday, AFP reported. No injuries were reported.
“The 179 passengers could disembark from the plane on a mobile staircase and thereafter enter the terminal,” AFP quoted a police statement. The cause of the accident was not immediately known, police said. The accident occurred about 50 meters from Terminal 5, the main terminal for international flights.
Pictures from the scene showed the Boeing aircraft, which originated from New Delhi, parked on the runway with the tip of its left wing stuck in the side of a building. Fire trucks have been rushed to the spot.
29/11/18 Indian Express

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Indonesian investigators say doomed Lion Air jet 'airworthy'

Jakarta: Investigators of the October 28 crash of a Lion Air flight into the Java Sea say the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was deemed airworthy when it made its final takeoff from Jakarta.

The officials summoned reporters Thursday to clarify comments made at a news conference the day before, where some media reported they had said the plane was not airworthy when it took off.

The National Transportation Safety Commission investigators were reporting on data from the aircraft's black boxes. They say the cockpit voice recorder, which is still missing and being searched for, is needed to understand what exactly caused the jet to plunge in the Java Sea just 11 minutes after takeoff.

"The NTSC and the Head of Aviation Communication never stated that Lion Air, Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft registered PK-LQP, was not airworthy," said investigator Nurcahyo Utomo.

He said that based on maintenance records, flight engineers had made repairs and run tests.
29/11/18 AP/Times of India

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'Lion Air jet that crashed killing 189 was not airworthy’

Jakarta: A Lion Air jet that crashed into the sea off Indonesia last month was not in an airworthy condition on its second-to-last flight, when pilots experienced similar problems to those on its doomed last journey, investigators said on Wednesday. Contact with the Boeing 737 MAX jet was lost 13 minutes after it took off on October 29 from Jakarta heading north to the tin-mining town of Pangkal Pinang. Indian carriers Jet Airways and SpiceJet too use Boeing 737 MAX.

In a preliminary report, Indonesia’s transport safety committee (KNKT) focused on the airline’s maintenance practices and pilot training and a Boeing anti-stall system but did not give a cause for the crash that killed all 189 people on board.

The report unveiled fresh details of efforts by pilots to steady the jet as they reported a “flight control problem”, including the captain’s last words to air traffic control asking to be cleared to “five thou” or 5,000 feet.

Information retrieved from the flight data recorder showed the “stick shaker” was vibrating the captain’s controls, warning of a stall throughout most of the flight. The captain was using his controls to bring the plane’s nose up, but an automated anti-stall system was pushing it down.

Pilots flying the same plane a day earlier had experienced a similar problem, en route from Bali to Jakarta, until they used switches to shut off the system and used manual controls to fly and stabilise the plane, KNKT said. “The flight from Denpasar to Jakarta experienced stick shaker activation during the takeoff rotation and remained active throughout the flight,” the committee said. “This condition is considered as un-airworthy condition and the flight should have been discontinued.”
Pilots of that flight reported problems to Lion Air’s maintenance team, which checked the jet and cleared it for takeoff the next morning. Former Boeing flight control engineer Peter Lemme said stick shaker activation was “very distracting and unnerving”. KNKT investigator Nurcahyo Utomo said the agency had not determined if the anti-stall system, which was not explained to pilots in manuals, was a contributing factor. In a statement, Boeing, which has said procedures for preventing an antistall system activating by accident were already in place, said pilots of the penultimate flight had used that drill but noted the report did not say if pilots of the doomed flight did so.
29/11/18 Reuters/Times of India

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Etihad zeroes in on Indian partner to dilute Naresh Goyal control in Jet Airways; looks to raise stake

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, which has a 24% equity stake in cash-strapped Jet Airways, is looking to raise its stake to up to 49%, the maximum a foreign airline can hold as per the foreign direct investment rules for the aviation sector.
Sources in the know of developments told FE that Etihad has also zeroed in on a local Indian partner, which will also pick equity in Jet Airways so that in alliance it can dilute Jet’s promoter chairman Naresh Goyal’s 51% stake to have some sort of management control in the airline. The FDI guidelines also stipulate that the management control of an airline having foreign investment should vest in Indian partners.
“Etihad has zeroed in on a local business partner and it is a person who is more aligned to the West Asian interests,” said a source aware of the development. In response to an FE query, Jet Airways Spokesperson said, “In line with its policy, Jet Airways does not comment on speculation.” Etihad’s spokesperson did not respond to the query till the time of going to the press.
Etihad bought a 24% stake in Jet Airways for Rs 2,060 crore in May 2013. In October, Etihad had pumped in $35 million as a pre-purchase payment for Jet’s flying miles programme — JetPrivilege — in which it holds a majority stake of 51%, giving succour to Jet which is struggling to run operations due to a financial crunch.
Jet Airways is also in discussion with the Tatas for a possible share-swap agreement but the deal is not moving fast enough and the airline is in need of immediate cash as it needs money to meet its operational commitments, its lease payments, its salary dues as it has not paid a certain section of its employees, including the pilots.
28/11/18 Manisha Singhal/Financial Express

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HAL CEO says Rafale deal negotiations with Dassault Aviation went south due to disagreements over technology transfer

industan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) CEO R Madhavan in an interview answered questions over the Rafale deal negotiations with Dassault Aviation, saying that the deal breaker was because of disagreement over technology transfer and that HAL man hour rates are lower than global rates. The CEO also asserted that the focus must be on the final cost.

The clarifications came from the CEO after BJP minister Babul Supriyo on 27 September had indicated that HAL lost on the Rafale deal because it quoted 2.57 times more man-hours to build fighter jets. In an interview with CNN-News18, Madhavan also said that HAL is not actively looking for any offset business offers and said that "we work in offset business if it is in our domain."

Madhavan had further stated that HAL is primarily engaged in manufacturing aircraft and it has technology transfer agreement with foreign original equipment manufacturer (OEM) but as far as offset is concerned, "we are not going to actively pursue offset deal."

While talking about the deal with Dassault, he said that first quote by the French aviation firm was 170 percent higher.

HAL was to produce 108 fighter jets locally in a joint venture with French firm Dassault Aviation in the deal for 126 Rafale jets that the previous UPA regime had negotiated. The state-owned firm, however, was left out in the deal as the present government signed to buy 36 fighter jets in 'fly-away' condition from France, reported PTI.
28/11/18 First Post

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Chinese tourist stopped at airport due to clerical error by KGMU

Lucknow: An elderly Chinese tourist was stopped by authorities before boarding flight to her country at Delhi airport. The authorities claimed that tourist visa of 69-year-old Chen Mei Ching has expired.

However, the woman claimed that she suffered a major injury in her leg while visiting Lucknow. She had to undergo treatment at the city's King George's Medical University (KGMU) due to which she could not leave the country on time.

On checking her medical prescription and other documents, the airport official spotted a major clerical error on the part of hospital staff. The hospital slip mentions her name as 'Chai My Chin' instead of 'Chen Mei Ching'.

The woman was later handed over to the embassy officials for further investigation.
The embassy officials have sought further clarification from the KGMU hospital
28/11/18 Navbharat Times/Times of India

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Jet Airways brings Capt Hameed Ali on board to lead talks with Etihad, again

Even as he explores multiple avenues in his quest for funds for the troubled Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal has roped in industry veteran Capt Hameed Ali to lead talks with shareholder Etihad Airways.

Capt Ali was instrumental in Jet Airways' deal with Etihad in 2013, when the Abu Dhabi-based airline bought a 24 percent stake in its Indian peer.

"Capt Ali is a known face in the industry, especially in the Middle-East where he has close ties," said an executive from the industry.

Capt Ali's rapport with Etihad's senior management will be crucial for Goyal, who needs an urgent infusion of liquidity to keep his airline flying. Jet Airways has now reported losses for three consecutive quarters.

Sources said that Goyal is open to diluting the 51 percent stake he holds in the airline, along with his wife.

A Bahraini national, Capt Ali built his reputation during his 30-year stint with Gulf Air. The seasoned pilot has over 10,000 flying hours on various aircraft, including Boeing and Airbus planes.

He joined Jet Airways in 2007, and was the airline's Chief Operating Officer. Soon after leading the successful talks with Etihad, he was promoted to the Chief Executive Officer's post.

