International flight operations still distant dream for Surtis

Surat:  High-flying Surtis will have to wait for international flight operations to begin from Surat airport despite it being declared a customs notified and authorized immigration check post by Central Government some time ago.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has postponed 24x7 operations of Surat airport from October 28. This is because Surat airport is yet to receive any proposal from airlines for operating international flights between 12.30am to 5am.

Around five airports in the country including Vadodara had applied for 24 hours operations to AAI and Surat became sixth. Sources said Air India Express had envisaged interest in launching direct flight between Surat and Sharjah. However, the airline could not submit a proposal due to time slot issue.
Airport director Sanjay Kumar Panigrahi told TOI, “No proposal has been received from airlines for operating international flights between 0030 to 0500 hours. Hence, 24x7 operations from 28 October have been postponed. Airport will be in operation from 0600 to 2200 hours for domestic flights only.”
At present, Surat airport operates in two shifts from 6am till 10pm. The watch tower closes at 10pm, after which the landing and take-offs of the flights are suspended.
31/10/18 Times of India

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Indian court seeks pricing of Rafale jet deal with France

New Delhi: India's top court on Wednesday ordered the government to provide pricing details of 36 Rafale fighter jets it is buying from France.

The court said the government must bring details of the decision-making process of the deal into the public domain, except those that are confidential and have strategic importance. The court said those can be provided in a "sealed cover" within 10 days.

The deal has become a major political issue with the leader of the main opposition Indian National Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government of buying the aircraft at nearly three times the price being negotiated when his party was in power before Modi became prime minister in 2014.

The government has refuted the claim, but says a secrecy clause governs the deal's pricing. It hasn't even informed Parliament about the cost of the 36 planes.

The court was hearing petitions by former ministers Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha and some others who demanded a court-monitored probe by a federal investigating agency in the deal.
Gandhi also accused Modi's government of favoring the company owned by industrialist Anil Ambani, Reliance Group, when choosing an Indian partner for Dassault.
31/10/18 AP/PA Homepage

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Aviator Karanvir Chauhan Recalls Bhavye Suneja As 'Great Pilot'

Still trying to gather his bearings from the shock, a friend and former colleague of Bhavye Suneja, who died in the Lion Air plane crash in Indonesia, on Tuesday, October 30 described him as a great pilot.

Captain Karanvir Chauhan, who worked with Suneja from 2011 to 2016 in Indonesia, said the 31-year-old had sound knowledge and understanding of the machine and aircraft.
"He was a jolly person, someone who always tried to make the situation happy. In short, a happy go, lucky man... He knew his books and there were times when we would consult him if faced with doubts," Chauhan told PTI over the phone from Dubai.
Suneja had over 6,000 hours of flying experience by now, he said, recalling the times they spent together on the Boeing 737. Chauhan, 30, who left Jakarta two years ago for Dubai, said the two had a great bonding which continued even after their marriages.
Suneja was flying the Lion Air flight JT610 which lost contact with ground officials, 13 minutes after taking off from an airport in Indonesia, and crashed into the Java Sea on Monday, October 29. The plane had 189 passengers and crew aboard and no survivors were expected.

"We were shocked and could not believe my eyes when I saw the news. I got several calls and messages...I got worried and re-checked the news and could not believe (it)," Chauhan said.

He recalled how Suneja loved food and would not hold back even to cook for others.

"He was good with food. I even spent my last evening in Indonesia with him when he opened a champagne especially for me," the pilot said.
31/10/18 PTI/Republic World

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United Airlines to expand capacity in Indian routes

According to The Hindu Business Line, US Chicago-based United Airlines is set to increase its capacity at Indian destinations such as Mumbai and New
Delhi.

United, which operated in India as Continental Airline before the merger of the two carriers about eight years ago, flies direct to New York from Mumbai and Delhi. The airline is nearly adding 100 seats on the Mumbai-New York route.

United inducted its first 777-300 on this route, which used to be served by an older 777-200 aircraft. The older aircraft had 272 seats while the 777-300 has 366.

“The new airplane has much more real estate. It has the best offering that we have in the business class, which we call the Polaris Business Class. Every business class seat will have aisle access. It also adds 10 more business class seats,” Harvinder Singh, Country Manager, India, United Airlines, told the hindu business line.
31/10/18 TravelBizMonitor

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Some 900 personnel, 39 vessels scour Java Sea for Lion Air plane, but no significant clues so far

Despite some 900 personnel, including 50 divers, from the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Police and local fishermen working hand-in-hand to recover debris and bodies from Lion Air flight JT610, which crashed into the Java Sea on Monday morning, few significant findings have been made.

A team from Singapore with specialized equipment to locate the plane's black box has joined the search while Malaysian and Argentinian governments have also offered help.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the search and rescue team--assisted by four multipurpose research vessels, 35 smaller vessels and two helicopters—had only been able to find bits of wreckage, several body parts and personal belongings believed to belong to passengers. The findings were collected in 24 body bags that have been transported to Kramatjati Police Hospital, East Jakarta, for further investigation.

Meanwhile, the fuselage of the plane, inside which the bodies of most of the victims are believed to be, has not been located.

Basarnas, therefore, expanded the search area to 10 nautical miles from the place where the plane is thought to have gone down on Tuesday, from the previous 5 nautical miles on Monday. The agency has also called on fishermen who find anything related to the plane’s crash to report their findings to a post set up in Tanjung Karawang, West Java.
“We’ve expanded the search area today in the hope that we can find the plane’s main body and the victims believed to be inside it,” a senior official at Basarnas, Didi Hamzar, said in a press conference.

Didi further said that two additional body bags were on their way to the Police Hospital on Tuesday afternoon. None of the bags contained intact bodies.

Air traffic control at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport lost contact with JT610 shortly after it took off at 6:20 a.m. on Monday. The plane, carrying 189 people on board, was scheduled to arrive at 7:20 a.m. at Depati Amir Airport in Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung Islands.
30/10/18 Ivany Atina Arbi and Riza Roidila Mufti/Jakarta Post

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Indonesia tragedy: DGCA seeks details from Boeing, FAA on Lion Air crash

New Delhi/Mumbai: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Indian aviation regulator, has sought information from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the US on the Lion Air crash, which resulted in the deaths of 189 passengers aboard on Monday.

“The DGCA is in touch with Boeing and the FAA to find out more about the unfortunate incident,” a DGCA spokesperson said.