Although he currently holds an official designation of Group Executive Officer, Capt Ali did not have any daily responsibilities.
28/11/18 Prince Mathews Thomas/moneycontrol.com

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Oman Air keen on greater interaction with India

It is a small player in world aviation. It also gets easily overshadowed by bigger players Emirates and Etihad that operate from the same region. But Oman Air, the official airline of Oman, has always realised India’s important position and the airline is now planning to become more aggressive in its marketing in India.

Oman has approached the Indian government seeking an increase in the number of weekly seats that carriers can operate to and from India — from 27,000 to 70,000 seats.

In December last year, authorities in India and Oman increased the number of weekly seats the Oman carriers were permitted to operate, to 27,405, up from 21,145 seats permitted earlier. Oman Air is the only airline from Oman that operates flights to India.

“There is no specific number (on the number of weekly seats that Omani carriers can operate) that we can say in public. But we have informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi that if we can get up to 70,000 (seats), that will be great to have. I raised this point during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Oman. They promised to look at it,” Ahmed Al Futaisi, the Omani Minister for Civil Aviation and Telecommunication, told a group of Indian journalists in Muscat recently.
27/11/18 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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Lion Air’s deadly flight was a 13-minute struggle between man and machine

Indonesian investigators released a preliminary crash report on November 28 that described a battle between the pilots of Lion Air flight JT610 and an automated anti-stall system on the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that continually forced the plane downward in reaction to incorrect flight data. Less than 15 minutes after the flight took off from Jakarta on Oct. 29, the plane crashed in the Java Sea, killing all 189 people on board.
The anti-stall system is known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), and is a new addition on the 737 Max 8 and 9 models that can pitch the plane’s nose down without pilot input when sensor data indicates the possibility of a stall.

The 78-page report from Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee, known by the acronym KNKT, described in detail problems experienced with the plane in flights before its crash, and shared information from the flight’s data recorder—the cockpit voice recorder hasn’t been recovered—without drawing conclusions. “When it comes to faulting, I don’t know, our job isn’t to find faults,” Nurcahyo Utomo, who heads KNKT’s aviation-accident subcommittee, said at a press conference (paywall).

In addition to Indonesian investigators, the crash probe involved the US National Transportation Safety Board and investigators from Australia and Singapore.

The report made few safety recommendations other than calling on Lion Air to improve its safety culture. It said that in the penultimate flight, pilots continued flying even though the stick shaker—which generates a noisy warning before a stall—continued to vibrate, instead of opting to land at the nearest airport.

On the final flight, according to the Satcom Guru website run by Peter Lemme, a former Boeing engineer, the flight data recorder information for the JT610 showed “there are 26 occurrences of MCAS trim down, pilot trim up”—with trim referring to the efforts to redirect the plane.

A chart included in the report shows a series of orange lines that designate the automated system’s efforts, matched by a series of blue ones in the opposite direction, indicating the pilots’ efforts.
The Oct. 29 crash was the first such incident with the 737 Max variant, which Lion Air was the first carrier to begin using in 2017. This particular aircraft had only been put into operation in August—the flight recorder included 69 hours of operation for 19 flights, including the final one.

According to the crash report, on that flight the shaker indicating an impending stall activated at about 400 feet. The flight system carried out three maneuvers to adjust the nose downward, but the commanding pilot initiated steps to override it a little over eight minutes into the flight. The flight landed safely in Jakarta about an hour and a half after takeoff.

It’s not clear why pilots of the Oct. 29 flight weren’t able to override the system or what procedures they tried to use. According to today’s report, the 31-year-old Indian commanding pilot of JT610 had more than 6,000 hours of flying experience, while the second-in-command, a 41-year-old Indonesian national, had over 5,000 hours of flying experience.

The crash has turned attention to Lion Air’s safety record and lapses, including a plane’s wing clipping an electricity pole in the days after the crash.

Boeing may be working with the FAA on a software update for the system. It’s also addressing pilot questions about how the system is designed, said captain Tajer, noting that many are now keen to know more about the software. He says pilots are trying to understand why the system appears to be set up to engage based on a single data source. They’re also asking why, after engaging once automatically, the system keeps triggering repeatedly without in some way seeking confirmation of a stall, perhaps via another sensor or pilot input.
28/11/18 Tripti Lahiri/Quartz

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AP government issues order to give Viability guarantee fund to Indigo Airlines

Vijayawada:The state government issued orders by giving assurance of Rs 18:35 crore as viability guarantee fund to Indigo Airlines.

The Indigo Airlines will operate flights from Gannavaram to Singapore from December 4. Energy department principal secretary Ajay Jain issued orders in this regard on Tuesday night.
27/11/18 Hans India

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Passengers on Chicago-bound flight from India get diverted, stranded in Milwaukee

Passengers on a 15-hour flight from India were diverted to Milwaukee by Sunday's winter storm and forced to spend several more hours on the tarmac.

Crews at one point attended to a passenger who fell ill. Still, no one was able to deplane Air India 127 after it touched down in Milwaukee at about 5:45 a.m.

"It sucks because I can see America. I can see my hometown -- or my home country right outside the window, but I can't touch it," passenger Craig King told WISN 12 NEW by phone.

King and his wife were able to see the Taj Mahal, but ultimately spent more time seeing the airport tarmac than they did one of the world's great wonders.

"They keep making excuse after excuse why we can't get off the plane," he said.

Airport officials said the individual airlines make decisions about whether passengers are allowed to deplane. An attempt to reach the airline for information about the delay was unsuccessful.
27/11/18 Milwaukee

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Jet Airways Appoints Robin Kamark As Nominee Director Of Etihad

Struggling carrier Jet Airways said on Monday it has appointed Robin Kamark as nominee director of stakeholder Etihad Airways PJSC with effect from December 1.
Mr Kamark, who has spent 17 years at Scandinavian Airlines System, will replace Harsh Mohan as nominee director, Jet said in a statement. Jet is 24 per cent owned by Etihad Airways.
Earlier this month, Indian conglomerate Tata Sons said it was in preliminary talks with debt-laden Jet, but has not made a proposal to acquire a stake.
26/11/18 Thomson Reuters/NDTV

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Beware of scammers says AirAsia

Sepang: AirAsia warns passengers to only book their flights through AirAsia’s official channels to avoid scams.

In a statement released, Monday, the airline recommended “guests” to contact official sales channels such as website airasia.com, AirAsia’s mobile app, authorised travel agents or AirAsia Travel and Service Centres (ATSC).

Despite the airline’s concern there were no reports of recent scams on online news channels. A Google search for ‘’Air Asia scams did return numerous references to disgruntled passengers complaining the airline’s fare offers scammed them.
And AirAsia’s name was linked to what the Indian press called alleged scams in India’s civil aviation scene last year.

In March 2017 a promotion scam came to light in Singapore that was circulated via Facebook and other online portals, claiming to give lucky passengers 240 shopping vouchers worth SGD500 each. It turned out to yet another example of Facebook fake news. It was purportedly linked to the airline’s 24th birthday when the airline was just 16.
But despite the apparent absence of scams in current media reports, the airline urged travellers to be cautious and not to purchase any AirAsia flights from unofficial sales channels.
27/11/18 TTR Weekly

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Western Australia hopes direct flight connectivity with India will give a push to tourist inflows

Perth: Western Australia, which is wooing Indian honeymooners, expects a direct flight connecting its capital Perth to Delhi or Mumbai to commence next year.

“For honeymooners, we have natural beauty, beaches, great wild life, excellent food & wine and customised Indian foods,” Andrew Oldfield, Director (Partnership) at Tourism Western Australia, told visiting Indian journalists here. The delegation was also briefed by other Government officials on the business opportunities in various areas, including global battery supply chain.

Western Australia has a different time zone, with a time difference of (+) 2 ½ hours with India, which is similar to Singapore and Malaysia, the two favourite honeymoon destinations for Indians. It may be noted that Australia has eight time zones but generally a time difference of (+) 5 ½ hours is taken for comparison with India.

During 2017, Australia received 3.35 lakh Indian tourists and earned A$1.5 billion (over ₹7,600 crore). Western Australia alone saw over 28,000 Indians visiting while it earned A$17 million (over ₹87 crore). At present, Indians fly mainly via Singapore and Malaysia to reach Perth. The local administration expects direct flight between the two countries will help more and more people coming from India. Direct flight to Perth from Mumbai will cut down the flying time to 8 ½ hours from over 15-16 hours (including stopovers) now.
26/11/18 Shishir Sinha/Business Line

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Naresh Goyal may hand over Jet Airways' operational reins to Etihad: Report

Etihad Airways, which owns a 24% stake in the beleaguered Jet Airways, may soon end up doubling its ownership in exchange for a desperately-needed cash infusion into the airline. Although Jet Airways dismissed talks about getting financial support from the Gulf carrier as "speculative" in a regulatory filing last week, the latest buzz is that its founder-chairman Naresh Goyal prefers a deal with Etihad over the one being discussed with Tata Sons.

Sources aware of developments told The Economic Times that Goyal and his team met with a top management team from Etihad, headed by Group CEO Tony Douglas, last Sunday. This was followed by long meetings with Jet's management at Goyal's Dubai residence. The daily added that Goyal is willing to consider handing over the operational reins to the Etihad in exchange for a fresh cash infusion through equity and soft loans, without relinquishing his chairmanship.

The deal being hashed out is expected to see Etihad injecting new equity into the airline, holding as much as 49% in the expanded equity base, while Goyal is open to his stake getting diluted from the current 51% to as low as 15%, depending on the extent of the cash infusion.

The cash-strapped airline reported its third consecutive quarterly losses for the quarter ending September, and is currently scrambling for funds to tide over a liquidity crisis that resulted in delayed salaries as well as payments to some vendors.

Given that the other deal in the works - the possible takeover by Tata Sons - will require Goyal to cede complete control, the Etihad option appears a far more desirable proposition for him.

Media reports earlier this month suggested that Tata Sons was mulling a two-step deal, where Jet could merge with Tata SIA Airlines Ltd - the joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines that's known by the brand name Vistara - through a share swap in the first phase, followed by Singapore Airlines buying out the Goyal family's entire 51% stake in the new combined entity. Tata Sons is the investment holding company of the $103-billion salt-to-software conglomerate.

However, although Tata Sons last week confirmed that the Group is in preliminary talks with Jet Airways, its board is in no hurry to seal the deal. In fact, some of the board members reportedly urged Chairman N. Chandrasekaran and his team to appoint external consultants to aid in the due diligence process and make it as comprehensive as possible amid concerns of a jump in the airline's liabilities. In the bargain, talks with Jet Airways have landed on the back-burner.

In any case, Etihad holds an edge over other potential investors in India's second-largest airline. Citing a source the daily added that the Gulf carrier has the right of first refusal in case Goyal looks at a sale of shares - a key lever that can make or upend any deal.
26/11/18 Business Today

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Found Closure Now, Says Mother of Indian Pilot Killed in Indonesian Plane Crash

New Delhi: The mother of Indian pilot Bhavye Suneja who captained the ill-fated Indonesian plane that crashed into the sea on October 29 said they have found "closure" after his body was identified by the Indonesian authorities.

The Lion Air flight, with 188 passengers and crew on board, crashed into the sea off Indonesia's island of Java, minutes after taking off from Jakarta Soekarno Hatta International Airport.
Sangeeta Suneja, who is an Air India employee, said her son's colleagues only had good things to speak about him and his skills.
"We have found our closure now. Earlier, we were praying and hoping for a miracle when his body was not found. But now, at least we know what happened to him. Sixty-nine people are still missing," she said.
Sangeeta Suneja said time is a healer and the family will try and come to terms with Bhavye's loss once they return to India.
Sangeeta Suneja said time is a healer and the family will try and come to terms with Bhavye's loss once they return to India.
25/11/18 PTI/News18.com

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Star treatment for 51 Indian tortoises flying home after being trafficked to Singapore

Singapore: Nick, Surya and Takeshi are illegal immigrants who will be put on a plane home on Monday (Nov 26). They have resided in Singapore for years and will now be sent back to their own country for good - on a Singapore Airlines flight, no less.

But why the VIP treatment?

Nick and his friends are three of 51 Indian star tortoises found to have been illegally trafficked here.
This is the largest number of Indian star tortoises - coveted for their star-patterned shells - to be repatriated from Singapore.

Their striking, intricate appearances make them an easy target for poachers, who are often part of organised crime rings that profit from animal trafficking.

The lucky few saved by the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) are just a fraction of the estimated 10,000 to 20,000 taken from the wild to meet the international demand for exotic pets.

Acres has cared for the tortoises for more than eight years at its premises in Jalan Lekar in western Singapore.
The organisation has spared no expense to provide varied and tailored diets for the tortoises, along with intensive veterinary care and healthy environmental conditions to keep them fit for travel.

Partner organisation Wildlife SOS India will meet the creatures after their 4½ hour flight to Bangalore, India.

They will then be quarantined, monitored, tagged with transmitters and released into a protected reserve in Karnataka state.
26/11/18 Cheryl Teh/StraitsTimes

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Jet Airways to stop operations on Muscat-Delhi route

Muscat: India’s struggling private airline Jet Airways is discontinuing service on the Muscat-Delhi route from December.
All flights to Delhi will be connected via Mumbai, a Muscat-based Jet Airways official told Muscat Daily.
The airline currently operates Boeing 737-800 aircraft to service four flights a week on the Muscat-Delhi route.
Jet Airways launched service on this route in 2016.
25/11/18 Muscat Daily

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LionAirCrash: Body of Indian pilot who captained the flight identified

Indonesian authorities have identified the body of Bhavye Suneja, the Indian pilot who captained the ill-fated Lion Air flight that crashed into the sea on October 29, killing all 188 people who were on board.

Captain Suneja's remains will be handed over to his family at the Indian Embassy in Jakarta later today, said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Suneja, a resident of New Delhi's Mayur Vihar, was the captain of the ill-fated Lion Air flight JT-610.

Suneja, and his co-pilot, who were in charge of flight JT-610, collectively had over 11,000 hours of flying time, and were on a routine flight between the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Pangkal Pinang when misfortune struck.
Suneja married in 2016 and was settled in Jakarta.

Suneja passed out of Mayur Vihar's Ahlcon Public School in 2005, and got his pilot license from Bel Air International in 2009.

In 2010, he joined Emirates as a trainee pilot and remained with the airlines for four months before leaving to join low-cost Indonesian carrier Lion Air in 2011.

Since then, Suneja has flown extensively, and had an incident-free, accident-free flying record.
25/11/18 Shiladitya Ray/NewsBytes

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SriLankan Airlines plans to fly to more destinations in India

SriLankan Airlines plans to connect more Indian cities with Colombo as India is an important market for the carrier, a senior official said on Friday. Currently, the national carrier of Sri Lanka operates 122 flights every week from 13 destinations in India.
"India will be an important market for expansion for the airline... we plan to fly to more destinations (in India)," SriLankan Airlines' Manager (North India) Chinthaka Weerasinghe said.
He was speaking at a briefing here to mark the airline's 25 years of operations in India. The carrier commenced its flights to the national capital in June 1993.
The airline is also working with STIC Travels, its General Sales Agent (GSA), and Sri Lanka Tourism to further increase the number of air travellers to the country.
23/11/18 PTI/moneycontrol.com

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New air route to boost Indian tourism

Phuket: The Phuket Tourist Association is expecting more visitors from India after an Indian budget airline yesterday began direct flights to the resort island.
Indigo Airlines is operating the new service between Delhi and Phuket six times a week, using an Airbus A320.
Phuket is the second Thai destination for the low-cost carrier, which already flies the Kolkata-Suvarnabhumi airport route.
Association vice-president Rangsiman Kingkaew said a delegation would go to India to promote Phuket as a destination for people from the subcontinent.
He expects tourist arrivals from India to grow by at least 10% by the end of this year.
Mr Rangsiman did not elaborate on the annual number of Indian visitors.
However, the Phuket Office of Tourism and Sports said Indians were among the top 10 most common tourists, with 8,431 visiting the province last month.
Overall, according to the Tourism and Sports Ministry, there were 1.25 million foreign arrivals from India in the first nine months of this year, up 11% from the same period of last year.
They made up the fifth largest group of visitors from Asia -- after China, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. There were 122,940 Chinese visitors last
month, followed by 52,366 Russians and 25,125 Australians, the office said.
The new Indigo Airlines Delhi-Phuket route launched yesterday with the first flight landing at 6.40am, before the return flight departed at 7.40am.
The Airbus A320 has a seating capacity of 320, and took 180 passengers to Phuket on its first flight.
24/11/18 Achadtaya Chunniran/Bangkok Post

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UDAN Scheme : Dispur hopes Guwahati-South East Asia flights by mid-2019

Guwahati: Dispur is pinning its hope on UDAN Scheme that by mid-2019 at least a few of the six international destinations under it will be operational from Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Internal (LGBI) Airport.