Delhi native Bhavye Suneja was the captain of the two-month-old Boeing 737 MAX aircraft which lost contact with air traffic control 13 minutes after take-off from Jakarta. The Boeing was on a scheduled flight to popular tourist destination of Pangkal Pinang, off the coast of Sumatra.

Six aircraft of the same type (five with Jet Airways, one with SpiceJet) operate in India. Both the airlines have more than 200 737 Max 8 on orders each. First delivered last year, the narrow-body MAX family of aircraft is popular with airlines, and has racked up an order backlog of over 4,000 planes. The latest version of the 737 family competes against Airbus’ A320neo, which is also very popular among Asian airlines that have witnessed high passenger growth over the last decade.

Lion Air reported the aircraft encountered a technical problem, the crew was about to return to Jakarta. There had also been a technical problem on the previous flight. This problem however, was fixed.”
30/10/18 Arindam Majumder & Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Indonesia air tragedy: Neighbours recall Indian pilot Bhavye Suneja as ever-smiling man

New Delhi:  Bhavye Suneja's family was eagerly waiting for him to return home for Diwali, a feature at their Delhi residence that has continued for years.

That wait tragically ended Monday for all times to come.

Suneja, 31, was flying the Lion Air flight JT610 which lost contact with ground officials, 13 minutes after taking off from an airport in Indonesia, and crashed into the Java Sea, tragically ending all possibilities of his homecoming.

The distraught family struggled to accept the news when they saw on television that the plane Bhavye was flying had crashed.

His mother, Sangeeta Suneja, was in tears.

With folded hands, she requested mediapersons gathered outside their Mayur Vihar residence to "please pray for us".

Bhavye married in 2016 and was based in Jakarta with his wife Garima Sethi, a former manager at the Indian Express.

Neighbours recalled Bhavye as a "sweet boy".

They had seen him grow and were shocked on hearing about his sudden death.

After he completed his studies at Ahlcon Public School in Mayur Vihar, Bhavye received his flying licence in 2009.

His father, Gulshan Suneja, is a chartered accountant and his mother, Sangeeta, works with Air India.

An Air India official said Sangeeta Suneja is working with passenger handling department of the airline at Delhi Airport.
30/10/18 PTI/New Indian Express

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Indonesian plane crash: Indian pilot Bhavye Suneja was to come home for Diwali

New Delhi: Indian pilot Bhavye Suneja died after the Indonesian plane he captained with 188 passengers and crew on board the budget carrier crashed in the Java Sea, Indian Embassy confirmed.

"Our deepest condolences on the tragic loss of lives in the Lion Air Plane crash, off the coast of Jakarta today. Most unfortunate that Indian Pilot Bhavye Suneja who was flying JT610 also lost his life", Indian Embassy in Indonesia said in a tweet.

"The aircraft was commanded by Captain Suneja and co-pilot Harvino with six cabin crew members. Suneja has 6,000 flight hours and the co-pilot more than 5,000 flight hours, the airline said in a statement."

Captain Suneja was a resident of Jakarta. He is originally from New Delhi and attended Ahlcon Public School in East Delhi's Mayur Vihar. He was married to a Delhi based girl.
30/10/18 Nayanika Singhal/India Today

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Bhavye Suneja was in talks for a job with airline in India

New Delhi: An Indonesian Lion Air aircraft with 189 people on board, flown by an Indian captain, Bhavye Suneja, crashed into the Java Sea on Monday soon after taking off from Jakarta at 6.20am local time (4.50am IST), killing everyone on board.

Things went horribly wrong as soon the Boeing 737 Max got airborne for its destination, Pangkal Pinang. The pilot made a request to return to the airport two to three minutes after take-off and the air traffic controller cleared it. But the plane plunged into the sea about 10 minutes later.

The vice-president of a leading airline in India that operates the Boeing 737 said Suneja was considering returning to India. “We spoke this July. He was a very sweet person. Being an experienced pilot of the B737 with an incident-free record, we were keen to have him with us because of his impeccable credentials. His only request was that he be given a Delhi posting as he was from the city. I told him that once he flies with us for a year we will consider his posting in Delhi,” said the senior official. Captain Suneja had over 6,000 flight hours of experience.
30/10/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Indonesia's Lion Air to meet Boeing on Wednesday to discuss doomed plane

Jakarta: Indonesia’s Lion Air said on Tuesday it would meet a team from U.S. plane maker Boeing Co on Wednesday to discuss the fate of its 737 MAX 8 plane that crashed into the sea minutes after takeoff from Jakarta airport.

“We have many questions for them ... This was a new plane,” Lion Air Director Daniel Putut told reporters at a police hospital where doctors were identifying victim from Monday’s crash.

Lion Air, one of Boeing’s largest customers globally, announced in April a firm order to buy 50 Boeing 737 MAX 10 narrowbody jets with a list price of $6.24 billion.

Putut said the next delivery of the 737 MAX aircraft would have to undergo “an evaluation process” following the crash.
30/10/18 Bernadette Christina Munthe/Reuters

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Job crunch forcing Indian pilots to work for overseas flights

New Delhi: The job crunch for trained pilots in India is pushing them to go abroad where working conditions may not be as good. Employment opportunities in domestic airlines and national carriers of other countries lands them in small countries especially in the Gulf, Middle-east and South-East Asia where the aviation sector is expanding.

As more details of the crash of a Lion Air aircraft in Indonesia trickles in, it transpires that Captain Bhavye Suneja, who was piloting the ill-fated plane, wanted to return to India. Like him, most Indian pilots working abroad if given a chance would like to return to India.

Due to the rate of expansion of the aviation sector in the Gulf and South East Asia jobs are easily available for Indian pilots in these parts of the world. Apart from Lion Air, Silk Air, Scoot, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways are some of the airlines that hire pilots from India.

But there is another catch here. A pilot after getting a commercial pilot’s license is also desperate to get a job somehow. Unless they practice what they have been trained for, the expenditure on training even if it is in the US or UK goes down the drain. “Small countries are short of skilled airline pilots, so they hire from India and other countries,” said a pilot from India.

The choices of an Indian pilot are limited as bigger airlines like British Airways and Lufthansa give preference to nationals of their own countries. “There are only nine airlines worldwide which hire pilots from India,” said the pilot from India.