Following a formal plea from the Assam Government, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation is planning to connect Guwahati with six international destinations by air under its UDAN Scheme. The six destinations are Dhaka (Bangladesh), Kathmandu (Nepal), Yangon (Myanmar), Singapore, Bangkok (Thailand), and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
The UDAN Scheme of the Union ministry provides financial assistance to airlines to improve connectivity among Indian states and international destinations. The time period for the Union ministry’s quotation seeking bids from airlines for the new routes from Guwahati expired on November 22, 2018.

The UDAN Scheme provides a per seat subsidy of Rs 2,370 to Dhaka; Rs 2,710 to Kathmandu; Rs 4,400 to Bangkok; Rs 4,770 to Yangon; Rs 7,350 to Kuala Lumpur and Rs 7,880 to Singapore. From its end, Assam is going for Rs 100-crore Viability Gap Funding (VGF). Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has evinced interest in this scheme so as to boost both tourism and industrial investment in the State. The entire plan is to make LGBI Airport one of the air hubs in South-East Asia. The State government will put forward the route proposals.
24/11/18 Sentinel Assam

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SpiceJet starts daily direct flight service to Hong Kong from New Delhi

Budget passenger carrier SpiceJet on Friday launched daily non-stop flight services on the Delhi-Hong Kong-Delhi route. According to SpiceJet, Hong Kong earmarks the airline's eighth international destination after Bangkok, Colombo, Dubai, Dhaka, Kabul, Male and Muscat.
"Hong Kong is one of the largest trading entities and one of the world's top tourist destinations, hence, we see tremendous potential in this sector," said Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Sales, and Revenue Officer, SpiceJet.
SpiceJet has deployed a new 189 seater Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The new service will enable the airline to provide over 2,500 seats per week on the sector.
23/11/18 IANS/Business Standard

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Rafale deal: French NGO Sherpa files complaint against Dassault, seeks clarification

Amid ongoing row over Rafale deal, a French anti-corruption NGO Sherpa has filed a complaint with the country’s financial prosecutor office demanding an investigation into alleged corruption in the fighter-jet deal.

Sherpa, in its complaint, has sought a clarification on the conditions under which 36 fighter aircraft produced by Dassault Aviation were sold to India in 2016 and the choice of its Indian partner.

"The complaint follows the complaint lodged on the 4th of October 2018 by a former Indian Minister and an anti-corruption lawyer with the Central Bureau of Investigation in New Delhi, against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "abuse of authority" and " grant of undue advantages " in connection with the sale of Rafale," said the NGO in a statement.
Sherpa also said that the National Public Prosecutor's Office should promptly investigate the seriousness of the facts and the presumptions on the reported offenses: potential corruption, grant of undue advantages, trading in influence,  complicity of these offences, concealment of corruption and laundering of these offences.

"France cannot do less than India. Cooperation between both countries should be rapidly established, as it is always the case with international grand corruption investigation. Moreover, the hearing of great witnesses is possible and desirable, " said William Bourdon, founder of Sherpa.

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation. India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of the Indian Air Force equipment.
24/11/18 DNA

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Drunk Indian-origin woman jailed in UK for causing a passenger to get seizure

A drunk Indian origin woman, who caused a harrowing time onboard UK based Jet2 airline in January this year that resulted in a fellow passenger having a seizure mid-air, has been jailed for 6 months in the United Kingdom. The woman, identified as Kiran Jagdev, an executive assistant based in the city of Leicester, in her defence had blamed the crew of the airline for supplying her with alcohol during her flight from Tenerife in Spain back to the UK.
According to reports, the plane had a bumpy landing during which the 41-year-old shouted, “we are all going to die”, causing panic among the passengers.
As per a report on NDTV, the prosecutor claimed that Jagdev had consumed between six and eight beers even before boarding the four-hour flight to East Midlands Airport. She then proceeded to drink a further four to six glasses of wine on the plane, using her own supply from her handbag when the crew refused her more drinks.
After she went out of control, an off-duty police officer had to sit next to her to assist the cabin crew, but she started hurling abuses to the officer.
After the fight landed she was arrested, and even then she made abusive remarks at the airport immigration authorities.
23/11/14 NewsX

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Bangladeshi national arrested from Dum Dum airport with fake passport

Kolkata: A Bangladeshi national, identified as SheikhAriful, a resident of Chattagram, has been arrested from Dum Dumairport for possessing fake passport, Netaji Subash Chandra Bose International Airport police station said today.
The middle age foreign national was trying to board a Malaysia boundaircraft on Thursday evening when the emigrant officials found thathis passport was a fake one.
23/11/18 UNI

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Indian-Origin Man Jailed In Singapore For Molesting Flight Attendant

Singapore:A 34-year-old Indian-origin man based in Australia has been jailed for three weeks in Singapore for molesting a cabin crew member on board a Singapore-bound flight, a media report said today.
Paranjape Niranjan Jayant, who works for a logistics firm, pleaded guilty to two charges of molestation of the 25-year-old flight attendant in August and had one charge taken into consideration for sentencing.
During the eight-hour flight from Sydney to Singapore, Jayant approached the flight attendant a few times to ask for her phone number, but she ignored him.
The business class passenger on board a Scoot flight also caressed the attendant's left hip, 'The Straits Times' reported.
"Subsequently, during the flight, the accused went up to approach the victim at the front galley a few times to request the victim's phone number. The victim ignored these requests," said Deputy Public Prosecutor James Chew.
The attendant moved away from him and he told her she was beautiful before returning to his seat. About an hour before landing, Jayant approached the woman and molested her, the report said.
23/11/18 PTI/NDTV

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Naresh Goyal sends SOS to Etihad to keep Jet Airways aloft

Jet Airways and its partner Etihad Airways are in advanced talks to provide financial support to the struggling Indian airline, which could potentially result in the Gulf carrier raising its stake, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told CNBC-TV18 on Wednesday.

The Abu Dhabi-based Etihad owns 24 percent in Jet, which has been beset by a severe cash crunch. Jet promoter Naresh Goyal is at Etihad’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi to etch a deal to avert a “distress” sale to Tata Sons, the sources said. They asked not to be named.

As part of the negotiations, Etihad may provide financial support to Jet Airways to meet its immediate liquidity requirement. This may also lead to Etihad increasing stake in Jet Airways to be equal stake partners with Naresh Goyal.

According to the sources, the broad contours of the deal will include Etihad merging its 50.1 percent stake in JetPrivilege into Jet Airways, releasing $150 million cash to the airline to meet it liquidity requirements. Etihad may also increase its stake in Jet Airways to over 35 percent.

Naresh Goyal may expect a valuation of half a billion dollars for JetPrivilege. Sources suggest that Etihad’s stake increase in the airline may be at a substantial premium to the current market price of Jet Airways. This will bring Naresh Goyal's stake to below 51 percent.

Negotiations between the two parties are at an advanced stage but many aspects are yet to be finalised, as per the sources. "It is a logical solution for Jet Airways in the interest of all shareholders. Sell cheap at this juncture will deplete value for all,” said the sources.

Experts have stated that Jet Airways with about $1.1 billion debt needs $300 million of immediate cash infusion.
22/11/18 Nisha Poddar/CNBC TV18

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‘Spend the Minimum’: After Crash, Lion Air’s Safety Record Is Back in Spotlight

The notorious safety record of Lion Air, Indonesia’s largest carrier and one of the world’s fastest-growing airlines, is back in the spotlight after the crash of Flight 610, which hurtled nose-first into Indonesian waters with 189 people on board just minutes after takeoff on Oct. 29.
Even as the mystery of Flight 610 is still being pieced together, one thing is clear, investigators and aviation experts say: Few airlines were less prepared to deal with crisis than Lion Air.
Interviews with dozens of Lion Air’s management personnel and flight and ground crew members, as well as Indonesian investigators and airline analysts, paint a picture of a carrier so obsessed with growth that it has failed to build a proper safety culture.

As Lion Air Group, which owns several carriers including Lion Air, expands aggressively both at home and abroad, new questions are being raised about the company’s stunning rise. Lion ranks as one of Indonesia’s highest-profile companies, but it remains shadowed by accounts of opacity and incompetence from former employees and industry regulators.

Even as Lion Air Group signed the two biggest aircraft deals in aviation history in recent years, its flagship carrier has suffered at least 15 major safety lapses, including a crash that killed 25 people, and hundreds more episodes that have escaped the public eye, aviation experts said.

Government safety investigators say that the company’s political ties have allowed it to circumvent their recommendations, as in the episode in Makassar, and to play down instances that would cause alarm elsewhere.

Lion Air became adept at passing malfunctioning equipment from plane to plane rather than fixing problems, former employees said.

Frank Caron, who was brought in as Lion Air’s safety manager from 2009 to 2011 on orders from insurance firms, said that the carrier had an average of one major engineering issue every three days, even though most of its fleet was new.
22/11/18 Hannah Beech and Muktita Suhartono/New York Times

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Air India mulls utilising engineers at foreign stations for non-engineering activities

New Delhi: Air India plans to utilise its engineers posted in foreign countries for carrying out random checks of facilities and other non-engineering activities, according to a communication. As the debt-laden carrier works on ways to revive its financial fortunes, its Chairman and Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola has mooted a proposal to utilise engineers "more efficiently" for the airline's business overseas.
Currently, Air India has posted engineers in Hong Kong, Austria and Australia where they mainly carry out certification of aircraft. In rest of the foreign stations, the airline has outsourced aircraft certification duties, as per a senior official.
Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the national carrier, has around 5,000 employees. Out of them, 500 are engineers who carry out aircraft certification work.
In an internal communication, Kharola said that engineers proceeding to foreign stations for aircraft certification are often under-utilised, especially where the flight operation is limited to three to four flights.
"I feel that this highly skilled manpower can be utilised more efficiently and add value to the Air India business at that station," he said in the communication dated November 16.
22/11/18 PTI/Economic Times

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Soon, check-in at Chandigarh for Delhi-Europe flights: Air India

Chandigarh: Good news: people could check-in for an Air India flight from Delhi to European countries at the Chandigarh international airport from January next year; from March 31, 2019, Air India would start a night flight from Chandigarh to Delhi connecting to the US, when night landing system would be operational here. Bad news: Air India would not restart its Bangkok flight from here. The information was given by Meenakshi Malik, executive director (sales and marketing), Air India, who appeared before the Punjab and Haryana high court during the resumed hearing of the case related to facilities at the airport.
It was submitted in the court that Air India would soon introduce two new flights from Delhi to Chandigarh. The flight would depart from Delhi around 7am and arrive here at 8am. The second flight would depart from Chandigarh at 8.45pm and arrive at Delhi at 9:45 pm. This schedule, according to Malik, would allow passengers from Chandigarh and other states to connect to European flights of Air India to London, Paris, Frankfurt, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Rome, Milan,Vienna and Madrid.
22/11/18 Neha Sharma/Times of India

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Man bids to travel on fake passport, held

Chennai: Airport immigration officials here foiled a 38-year-old man’s bid to travel on a fake passport to London in a British Airways flight on Wednesday. Arivumani, who was working in a London hotel for the last 10 years, had come to India, claiming he had lost his passport. He was provided an emergency certificate to travel and investigation revealed that the passport he claimed to have lost was fake.

On Wednesday while he was attempting to board the flight at 5.30 am, he was detained and interrogated. It was found that he travelled to London 10 years ago on a fake passport. He was handed over to police, the police sources said.
22/11/18 New Indian Express

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No, IndiGo Probably Won't Be Flying To London Via The Caucasus

Speculation has been mounting that IndiGo, the Indian low-cost carrier, is about to launch flights to London Gatwick Airport – due primarily to an article published by The Times of India last week.

The newspaper, which did not quote anyone from the airline, claimed that the U.K. capital will be served from March 2019 with a stop in either Tbilisi, Georgia, or Baku, Azerbaijan.

It apparently based this conclusion on the fact that TAV Airports Holding, the operator of Tbilisi Airport, has stated that IndiGo will begin serving Georgia's capital next spring. However, the airline itself has not announced a Tbilisi route launch; and neither IndiGo nor TAV has made any public statement about onward flights to London.

From a purely geographical perspective, it is true that the Caucasus would be a logical stopover when flying narrowbody jets from Delhi to London. IndiGo operates an all-narrowbody fleet, meaning it cannot reach western Europe without stopping to refuel.
But in order to serve London via Tbilisi, IndiGo would first need to secure traffic rights from the Georgian civil aviation authorities. These would be either second-freedom rights, which allow an airline to make a technical stop but prohibit passengers from boarding or disembarking; or fifth-freedom rights, which permit stand-alone bookings for individual legs of a connecting journey.
20/11/18 Martin Rivers/Forbes

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Jazeera Airways to connect New Delhi with Kuwait from December

Mumbai: Kuwaiti private budget carrier Jazeera Airways Tuesday announced the launch of its services to New Delhi from next month as part of its plans to expand its footprint in one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world.

Jazeera Airways, which commenced operations in India last year, currently flies to Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kochi and Ahmedabad from the Gulf nation.

The services on the Kuwait-New Delhi route will start from December 15, the Kuwait-based carrier said in a release.

Bookings for the flight services on the new route, which will be operated four times in a week, are open and available on Jazeera Airways website, it added.

The airline has also announced special one-way fare starting from Rs 10,599 for an economy class journey and Rs 19,146 for business class travel on the new route.
20/11/18 PTI/Economic Times

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Air India adds its fourth Indian connection to London

Air India launched its fourth connection from India to London on 17 November, the day in which it began flights from Bengaluru (BLR) to London Heathrow (LHR). The 8,042-kilometre connection will be served three times weekly using 787-8s. Air India faces direct competition on the airport pair from incumbent carrier British Airways, with the oneworld member already offering a daily flight on the route. Bengaluru becomes the fourth Indian airport in Air India’s network to see a direct connection to Heathrow after Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
21/11/18 anna.aero

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Direct air connectivity between Tel Aviv, Goa soon

Panaji: There will soon be direct flight connectivity between Israel's Tel Aviv and India's tourist hub Goa as a step to forge stronger ties between both nations, which completed 25 years of diplomatic relations in 2017.
Ya'akov Finkelstein, Israel's Consul General in Mumbai, made the announcement at the opening ceremony of the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), where Israel is the country of focus.
"Shalom and namaskar. It's a great honour and pleasure that Israel is the country of focus at IFFI. Israelis love India, specifically Israelis love Goa. That is why Israel Airlines (El Al) will be opening a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Panjim (Goa) very soon so that all the Israelis can come straight to the lovely beaches of Goa and enjoy them," Finkelstein said.
He hoped the tourist flow happened both ways.
"We hope and encourage that these planes will come back to Tel Aviv full with Indian tourists to see our scenes." In January this year, India-Israel relations got a fillip with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India. Multiple agreements were signed to boost cooperation.

'Shalom Bollywood' was hosted to take a look at possibilities of collaborations and to invite Indian cinema makers to shoot in the picturesque country.
21/11/18 Tribune

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Italian Businessman Held at Hyderabad Airport With 22 Live, 3 Used Bullets

Hyderabad: An Italian businessman was arrested from Shamshabad airport on Wednesday for carrying live bullets.

The accused has been identified as Nicole Sangermano, who is said to be in his 70s. According to initial information, Sangermano was scheduled to travel from Hyderabad to Dubai. However, during the screening of the luggage, 22 live and three used bullets were found.
Some reports stated that the accused is a sports marketing businessman, who had arrived in Telangana's capital on November 13 to participate in F1H2O racing at Vijayawada.
21/11/18 News18.com

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Airports Authority of India in pact with US agency to prepare modernisation roadmap

Mumbai: State-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) has inked an agreement with the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to develop a roadmap for modernisation of its air traffic services.
Air traffic services (ATS) comprises air traffic management (ATM) and communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS).
The pact was signed on November 16, an official release said Monday.
The collaboration is aimed at developing a CNS/ATM roadmap for the AAI for modernisation of the national airspace system (NAS), the release said.
Under the pact, US aircraft manufacturer Boeing will provide technical assistance which will create a roadmap to enhance communications, expand existing systems and airspace capacity, and invest in CNS/ATM facilities, it added.
19/11/18 PTI/Economic Times

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Lion Air crash raises questions over industry secrecy

The crash of Lion Air Flight 610 last month was obviously tragic in and of itself, with the loss of nearly 200 lives. But it has shone a spotlight – albeit an all too dim one – on a problem that extends far beyond one Indonesian airline and one American aircraft manufacturer.