He said Indian pilots are much in demand there. “Lion Airlines has a contract with a flying academy in India and there are many more Indian pilots working in the airline,” said the pilot.
30/10/18 Abhijeet Anand/Statesman

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Suhel Seth was Dassault Aviation’s brand building consultant in India till 2015, was paid Rs 1.4 crore per annum

Celebrity consultant Suhel Seth was appointed Dassault Aviation — the company which makes Rafale fighter jets — to build its brand image in India months before the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government chose Dassault Aviation for supplying 126 Rafale fighter jets. The company had appointed Seth in 2011 for a period of four years, to build its brand image. Following his appointment and the commencement of the agreement in July 2011, Managing Partner of Counselage India Suhel Seth was appointed by Dassault for a monthly fee of Rs 12 lakh. Speaking on the matter, Suhel Seth said that Counselage India was chosen for Dassault’s brand building in the country for the period between 2011 and 2015 while Ogilvy PR was given the responsibility to manage company’s PR.
Speaking to a leading daily on his association with Dassault Aviation, Suhel Seth said that his job was to work towards building the brand image of the mother company including the CSR effort, advertising and brandings for his client. Suhel said that he dealt with the consumer brand Falcon jets and had zero involvement in the Rafale jet deal. Suhel Seth cleared that his involvement with the Dassault Aviation had no interference with the price and design negotiations with Defence Minister’s Rafale jet deal.
30/10/18 NewsX

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Lion Air crash: Families 'still hoping for a miracle' as search intensifies

Jakarta: "I hope for a miracle and that he is still alive," said Lutfiani Eka Putri of her husband Deryl Fida Febrianto, who was on board Lion Air flight JT610 when it crashed on Monday (Oct 29).
The couple got married just two weeks ago.
His last message to her was from the plane at 6.12am, with a selfie by the window. At 6.15am, he stopped replying to her messages.
The Lion Air plane vanished from radar 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta, plunging into the Java Sea moments after it had asked to return to the Indonesian capital.
Deryl, 22, was on the flight to Pangkal Pinang city, a jumping-off point for tourists to the nearby Belitung beach where he was due to begin work on a cruise ship.
"When I saw the news, I matched the flight number with the ticket photo Deryl had sent," Lutfiani, 23, said. "I immediately started crying."
The plane was piloted by Indian Captain Bhavye Suneja, a 31-year-old originally from New Delhi. Suneja died in the crash, the Indian Embassy in Indonesian has confirmed.
30/10/18 Channel News Asia

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Lion Air crash: Families distraught as human remains found after tragedy

After retrieving six bodies from the sea where an Indonesian passenger plane crashed near Jakarta, search and rescue officials say they fear there will be no survivors.
Lion Air flight JT 610 was carrying 189 people, including three children, when it disappeared from radar just 13 minutes after takeoff, according to Basarnas, Indonesia's national search and rescue agency.
The plane, a new Boeing 737 MAX 8, was carrying 181 passengers, as well as six cabin crew members and two pilots. It was bound for Pangkal Pinang on the Indonesian island of Bangka.
"My prediction is that no one survived because we only managed to retrieve body parts. It has been a few hours since the crash so it is possible all 189 people were killed," Bambang Suryo Aji, director of operations for Basarnas, said in a news conference.
As many as 21 body bags have been transported to a hospital in east Jakarta for identification as rescue workers continue to search the sea. The bags contained human remains, debris from the airplane and personal items belonging to the victims, according Indonesia's National Search and Rescue agency. Six bodies were recovered earlier in the day and taken to the same hospital.
Aji said that rescue workers had found debris appearing to be the plane's tail. The main wreckage had still not been located.
30/10/18 9News

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Air India Express launches Bengaluru-Singapore flight services

Mumbai: Air India's international budget arm Air India Express Monday launched its non-stop flight to Singapore from Bengaluru as part of its winter schedule expansion plans.

The flight, inaugurated by Air India chairman and managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola along with Air India Express chief executive officer K Shyam Sundar, will be operated four-times a week with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, a release said.

The Bengaluru-Singapore service of Air India Express will be available four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, it added.
29/10/18 PTI/Business Standard

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No pressure on India to buy F-16 fighter jets from US: Envoy

Mumbai: The United States is not going to put pressure on India to buy F-16 fighter jets or any other defence system, a senior US diplomat has said here.
United States Consul General in Mumbai Edgard Kagan said India has purchased more than USD 15 billion worth of American defence materials and the US is "very proud" of the expanding defence ties between the two countries.
Asked if there was a threat of the US imposing trade sanctions on India after its multi-billion deal with Russia for the S-400 air-defence system, he did not give a direct answer.
"The idea that the US is going to pressure India to buy the F-16 or any other system is not true. We believe that American military systems bring tremendous capability to India or any other country which buys that.
"But we recognise that India makes its decisions on its own grounds," he told PTI in an interview here.
29/10/18 PTI/Hans India

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Indian airlines are creating a lot of jobs in the US, says SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh

Indian airlines are creating a lot of job opportunities in the US by placing orders for the Boeing flights, said Ajay Singh, chairman and MD, SpiceJet.

“As India grows, America grows with India. SpiceJet has placed an order for more than 200 Boeing aircraft, along with the orders placed by Jet Airways and Air India and as per the US department of commerce, that created an excess of 130,000 high paid jobs in the US," Singh said.

He was speaking at the board meeting of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) in New Delhi on Monday.

John Chambers, chairman, USISPF and founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures, on the US-India partnership said that the relationship between India and the US are the most strategic for both countries.

"What excites me the most is the startup community. If you watch the graduates of IIT, they are starting to form more companies here in India and also in the US," he said.
29/10/18 CNBC TV18

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Boeing experts to arrive in Indonesia for probe

Jakarta: Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee says experts from Boeing will arrive in Indonesia on Wednesday to help with the investigation of the crash of a Lion Air jet.

The 2-month-old Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crashed into the sea northeast of Jakarta on Monday just minutes after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board.

Accident investigator Ony Suryo Wibowo told a news conference that officials have only a small amount of information so far and don't know if it's correct. He implored the public to be patient. The plane's flight recorders have not yet been located.

He said: "To all Indonesian people, we are saddened and offer condolences but give us time to investigate why the plane crashed. Give us a chance to look deeply, to look at the whole problem, so the responsibility given to us by the government can be carried out."
An Indonesian TV presenter who was on what became the second-to-last flight of the Lion Air plane that crashed Monday says passengers were angry and scared by long delays, the apparent disorganization of Lion Air staff and an unexplained technical problem before takeoff.

In a detailed post online, Conchita Caroline says boarding of the Bali to Jakarta flight was delayed by more than one hour and when the plane was being towed, a technical problem forced it to return to its parking space.

She said passengers sat in the cabin without air conditioning for at least 30 minutes listening to an "unusual" engine roar, while some children vomited from the rising heat, until staff faced with rising anger let them disembark.

After about 30 minutes of passengers waiting on the tarmac, they were told to board again while an engine was checked. She said at least another 10 minutes elapsed before the flight taxied and during the flight the engine still sounded strange to her. She said, "But thank God we landed safely in Jakarta."
29/10/18 Hawaii News Now

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Safety issues dogged Indonesian carrier Lion Air

Indian captain Bhavye Suneja, who flew the ill-fated Indonesian Lion Air aircraft that crashed into the Java Sea on Monday, wanted a Delhi posting. “Since most of the pilots are from north India and they want Delhi posting, I told him that once he (Suneja) flies with us for a year we will consider his posting in Delhi. He wanted our assistance in getting an Indian ATPL (commander’s licence).
Some other pilots from Lion Air have also joined us recently,” said Bambang Suryo Aji, director of operations at the Search and Rescue Agency. Captain Suneja had over 6,000 flight hours of experience. The couple’s family and friends were waiting for them to come home for Diwali this weekend.

Indonesian airlines were barred in 2007 from flying to Europe because of safety concerns, though several were allowed to resume services in the following decade. The ban was completely lifted in June this year. The US lifted a decade-long ban in 2016.

Of the 189 on board, two were pilots and six were flight attendants. Rescue workers retrieved six bodies from the sea where the Indonesian budget carrier’s crash took place. Authorities said they were trying to locate the black boxes and emergency locator transmitter, which was currently not transmitting, to know the exact cause of the crash.

Lion Air chief executive Edward Sirait said the plane had reported a technical problem during its previous flight from Denpasar Bali to Jakarta on Sunday night, but that was resolved before it took off on Monday morning. Lion Air Group MD Daniel Putut said the plane had two foreigners — Captain Suneja and an Italian passenger.
30/10/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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US man held with Satellite phone at IGI T3

New Delhi:  A US national , who was carrying a satellite phone, was apprehended by the Central Industrial Security Force personnel at Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal 3 on Sunday night, police sources said on Monday.
.According to police sources, a satellite phone was detected in the hand baggage of Michael Scott Hodges during the pre-emabarkment security check (PESC) a the security holding area at T3 IGI airport at midnight on Sunday.
29/10/18 UNI

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Man arrested with fake Indian passport at Kolkata airport

Kolkata: A 25-year-old Bangladeshi national was arrested from the Kolkata airport on Monday for allegedly trying to board a flight to Bangladesh with a fake Indian passport. Cops caught Mohammed Faisal while he was undergoing his immigration clearance to Dhaka by an IndiGo flight and found that he was carrying a fake Indian passport.
He allegedly confessed to have to have entered India through Gede Rail Port against his Bangladeshi passport but started living at an Uttar Pradesh address with one his relatives at Tilja village in Dudhara district. Cops said, he had illegally obtained Indian passport, voter identity card and other documents in a fraudulent manner.
He was charged under IPC sections dealing in cheating (IPC 420), forgery (IPC 465) and under Foreigners Act. He was produced before a Barrackpore court on Tuesday and was sent to seven days of judicial custody.
30/10/18 Tamagha Banerjee/Times of India

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Malaysian gold smuggling racket busted at Chennai airport

Chennai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has busted a gold smuggling racket from Malaysia at the Chennai airport and arrested two persons, according to a release from the directorate on Saturday.

Based on tip-offs, sleuths on Saturday intercepted two separate passengers and found 6.95 kg gold worth more than Rs 2.27 crore concealed in electronic appliances such as microwaves and electric hotplates.

On interrogation, the passengers claimed that their handler in Chennai had asked them to receive the electronic appliances at Bagdogra near the Nepal border. It is learnt that the gold was smuggled into India through the border after being transported from Malaysia. The two passengers have been remanded in judicial custody.
29/10/18 New Indian Express

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Indonesia plane crash: Captain’s chilling call for help seconds before jet crashed at "high rate of descent"

The captain of the doomed plane that crashed at a "high rate of descent" made a chilling call for help just moments before the tragedy.

Head of the search and rescue operation Danang Priandoko told local media the pilot, Bhavya Suneja, asked to return to Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport just minutes after takeoff.


Preliminary flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft climbed to around 5,000 feet (1,524 m) before losing, and then regaining, height, before finally falling towards the sea.

It was last recorded at 3,650 feet (1,113 m) and its speed had risen to 345 knots, according to raw data captured by the respected tracking website, which could not immediately be confirmed.
Flightradar24 said "final date received from the aircraft indicates a high rate of descent."

Edward Sirait, chief executive of Lion Air Group, told Reuters: "We cannot give any comment at this moment,"

"We are trying to collect all the information and data."

Its last recorded position was about 15 km (9 miles) north of the Indonesian coastline, according to a Google Maps reference of the last coordinates reported by Flightradar24.

The plane was airworthy, and had only been operated by Lion Air Group since August, the company said.
29/10/18 Abigail O'Leary/Mirror

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Indonesia plane crash: India's Bhavye Suneja captain of Lion Air plane that crashed with 189 on board

New Delhi: A Delhi boy, Bhavye Suneja, was captain of the ill-fated Indonesian carrier Lion Air’s Boeing 737 Max + that crashed into the sea while operating a domestic flight from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang on Monday with 189 people on board.
Indonesia's search and rescue agency confirmed the crash of Lion Air flight, JT610, adding that it lost contact with ground officials 13 minutes after takeoff, and a tug boat leaving the capital's port saw it fall.
Suneja, a resident of Mayur Vihar who passed out of the locality’s Ahlcon Public School in 2005, joined Indonesian Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Lion Air in March 2011 where he flies the Boeing 737. The VP of a leading airline in India that operates the Boeing 737 said Suneja, 31, was considering returning to India.
“We spoke this July. He is a very sweet sounding person. Being an experienced pilot of the B737 with an incident, accident free record, we were keen to have him with us because of his good credentials. His only request was that he wanted a Delhi posting as he is from the city,” said the senior official.
“Since most of the pilots are from north India and they want Delhi posting, I told him that once he flies with us for a year we will consider his posting in Delhi. He wanted our assistance in getting an Indian ATPL (commander’s licence). Some other pilots from Lion Air have also joined us recently,” said the official.
“We all hope and pray that Suneja and all others on the plane survive. We are all praying right now,” the senior official of the Indian carrier said.
According to his Linkedin profile, Suneja, 31, got his pilot licence from Bel Air International in 2009. After that, he joined Emirates as a trainee pilot in September 2010 and remained there for four months. In March 2011, he joined Indonesian low-cost airline Lion Air that is based in Jakarta.
Suneja’s Facebook page shows him a happy family man. An October 2016 picture shows his Captain’s hat and epaulettes with four stripes. Presumably, this is when he graduated to a captain from the first officer.
According to Lion Air, Suneja has 6,000 flight hours of experience and the co-pilot has 5,000 flight hours.
20/10/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Lion Air crash: officials say 189 onboard lost flight JT610 – as it happened