Investigators suspect that a software system called “MCAS” may have caused or at least contributed to the crash. You probably don’t have any idea what MCAS is, or what it does. The problem is, neither do many pilots, or airline operators. Because in the aviation industry, secrecy is the name of the game – a game that can be deadly.
Lion Air Flight JT610 departed Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta International Airport on October 29, at 6:20am local time, headed for the popular tourist destination of Pangkalpinang, off Sumatra – normally a short one-hour flight.
Bhavye Suneja, of Delhi, India, was captain of the new Boeing 737 MAX 8, which had only been in service two months. Suneja had 6,000 hours of flight experience, while his co-pilot, named only as Harvino, had 5,000 hours. A relatively experienced crew.

With good weather forecast for the entire journey, it had all the markings of another routine flight. Takeoff was routine, the 737’s Leap 1B engines powering it upward to an altitude of 900 meters, when things went very wrong.
While the investigation is still in its early stages, and officials are not issuing any conclusions at this point – all possibilities will be looked at, including terrorism – a software system has become the subject of intense controversy.

As the search continued for valuable clues, Boeing, the maker of the 737 – deemed one of the safest in the world – publicly admitted that a standard, silent piece of software called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, was installed on the computer systems of all MAX 8s.

Unfortunately, Boeing never told anyone – not the operators, not the pilots, and certainly not the flying public. It was never mentioned in the flight manual, the essential bible for commercial pilots.
19/11/18 Dave Makichur/Asia Times

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Kerala inks MoU with Airbus group to boost start-ups

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's start-up ecosystem got a major fillip as the state government on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Airbus BizLab, a global aerospace accelerator which is part of the Airbus group.
 The MoU was inked between Siddharth Balachandran, Airbus Bizlab India and Saji Gopinath, CEO, Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Under the MoU, an Innovation Centre will be set up here which will be the nodal body for planning and executing all the activities to help start-ups. "We are confident that this partnership with Airbus Bizlab will help the industrial ecosystem of Kerala. It will up-skill the local youth and enhance employability," said Vijayan.
Airbus BizLab will also provide support and mentoring for start-ups in Kerala and conduct regular workshops and discussions with experts from the aerospace and defence sectors.
Further, the France-headquartered company, which has set up facilities in Bengaluru, Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany) and Madrid (Spain) to create a global network of business accelerators, is to run training programmes to acquaint participants with aerospace technologies.
18/11/18 IANS/Sify

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AirAsia rolls out discounts, offers Rs 1,399 for international travel

Mumbai: Malaysian budget carrier Berhad, which runs AirAsia India (AAI) along with Tata group, on Saturday announced discounted fares starting as low as Rs 1,399 for international flights and Rs 999 for domestic travel under a limited period offer.

The sale offer is available on all flights operated by the AirAsia group, including those of AirAsia India, it said.

The sale of tickets for the 8-day booking window commences from mid-night today for travel between February 19 and November 26 next year, AirAsia said in a release.

The ‘Big Sale Promotion‘ offers all-inclusive one-way fares starting at as low as Rs 1,399 for international travel and Rs 999 for domestic flights, AirAsia said.

This offer is available on all flights operated by AirAsia‘s Group network — AirAsia India, AirAsia Berhad, Thai AirAsia and AirAsia X — the airline said in the release.
18/11/18 Clayton Caller

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Vijayawada to Singapore flight to take off on Dec. 4

The stage is set for the first ever direct flight from Vijayawada to foreign shores i.e. Singapore to take off on December 4. It is a weekly twice non-stop service (Airbus A-320) being introduced by IndiGo with the support from the State government in the form of viability gap funding.

Bookings for these flights have been opened on the corporate website of Indigo Airlines and efforts are under way to establish air connectivity with Dubai in a few months, according to an official release.

It was stated that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu sounded confident about the Singapore flight giving global exposure to Amaravati and boost economic development of the region by attracting more foreign investors to Amaravati. The increased activity caused the passenger traffic at Vijayawada airport to triple over the last five years.
The CM sought emphasis to be laid on the development of Bhogapuram (Vizianagaram) and Dagadarti (Nellore) airports which have good potential.
19/11/18 The Hindu

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Drone seizure: Cops blame customs dept

Gaya: Deeply embarrassed by the drone episode, senior police officials have reportedly pulled up custom officials deployed at the Gaya International Airport for allowing a Chinese national to carry the equipment, a likely source of threat to national security. Sources in the police administration say the custom officials have been asked to be more careful in future.
The Chinese national was caught doing videography through the drone at Bodh Gaya.

Bodh Gaya, it may be recalled has twice been targeted by the terrorists, first in July'2013 and again in January this year. A few weeks back, an NIA team recovered an IED planted by a Bangladesh-based terrorist group in a toilet at a short distance from the Mahabodhi temple. On account of the sensitive nature of the incident and its bearing on national security, senior police officers are reluctant to go on record. Sources, however, say that the incident has caused deep concern both to the cops as well as intelligence agencies.

"It is sheer luck that the drone turned out to be innocuous and sustained questioning of the Chinese national by different agencies have not revealed any malafide intention. But it could have been otherwise too. We cannot afford to take chances," said a senior police officer. The custom officials need to be more careful in future. The officials are learnt to have told the police that an unassembled drone does not give beeps on the luggage X-ray machine.
19/11/18 Abdul Qadir/Times of India

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Cameroon women held with fake passports

Mumbai: Two Cameroonian nationals who wanted to join their families in France were intercepted at the Mumbai airport on Friday after attempting to fly out using forged Guatemalan passports.

Alvine Nokam and Ololie Konhawo, who live in the Central African country, arrived at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Friday night to board a Jet Airways flight to Paris, the police said.

At the immigration counter, they furnished passports issued this year by Guatemala’s Director of Migration, and which identified them as nationals of Cameroon. However, a routine inspection by an immigration official of their passports under a scanner’s ultra-violet lights revealed that the bio-pages of both documents, which contained their names, ages, dates of birth, passport number and expiration date, were forged.

Upon being questioned by a senior Bureau of Immigration official, the women admitted that they were from Cameroon, who planned to move to Paris to be with their families and in search of better financial prospects, the police said. An official at Sahar police station said earlier this year, the women had contacted a travel agent in their native country on Facebook. “Both the women paid the agent 2000 Euros each for a fake Guatemalan passport,” the official added.
19/11/18 Srinath Rao/Indian Express

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SIA Inducts B787-10 On Delhi –Singapore Route

David Lim, General Manager- India, shares his perspective on India market.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group which along with SilkAir and low cost arm Scoot connects 14 points: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad, Kochi, Trivandrum, Trichy, Coimbatore, Vizag, Lucknow, Kolkata and Amritsar - in India is bullish over its India operation. SIA is inducting B787-10 on New Delhi – Singapore route from October 2018.

You are going to induct new aircraft on Delhi-Singapore route from October 28. Could you please tell us more about it?

We are inducting B787-10 Dreamliner on Delhi – Singapore route. We are the first to fly this aircraft. It is a longer version of the Dreamliner. With this, we will have two flights daily by B787-10 and A-380 from Delhi. Currently also we have two flights. The first flight is by B777 which is being replaced by B787-10. The capacity by the replacement increases by 28 per cent. However, holistically it increases by 10 per cent. This aircraft has a capacity of 337 seats – 301 in economy and 36 in business class. The product in business class and economy class is the best in the market.

Have you exhausted your bilaterlas?

We have around 35,000 weekly seats for the SIA Group. We are operating almost full capacity in metros. We are increasing our Ahmadabad service from four weekly flights to five from this winter. We have also been increasing capacity in Kochi, Trivandrum and Vizag. We are increasing in tier –II cities as much as we can. Regarding bilateral, there is unlimited capacity for 18 points in India.

How is the performance in India market?

We are happy with the performance in India. Singapore Airlines has always placed high emphasis on India market as India is an important market for us. We are in India since last 48 years. We started with Chennai and thereafter we have been growing.  As Indian aviation market is the third largest in the world, we want our share in this growth.

We do not disclose our route occupancy but at the system-wise occupancy, we are at 84 per cent.  As far as yield is concern, we are full service carrier and we offer very attractive price point to start with and so far the prices have been stable for us. We see the weak rupee but in terms of rupee we are not reducing the price. Our business class is also performing well.
18/11/18 Murari Mohan Jha/T3

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North Coast businessman detained at airport over suspected fraudulent documents

Durban - A foreign national family returning to South Africa were held under suspicion at the King Shaka International Airport recently.
They were suspected of being in possession of fraudulent identity documents and passports.