Here’s what we know so far:

Lion Air flight JT610 crashed, 13 minutes after takeoff, in the sea off Jakarta at roughly 6.30am local time.
189 people were on board, including passengers and crew. 20 of the passengers were Indonesian officials, according to the finance department.
The low-cost carrier’s flight was travelling from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang in Indonesia.
There has been no indication of casualties, and a search and rescue operation is still underway.
The plane was a new model – a Boeing 737 MAX 8 – and had only been in use for 2 months. The pilot requested a return to the airport shortly before the crash.
Lion Air’s CEO said the same plane reported a “technical issue” on Sunday night, but had been cleared to fly on Monday. He said he would not ground the other MAX 8 planes in Lion Air’s fleet.
The emergency beacon did not emit a distress call, despite it being certified to work until August 2019.
Rescuers have released footage of plane debris and personal items floating in the water at the crash site. They have found handbags, clothing, cellphones, ID cards and drivers licenses.
Indonesian officials say they will not speculate on the cause of the crash until the black box is found.
29/10/18 The Guardian

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Basarnas locate debris, officials reported among passengers of Lion Air JT610

Authorities have begun search and rescue (SAR) operations for the passengers and crew of Lion Air flight JT610, which went missing on Monday morning en route from Jakarta to Pangkalpinang in Bangka Belitung.

The Lion Air flight lost contact with air traffic controllers at 6:33 a.m., shortly after it took off at 6:20 a.m.from Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The plane, which reportedly carried two pilots, six crew members and 181 passengers, including three minors, reportedly crashed 7 nautical miles (12.96 kilometers) north off the coast of Tanjung Bungin in Karawang, West Java.

"We are certain that the plane crashed into the sea and is submerged at a depth of 30 to 35 meters," National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) head M. Syaugi told a press conference on Monday.

"We have located the debris about 2 nautical miles [3.7 kilometers] south of where contact with the plane was lost," he said.

Syaugi said that 130 Basarnas personnel had been deployed from Jakarta and West Java's Bandung and Cirebon, as well as other areas. Thirty Basarnas Special Group (BSG) personnel had also been deployed to the debris site.

Bandung SAR spokesperson Joshua Banjarnahor said that a team comprising SAR members and divers from Bandung and Cirebon had been deployed on Rescue Boat 2016.

"Ninety personnel have been prepared to assist in the rescue efforts," Joshua said. "Rescue Boat 2016 has set sail."

National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) head Soerjanto Tjahjono said that the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that flew under flight number JT610  commenced operations under Lion Air in August and had a total 800 flight hours.

Soerjanto said the Basarnas team was looking for the black box to determine the cause of the crash.

The Basarnas also sent an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to search for passengers and crew.
29/10/18 Marguerite Afra Sapiie and Arya Dipa/Jakarta Post

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Lion Air: JT 610 Plane Operated for Two Months

Jakarta - The Lion Air JT 610 plane that crashed this morning after 13 minutes took off at Tanjung Karawang, West Java produced by Boeing, 737-8 Max type.

The Lion Air’s Strategic Communications Danang Mandala Prihantoro said the plane was made in 2018. The airline first operated the plane on August 15. “The plane was declared operationally feasible,” he said in a written statement on Monday, October 29.

The plane was piloted by the experienced pilots. "The plane was commanded by Captain Bhave Suneja," he said.

Danang said that Captain Suneja had the experience of over 6,000 flight hours. Then, Harvino the co-pilot had experience with more than 5,000 fight hours.

The plane with the PK-LQP registration number was reportedly last caught on radar at the coordinate of 05 46.15 S - 107 07.16 E. The plane departed at 6:10 a.m. and based on the schedule, it will arrive in Pangkal Pinang at 07:10 a.m. The plane had requested a return to base before finally disappearing from the radar.

The FlightAware.com data previously mentioned, before losing contact, the Lion Air JT 610 was observed to have dropped dramatically. The height of the plane was from 5,400 feet (1,800 meters) dropped dramatically to 2,800 feet (933 meters).
29/10/18 Tempo.co

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Australians are urged not to fly with Lion Air after one of the airline's jets crashes north of Indonesia with 188 people on board

Australian officials have been told not to fly on Lion Air after one of the airline's jets crashed into the sea north of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, shortly after take-off on Monday morning - carrying 188 people.

Photos later began to emerge showing debris and personal belongings picked up from the water’s surface by ships that reached the crash area.

Lion Air's flight JT-610 was heading to Pangkal Pinang, an island north of Indonesia's capital when it lost contact with air control about 6.33am local time (10.33am AEDT, 11.33pm BST) - just 13 minutes after take-off.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has now announced officials and contractors had been instructed not to fly with the low-cost airline until further notice.
In a statement released on Monday afternoon, the DFAT said they would review the decision when the findings of the crash investigation are clear.

Officials were also told to be cautious when travelling to Indonesia generally, but particularly in Central Sulawesi and Papua provinces.

The advice came from Smarttraveller - a service provided by the DFAT.

The warning came just hours after Flight JT-610'S pilot Bhavye Suneja asked to return to the airport after he reported technical difficulties on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane.

Traffic control allowed the return, but the aircraft vanished from the radar shortly after. Authorities are not sure why the plane crashed, as the weather was sunny, the aircraft was new and the pilots were experienced.
29/10/18 Mail Online

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Lion jet cleared to return shortly after takeoff

Karawang, Indonesia: Indonesian aviation and transport safety officials say a Lion Air plane that crashed into the sea with 189 people on board had been cleared by air traffic controllers to return to Jakarta's airport following a request from its pilot about two to three minutes after takeoff.

The plane, which was delivered to Lion Air in August, crashed about 13 minutes after taking off.

Novie Riyanto, the head of AirNav, which manages air traffic in Indonesia, said the pilot made a "RTB" or return to base request "just two or three minutes after it took off and the ATC has approved."

At the same news conference, a Lion Air official said there were two foreigners on board the plane: its pilot, originally from New Delhi, and an Italian citizen.
An Indian Embassy official in Jakarta says one of the pilots of a Lion Air plane that crashed in Indonesia was an Indian citizen.

Debashis Biswas identified the pilot as Bhavye Suneja.

He said there were no Indian passengers on board the flight, which crashed minutes after takeoff early Monday.
29/10/18 The Associated Press/The News Tribune

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Indonesia plane crash: flight JT610 plunges into waters off Jakarta

A passenger plane carrying 189 people has crashed into the sea off Jakarta minutes after taking off on a domestic flight to an Indonesian tin-mining region.

Lion Air flight JT610, travelling from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang on the island of Bangka, lost contact with air traffic control about 13 minutes after it took off, shortly after its pilot had asked to return to base. Flight data showed it made a sudden, sharp dive into the sea.

There was no sign of survivors from the Boeing 737 Max 8 jet, a new model that was launched globally only last year. The specific plane had only been in use for two months. Rescue officials said later on Monday they had recovered human remains from the crash site, about nine miles (15km) off the coast.

Lion Air’s chief executive, Edward Sirait, told reporters the plane had suffered “a technical issue” on Sunday night but engineers had cleared it to fly on Monday morning.

“This plane previously flew from Denpasar to Jakarta,” he said. “There was a report of a technical issue which had been resolved according to procedure.”

Sirait did not elaborate on the specific issue, and said he had no plans to ground the rest of Lion Air’s Max 8 fleet. The airline operates 11 of the Boeing planes.
On Monday, rescuers released footage of debris and personal items floating in the water at the crash site, including handbags, clothing, mobile phones, ID cards and driving licences.

One relative waiting at Pangkal Pinang airport told the Associated Press her sister was on the flight. Feni, who uses a single name, told reporters: “We are here to find any information about my younger sister, her fiancee, her in-law-to-be and a friend of them. We don’t have any information. We’re confused. We hope that our family is still alive.”
Roughly 20 of the 189 people onboard were Indonesian finance department officials who had travelled to Jakarta for a conference.

A statement from Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said the aircraft’s emergency locator transmitter had not sent out a distress signal, despite being certified to work until August 2019.

The plane went down in waters about 30-35 metres (98-115 ft) deep. Indonesia’s disaster agency spokesman posted video of debris on Twitter.
Another official said he could not confirm the cause of the crash, with the plane’s black box, comprising the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, yet to be recovered. But it was confirmed that the pilot had requested to turn back shortly after takeoff.

“We will collect all data from the control tower,” said Soerjanto Tjahjono, the official. “The plane is so modern, it transmits data from the plane and that we will review too. But the most important is the black box.”
29/10/18 Kate Lamb in Jakarta, Naaman Zhou and agencies/Guardian

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Working on direct Srinagar-Kuala Lumpur air connectivity: Malaysian envoy

Srinagar: The Malaysian Government is interested in direct air connectivity between Kuala Lumpur and Srinagar and will take all measures to make it possible, Nor Azam Bin Muhammad Idries, the deputy high commissioner of Malaysia to India said here on Saturday. 
However, he hastened to add that necessary permission to start the direct flight lies with Indian authorities.
Azam, who was in Kashmir for his first ever visit and left Srinagar on Saturday after spending three days here said in an interview with Greater Kashmir that direct air connectivity between the two regions will boost tourist influx from South-East Asia to Kashmir and the Malaysian Government is working on it.
“More than 13,000 Malaysian tourists have visited Kashmir this year so far. After my visit I am quite upbeat to work harder on this direct flight so that tourist influx from Malaysia to the valley gets more impetus,” said Azam, who also took part in the Kashmir Autumn FAM Tour 2018 oraganised by the tourism department. 
Malaysia accounts for second highest foreign tourist arrivals to Kashmir after Thailand.
27/10/18 Saqib Malik/Greater Kashmir

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Govt, AAI resort to blame game over delay in int’l flight service

Vijayawada: The state government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are playing a blame game over the delay in the proposed maiden international flight service from Vijayawada airport. The state government had proposed a biweekly service between Vijayawada and Singapore to boost the local economy and tourism. But the launch was put off twice with the state government blaming the delay in the issue of customs notification.
The government’s contention has turned controversial as the AAI making it clear that the airport is ready for the maiden international flight any time. AAI officials also point out that the customs department worked overtime to make the city airport ready for the international service, scheduled to take off on October 25. Since then, it has been postponed to December 4.
Vijayawada airport, which was upgraded as an international airport by Union government in May 2017, is still waiting for the first international service to take off. The AAI developed the old terminal to international standards in January this year, anticipating international services from March 2018.
Indigo airlines was selected to run the biweekly service between Vijayawada and Singapore. The state government agreed to provide variability gap funding (VGF) for the service.
28/10/18 Venu Lanka/Times of India

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Advocate approaches CBI for registration of FIR into Rafale deal

New Delhi: An advocate, on whose petition the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to provide details of the decision-making process in the Rafale deal, approached the CBI on Friday seeking registration of an FIR in the fighter jet deal.

The court had earlier, while seeking the report in sealed cover, had clarified that it does not want information on pricing and technical particulars.

In his complaint before the CBI, advocate M L Sharma has sought registration of FIR against high functionaries of the government under sections 409 (Criminal breach of trust by public servant), 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act.
26/10/18 PTI/Times of India

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Karipur Airport approved as Hajj Embarkation point

Thiruvananthapuram: Union Minister of State for Tourism Alphons Kannanthanam on Friday said Karipur Airport has been approved as as an embarkation point for Hajj or annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, 2019.
In a press release here, the Minister said Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took the decision in this regard.

Now, pilgrims from Kerala will have a choice to opt either Cochin or Kozhikode as an embarkation point for the Hajj, 2019.
26/10/18 WebIndia123

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Air India Likely To Be The Chosen Carrier For Non-Stop Flight To Perth

Hon. Paul Papalia CSC, MLA, Minister of Tourism, Western Australia was in India to discuss possibility of direct non-stop flights to Perth with Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha.