North Coast businessman Sarfaraj Patel, his wife and two minor children, aged 8 and 5, were returning home from a holiday in Dubai when they were detained.

His family was released after three hours, while he was held overnight.

Patel was informed the following morning that he was to be deported to India later that day.

Seeking urgent relief, Patel, represented by Roy Singh Attorneys, made an application in the Durban High Court interdicting and restraining the minister and the director-general of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), Emirates Airlines and immigration officer Charmaine Paulsen from further action.

Speaking on behalf of his client, Singh said the family were distraught and were considering further legal action.

“My client and his family were left deeply traumatised. We were not allowed to even meet with him.

“When we called the immigration officer to inform her that he could not be held under suspicion, we were informed he would be deported. We had to bring the application interdicting all further actions.”

He said the matter needed to be investigated before any rash decisions.

Patel has been living in South Africa for 20 years and his daughter and son were born in the country.

King Shaka International Airport spokesperson Colin Naidoo said: “As the Airport we are aware of the certain protocol and procedures conducted by the DHA and we have created an infrastructure enabling them to perform their duties.”

Department of Home Affairs national spokesperson Thabo Mokgola said that Patel had been declared inadmissible at the airport due to suspected fraudulent Permanent Residence Permit (PRP) and not a fraudulent identity document and passport.
18/11/18 Nadia Khan/The Post/IOL

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Jet Airways stops non-stop flights to Middle East

Jet Airways has stopped its non-stop services from 4 cities to West Asia. This is Jet's step towards hub connectivity according to sources.
Mumbai/New Delhi will serve as hubs for cancelled flights to West Asia. Jet Airways will stop non-stop flights between Kozhikode-doha, Thiruvananthapuram-Doha from December 3 and Kochi-Doha and Mangalore-Dubai from December 5.
16/11/18 CNBC TV18

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Indian team stranded for 28 hours at Kuwait airport

New Delhi: Members of the Indian football team bound for Amman for their friendly against Jordan on Saturday, were stranded for over 28 hours at the Kuwait International airport on Thursday due to unprecedented storm and rain in the region.

The team had left the Capital in two groups - of seven and 15 - on two separate flights to Amman via Kuwait City in the early hours of Thursday. They were scheduled to join up in Kuwait. However, severe climatic conditions in the region - reports said Kuwait received a year's worth of rainfall on one day alone - led to dozens of flights being either diverted or cancelled.

The first Indian group comprising strikers Jeje Lalpekhlua, Balwant Singh, Manveer Singh, Sumit Passi, wingers Halicharan Narzary, Udanta Singh and Ashique Kuruniyan including eight officials landed in Kuwait at 6.30 am local time, and found themselves stranded as flash floods made it an emergency situation. With the airport hotels all booked, the group had no choice but to wait at the airport, eventually spending 28 hours before they were able to fly out to Amman on Friday by the 10.30 am (local time) flight.
17/11/18 Times of India

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Passenger arrested for verbal assault of Air India crew is prominent anti-Israel boycott leader

The woman who was filmed going on an angry tirade on an Air India flight Saturday has been identified as Simone O’Broin, a prominent Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) leader against Israel.

The 50-year-old activist and human rights lawyer from Northern Ireland can be seen threatening similar boycott power against the flight attendants because they refused to serve her “a wee glass of wine” on the flight from Mumbai to London.

“If I say ‘boycott f---ing Air India,’ done,” O’Broin boasted.
O’Broin said she was the “f---ing leader of the [anti-Israel] boycott movement” and “f---ing international criminal lawyer and barrister.”

O’Broin worked for a Palestinian advocacy group, the Badil Resource Center located in the West Bank, in which she authored several research papers advocating for Palestinian violence against Israel and labeling the Jewish State as “racist,” the Algemeiner reported.

She then took a jab at the Air India staff.

“I work for all you f---ing people..the f---ing Rohingyas, the f---ing people of all Asia, for you, I’m an international criminal lawyer,” she said, adding that she doesn’t get paid for it.

Turning to fellow business class passengers, she screamed: “I’m a human rights lawyer for the f---ing Palestinian people, and the rest of you…sit on your f---ing a--.”

Tarun Shukla, an aviation and defense editor for Economic Times Prime, who was aboard the flight, took video and reported a flight attendant suffered bruises.
16/11/18 Caleb Parke | Fox News

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Bangladeshi national arrested from Dum Dum airport for impersonation

Kolkata: A Bangladeshi national, identified as Diptya Das, was arrested from Dum Dum airport for alleged impersonation.
The Bangladeshi national was first detained by the immigrant officials after alighting from an Emirates flight from Dubai on Thursday evening.
After investigation of his passport he was found to be impersonating his name. The immigrant officials then handed over the fraudster to NSCBI police station.
16/11/18 UNI

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Avolon to lease 15 planes to Indian airline Vistara

Irish aircraft financier Avolon is leasing 15 Airbus A320 neos to Indian airline Vistara.

The news came as Avolon also announced that its first securitisation venture, Emerald Aviation Finance, has cleared the outstanding $407 million (€359 million) in bonds that it owed to investors.

The lessor said that repaying the Emerald bonds was part of its ongoing pledge to cut its secured debts.

Avolon announced on Thursday that it is leasing 15 of the latest model of the Airbus A320 to Vistara, a joint venture between Indian steel giant Tata and Singapore Airlines.

This is the first deal that the Irish lessor has done with Vistara, which is a full-service carrier based in India. The A320 is a narrow-body, twin-engined craft most frequently used on short- and medium-length journeys.
15/11/18 Irish Times

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‘Airline industry must take off’

Putrajaya: More competition between airlines in Malaysia will be beneficial to the aviation industry, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

The government, he said, did not believe in protectionism and he also said that the local airlines should grow in a competitive market.

“We are not going to protect any airline. We do not believe in protectionism, we believe in competition. We want a competitive market.”

“I think the share of the cake in the aviation industry is very big and there is a lot of room for more growth.

“So with more flights that come in, more tourists will arrive in Malaysia and that will also boost the tourism industry,” he said yesterday at the welcoming ceremony of IndiGo airlines’ inaugural flight to Malaysia.

IndiGo, which is a low-cost carrier from India, has launched non-stop daily flights between New Delhi-Kuala Lumpur and Bangalore-Kuala Lumpur.

Founded in 2005, IndiGo is the largest domestic airlines in India, with a market share of 43% and a fleet of 195 aircraft.

Loke expressed confidence in the ability of Malaysian airlines to compete with those from other countries.
16/11/18 The Star

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Jet Airways to discontinue Dubai–Mangaluru direct flight from Dec 5?

Mangaluru: Jet Airways will discontinue its daily direct flight service in Dubai – Mangaluru route from the first week of December, say some reports.
According to some passengers, who booked December ticket in advance, they have been advised by the airlines about the cancellation of direct flight. Reportedly they have been provided with alternate Dubai- Mumbai–Mangaluru flight service from December
It is not yet confirmed if the opening of Kannur airport from December 9 is the reason to cancel the Mangaluru-Dubai route or the recent developments in Jet Airways which is facing tougher economic conditions.
When contacted, Jet Airways officials said that they are not ready to confirm the news with a short reply, 'We will revert back'.
The second half of December is normally a busy schedule for all airlines, and every year flights are fully- booked from Middle East region on account of Christmas holidays. Many passengers plan their travel at least 3-6 months in advance. If cancellation news is true, then it is going to affect several passengers.
Meantime, other airlines like Air India Express and SpiceJet that are operating daily from Dubai are expected to raise their ticket price during December, duly taking advantage of cancellation of Jet Airways.
As per Jet Airways online portal, it is clear that, from December 5, 2018, bookings are available from Dubai to Mangaluru only via Mumbai.
15/11/18 daijiworld

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IndiGo seeks one-stop Europe flights via Tbilisi, Baku at 30% lower fare

New Delhi: IndiGo is looking at starting a flight to London and to other European cities through a single stop. The airline is in discussion with the airports in Tbilisi (Georgia) and Baku (Azerbaijan). The plan is to start the route by March.