The idea is to start direct flights, initially, four times a week from either of the four metropolitan cities – Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai. In a media interaction, the Minister of Tourism stated that India is already a fast growing market for Western Australia with the number of visitors increasing by 38 per cent from the year ending December 2015 to the same period in 2017. “Perth is on the doorstep of Asia and is fast establishing itself as a thriving airline hub. There are many reasons for Indian airlines to consider Perth as a destination for non-stop entry into Australia. With India and Western Australia sharing an ocean, Perth is the only major Australian city within eight to 10 hours from key Indian airports, making the journey convenient and comfortable,” he said.

With a focus on building awareness about Western Australia in India and develop cross cultural and travel trade ties between the two countries, the Minister informed, “We have appointed a tourism specialist to represent the sector in Mumbai office who would support the trade and students market significantly. We will also be launching a marketing campaign and have invested $300,000 AUD.”
26/10/18 Business World

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A Direct Flight From Guwahati to Singapore Will Reduce Travel Time by 6 Hours

The latest development in the travel sector is the introduction of a direct flight from Northeast India to Singapore. The Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines has taken the initiative by launching direct fights that’ll fly twice in a week from Guwahati.

Guwahati is now the 16th city in India to have a direct link with Singapore. This indeed is a start of bigger and better things in terms of connectivity, travel and trade. This has especially come as a great news to those who have to endure 10 hours of travel time flying from the Northeast to this South East Asian country. Travellers can now reach Singapore Changi Airport from Guwahati in 4 hours 30 minutes straight, including transfers.

This airline probably followed in the footsteps of IndiGo Airlines that recently launched its daily sevices from Kolkata and Tiruchirapalli to Singapore and from October 29 onwards, will additionally launch 4-time weekly flights from Bangalore to Singapore.
26/10/18 Charu Chowdhary/India.com

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AIE daily flight from Kochi to Singapore

Kochi: Air India Express, subsidiary of Air India operating low-cost flight services, will expand its services from Kochi with the introduction of daily flights to Singapore later this month.

At present Air India Express operates three days a week flights to Singapore via Madurai. The new flights will link Singapore via Bengaluru from October 29, airline sources said here.

Bengaluru will thus be the 18th city to join the network operated by Air India Express, which has its headquarters in Kochi.

The airline will emerge as the largest air service operator from Kerala with Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram already in the network and Kannur joining the network with the airport’s inauguration. Kannur will be the 19th city in the network.
26/10/18 The Hindu

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Air India to start direct flights from Mumbai to JFK airport on Dec 7

Mumbai: National carrier Air India will connect the city with a direct daily flight to JFK airport in New York, starting December,an airline official said Thursday.
The airline currently flies a daily service to Newark's Liberty Airport from the city.
"We will launch our air services to JFK airport from Mumbai from December 7, where we already operate from New Delhi. The flight will be operated three times per week to begin," the official told PTI.
The airline earlier used to fly to JFK through New Delhi, which was discontinued later.
"Now we will be for the first time providing direct connectivity to New York from Mumbai with this new flight," the official said.
This is the second international flight that Air India will be launching from Mumbai this year. It resumed services to Frankfurt from the city on October 16.
25/10/18 PTI/Business Standard

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No visa extension for kin of Pakistan International Airlines' country head

The Ministry of External Affairs has terminated Indian visas of the family of Muhammad Ahmed Barkazai, the Mumbai-based country manager of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Posted in India since 2016, Barkazai’s family has already gone back to Pakistan and the 46-year-old official is upset that his children’s education suffered despite multiple requests to let them stay till the end of the school year.
According to inside sources with knowledge of diplomatic communication between India and Pakistan, India withdrew the visas because Pakistan denied visas to Indian engineers working on the construction of a residential complex for Indian diplomats in Islamabad.
The visas for Barkazai’s children expired on May 18 and were never renewed. However, the family continued to stay in their Cuffe Parade apartment till September 20 and applied for the extension about eight times through various channels, including the Pakistan High Commission. Barkazai’s sons Faris, 12, and Waris, 8, studied in GD Somani School and his eldest son Ahmed Khan, 18, took private tuitions and is pursuing his O-level studies. Keen to give them an education in Mumbai, Barkazai is said to be disappointed with the state of affairs and also unhappy to not have his wife Rukhsana by his side in Mumbai.
26/10/18  Yogesh Naik/Mumbai Mirror

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Airport solar project gains momentum

The move to set up a solar power plant at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) has gained momentum as a 7-member high-profile team visited some of the India’s international airports and found their systems viable for Bangladesh as well.

According to official sources, the committee, headed by an additional secretary of the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, visited India in mid-September to observe how solar power plants at airports operate there—and related technical and engineering issues.

The committee prepared a report on the basis of their finding from the trip, reports UNB.

The team included members of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, Power Development Board (PDB) and Power Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.

India has already transformed a number of airports into solar-powered ones by setting up photovoltaic solar plants to meet their electricity demands.
Cochin International Airport in Kerala, Bengalore Kempegowda International Airport , Indira Ghandi International Airport in New Delhi and Netaji Subas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata are among the airports that have transitioned to solar power.
26/10/18 Dhaka Tribune

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Dassault did not give Rs 30,000 crore worth of offset contracts to Reliance: Éric Trappier

Dassault Aviation CEO, Éric Trappier spoke exclusively to Manu Pubby of The Economic Times, where he cleared the air regarding various controversial questions ranging from the choice of RelianceNSE 1.37 % as a partner for the joint venture to the deal itself.
Rafale deal controversy relates to the purchase of 36 multi-role fighter aircraft by the Indian Defence Ministry from France’s Dassault Aviation.

Here's what Éric Trappier said during the interview:

*Basic premise of Dassault giving Rs 30,000 crore worth of offset contracts to Reliance is totally unfounded and untrue as it was a joint venture with each company contributing its respective shares. He said Dassult is helping Reliance with capital for them to manufacture parts of the aircraft

*Dassault holds a 49% stake bringing in its 90 years of aerospace manufacturing experience, making it the “most qualified vendor”.