The airline will operate the route with an Airbus A321 aircraft and will use the airport it lands at on the way as a technical stop, the term for a landing to refuel, with passengers not allowed to disembark. “The airline is also in discussion with Istanbul airport but it has high landing charges. So, Baku or Tbilisi is likely to be the airport through which the airline will operate to Europe,” said a source. IndiGo is in talks with Gatwick airport to finalise the timing.
Queries from Business Standard to Baku airport got no response. “IndiGo showed its interest in the Georgian aviation market back in the summer of 2018. The meetings with the Georgian side in August were organised by us,” went a statement from TAV Holdings, which operate the Tbilisi airport. The airline will compete against full-service airlines British Airways, Air India and Jet Airways on the route. The plan is to charge 30 per cent less. Travel sector executives say if IndiGo is able to do so, it could create a new class of flyers. “Such airlines always open up a totally new segment. Look at IndiGo in the domestic sector — they created a completely new segment of travellers. Similarly, the traditional Indian flyer to Europe might stick with the established carriers but in a country as large as India, this (IndiGo's idea) will have takers, who might be taking a tougher flight so that they can do some extra things on their holiday,” said Subhash Goyal, chairman of STIC Travel.
16/11/18 Arindam Majumder/Business Standard

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Sharjah-Tiruchirappalli flights delayed due to Cyclone Gaja

Sharjah: A Trichy-bound Air India Express flight from Sharjah to Tiruchirappalli has been delayed by a little under seven hours due to the aftermath of severe cyclonic storm Gaja.

Flight IX 614 from to Tiruchirappalli was supposed to depart from Sharjah Airport at 10.40 pm on Friday, November 16, to Sharjah International Airport. However, the flight is now set to depart at 5.20 am on Saturday, November 17.

An Air India official told Khaleej Times that minor delays on flights to Chennai were also reported, however, no diversions were reported.
16/11/18 Dhanusha Gokulan/Khaleej Times

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AAI wants to further strengthen India-Myanmar relationship

Airports Authority of India (AAI) recently participated in India Myanmar Business Forum organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with ministry of foreign affairs of the republic of the union of Myanmar and union of myanmar federation of chambers of commerce and industry (UMFCCI) with focus on bilateral trade and investments in the Rakhine state of Myanmar at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

AAI officials raised issues about numerous opportunities and challenges faced by Indian civil aviation which is slated to become the world’s 3rd largest in near future after US and China. AAI official SD Tiwari touched upon the India Myanmar longstanding relationship and stressed on strategically important initiatives of the Indian government in terms of accessibility to the South- East Asia and India’s Look East policies and Act East policies. AAI has been recently engaged in development of Greenfield Kalaymyo airport at Myanmar through ministry of external affairs support.
16/11/18 Governance Now

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Jet Airways deal: Singapore Airlines also in the fray in talks between Naresh Goyal, Tatas

Although Jet Airways has consistently dismissed the buzz about a stake sale to the Tata Group as speculative, talks are reportedly picking up pace and a two-step transaction is being hashed out.

The cash-strapped airline could merge with Tata SIA Airlines Ltd - the joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines that's known by the brand name Vistara - through a share swap in the first phase. Jet promoter Naresh Goyal, his partner Etihad, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines will then all become partners in the new company, The Economic Times reported.

In the second step of the deal, Singapore Airlines could buy out the Goyal family's entire 51% stake in the new combined entity.

While Etihad may choose to continue with the venture as minority shareholder (it holds a 24% stake), it will have an exit option too.

"If Etihad needs an exit, we are ready to buy them out as well. Eventually, Tatas and Singapore Airlines will control the entity," a person with direct knowledge of the development told the daily.

Media reports earlier this week suggested that the Tata Group had already started its due diligence process in order to pick up a controlling stake in Jet Airways, which recently reported its third consecutive quarterly losses for the quarter ending September.

"The attempt is to work out a way where there would not be substantial cash payment involved in the buyout," a second source told the daily.

"Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran is keen that a deal is quickly worked out that will strengthen the group's position in the aviation business and give it a much needed heft. Since Air India deal is not easily possible and the GoAir deal with the Wadias won't happen, Jet is our best bet," he added.

Tata, along with its partner Singapore Airlines, are expected to infuse capital to enable the Jet-Vistara combine to function effectively.

The deal in the works, if successful, will give the Tata Group's aviation plans a much-needed boost as it will secure Jet's landing rights, routes and related infrastructure amenities.
15/11/18 Business Today

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KUL welcomes India's largest low cost carrier IndiGo inagural flight

Sepang:  India's largest low-cost carrier IndiGo became the 59th airlines operating at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL), with the inaugural flight arriving at klia2 earlier this morning.

KUL is IndiGo’s 12th international destination after flying from Delhi, India, carrying 180 passengers on its Airbus A320 aircraft.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) acting chief executive officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin said KUL would continue enhancing connectivity and positioning Malaysia as a preferred global hub.

“India is one of our target destination markets in growing the connectivity at KUL. In its traffic forecast for 2017-2040, Airports Council International projects that India will be the second fastest growing country in the world for passenger traffic at 7.5 per cent,” he said after welcoming IndiGo's inaugural flight at klia2, here, today.
15/11/18 Ayisy Yusof/New Straits Times

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SC reserves order on Rafale, no sovereign guarantee by French government backing the deal

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on four petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into 36 Rafale fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation even as the government admitted that there was no sovereign guarantee by the French government backing the deal.

On pricing, the court asked Attorney General K.K. Venugopal not to respond to the contentions raised by the petitioners until the court decides to look into it.

"The discussion on pricing will come only if we decide... so long that is not there," the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph told the AG. The AG also opposed the judicial review of the Rafale deal.

He said that if the cost of weaponery and avionics comes in public domain, it will be used by the adverseries to make out the weaponery fitted in Rafale.
A three-hour-long hearing saw Attorney General K.K. Venugopal telling the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph that "though there is no sovereign guarantee from France (government), there is a letter of comfort."
The hearing saw counsel Prashant Bhushan and former Union Minister Arun Shourie questioning the circumventing of the procedure for aborting the process for procuring 126 aircraft (18 in a flyaway condition and 108 to be be manufactured by HAL) in favour of procuring 36 jets in a ready-to-fly condition and unloading HAL as an offset partner.
The petitions included one by Prashant Bhushan, Arun Shourie and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, and others by advocate M.L. Sharma, Vineet Dhanda and AAP MP Sanjay Singh. All of them have broadly assailed the pricing and the induction of an offset partner replacing HAL.
Defending the deal on the grounds of "urgent requirement" of national security, the Attorney General justified the scrapping of the earlier deal for 126 aircraft as it was taking a long time in reaching a conclusion.
This was contested by Bhushan who had earlier referred to March 25, 2015 statement of Dassault Chief Eric Trappier saying that the deal with HAL was 95% complete and that they were in final stages of an agreement. Bhushan said the Dassault CEO had said this in the presence of the IAF Chief and HAL Chairman.
14/11/18 IANS/Outlook

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Rafale probe will throw up names of Modi, Ambani: Rahul Gandhi

Kabirdham/Korba: A probe into the procurement of Rafale fighter jets from France would throw up names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Anil Ambani, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday.

Addressing a campaign rally here for the second phase of Assembly polls, Gandhi also claimed the NDA government bought the planes at Rs 1,600 crore a piece as against the Rs 526 crore for each aircraft fixed by the Congress-led UPA government.

Gandhi's comments came on a day the Supreme Court said a discussion on the pricing of the Rafale jets can only take place if the facts of the deal are allowed to come into the public domain.

The apex court, which began its hearing on pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, also said it would like to hear from an Air Force officer and not an official of the Defence Ministry.

"The CBI director (Alok Verma) initiated a probe in the Rafale deal. The prime minister removed him at 12 in the night. I am telling you, the day a probe will begin in Rafale deal, two names will surface: Anil Ambani and Narendra Modi," Gandhi told the gathering.
On former French president Francois Hollande's comments in French media that the Indian government had proposed Reliance Defence as partner for Dassault Aviation in the deal and that France did not have a choice, Gandhi said Modi named Ambani's company as Dassault's partner in the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale deal.
The Modi government chose Ambani's "inexperienced" company over the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) which has a long experience in aerospace and defence sector, Gandhi said.

There was no reaction from the government or the BJP on the fresh charges, though they have previously rejected all allegations over the Rafale deal.
14/11/19 PTI/Times of India

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