*On Former French President François Hollande's statement that it was compulsory to sign up with Reliance to get the contract for the aircraft Trappier said, Mr Hollande offered a clarification that the two firms chose each other mutually and nobody was coerced into signing the deal.
*He also categorically stated that there was no push from the Indian government to chose Reliance as its partner.
25/10/18 Economic Times

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Two foreign nationals deported for overstay

Pune: The Pune police on Wednesday deported two foreign nationals for overstaying in India.
“Fredrick Kaitale (26) from Rwanda and Oria Blaise Stephane Kouassi (25) from Ivory Coast were found overstaying in Kondhwa in a surprise inspection conducted by the prosecution and vigilance wing of the foreigners’ registration office a fortnight ago,” a police officer said.
After the investigation, it was found that Kaitale came to India on a student visa that issued on August 6, 2012. “His visa expired on February 6, 2013, but he continued to stay in India,” the officer said, adding that his passport had also expired.
The police issued an emergency travel document to him, following which he was deported from the country. “He was deported via CSI airport, Mumbai to Addis-Ababa by Ethiopian airlines flight at 4am on Wednesday. He boarded a connecting flight from Addis-Ababa to Bujumbura, Burundi, at 12.10pm before boarding another flight from Bujumbura to Kigali, Rwanda, at 2.30pm,” the officer added.
25/10/18 Times of India

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Air Italy enters India with flights to Delhi, Mumbai from Dec

Mumbai: Air Italy on Thursday announced its foray into the Indian market with flight services to New Delhi and Mumbai from its Milan Malpensa hub, starting December.

The Italian carrier had earlier planned to start India operations this month.

Both the routes will be served by a 252-seater Airbus A330 aircraft, with 24 seats in business class and remaining 228 in economy, Air Italy said in a release.

“We look forward to the connection between Italy and two of the main business and tourist destinations in Asia - Mumbai and New Delhi. With the launch of our India operations in December, we are excited to offer newer routes and a wider travel option to the discerning travellers from India,” said Rossen Dimitrov, chief operating officer, Air Italy.

The European carrier said it would operate three flights per week each to Delhi and Mumbai from the Milan’s largest international airport at Malpensa.
25/10/18 PTI/Business Line

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Air India to explore direct flights to Australia

Air India could soon start direct flights between India and Australia to deepen air connectivity between the two countries, officials said on October 24.

In a meeting attended by minister of state, Jayant Sinha, Western Australian tourism minister, Paul Papalia and Air India chairman and managing director, Pradeep Kharola, Western Australia agreed to start direct, non-stop flights between India and Perth.

"India and Australia share strong trade, investment, sporting and education ties.  Direct connectivity between India and Australia has the potential to deepen these relationships," Sinha said after the meeting.
24/10/18 Moneycontrol.com

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Air India restores non-stop Mumbai to Frankfurt flights

Air India ended its eight-year hiatus on the 6,564-kilometre route between Mumbai (BOM) and Frankfurt (FRA) on 16 October, with the Star Alliance member initiating a four times weekly 787-8-operated service. When the carrier last flew between the two cities in October 2010, it was using 777-200s and 300s on the route, offering a daily rotation. Competition on the airport pair comes from fellow Star member Lufthansa, with the German flag carrier serving the route on a daily basis. Along with this connection between Mumbai and Europe, Air India also initiated two new routes to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) this week.
24/10/18 anna.aero

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5 more flights a week from Kolkata to Kuala Lumpur

Kolkata:  Malindo Airways Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian full-service airline owned by Indonesian Lion Air Group, started its flights between Kolkata and Kuala Lumpur early on Tuesday. The five-times-a-week service will add to the daily flight operated by AirAsia Berhad to take the weekly count of flights between the two cities to 12.

“India is one of the important markets for us and we have been getting good response from India. Kolkata is a potential market in terms of outbound travellers and we look forward to seeing good response to our new flight from Kolkata to Kuala Lumpur,” said Malindo Air CEO Chandran Rama Muthy. Malindo will operate two planes on the sector: Boeing B737-800 with 150 economy- and 12 businessclass seats and B737-900 with 162 economy- and 12 businessclass stories. The flight time between Kolkata and KL is three hours, 55 minutes.
Traditionally tourists have a fascination for Kuala Lumpur and Petronas Twin Towers as well as Genting Highlands with magnum hotels, casinos and joy rides. Tourism Malaysia director Sulaiman Suip, who was present at the launch of the flight from Kolkata, believes tourists from Kolkata would be equally enchanted by the sheer diversity of Malaysia’s culture and performing arts. “We want to introduce tourists to places beyond Kuala Lumpur, such as upbeat destinations, like Ipoh, Johor, Kota Kinabalu and unexplored beaches, rainforests and national parks,” said Suip.
24/10/18 Times of India

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Rafale row: Dassault Aviation CEO says choice of going with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence was company’s own

French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation on Friday said the choice of going with Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence for a partnership to manufacture parts for its Rafale aircraft was its own.

In an exclusive chat with CNBC-TV18 in Paris, Dassault CEO Éric Trappier said, "Choice of going with Reliance was ours... Thought Reliance was the best bet who could deliver what we wanted."

India signed a deal with Dassault in 2016 for the transfer of 36 Rafale jets in flyaway condition but the deal has since faced criticism from opposition parties who allege wrongdoing in one of the biggest defense deals India has seen in recent times.

The controversy flared up further after newswire AFP reported that former French President Francois Hollande said that France "did not choose Reliance in any way".

The Paris-based Dassault Aviation is a designer and builder of the Rafale, a twin- engine multirole fighter that performs all types of combat missions for both air forces and naval air arms.

With regards to the discussions with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Trappier said they "were in active discussion with both Reliance Defence and HAL" and that "HAL was aware of the negotiations with Reliance Defence".
25/10/18 Rituparna Bhuyan/CNBC TV18

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Launch Of Vijayawada-Singapore Flight Service Delayed

Mumbai: The much-anticipated direct flight between Vijayawada and Singapore may not take off this week as announced by the Andhra Pradesh government.
The state government has recently said the Indigo A320 service will begin on October 25.
When contacted, Media advisor to the state Energy, Infrastructure and Investment Department A Chandrasekhar Reddy said "bookings will start" but the actual flight service might commence only in the first week of December.
Indigo, which has been chosen by the state government to operate the twice-a-week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) direct flight, said it has not yet finalised the schedule.
We are yet to finalise the dates. We would keep you informed as and when we start these flight services, a spokesperson of Indigo told PTI through an email.
24/10/18 PTI/Republic World

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Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, Prashant Bhushan move SC seeking FIR in Rafale deal

New Delhi: Former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking registration of an FIR into the Rafale fighter jet deal between India and France alleging "criminal misconduct" by high public functionaries.

They have sought a direction to the CBI to investigate the offences mentioned in their complaint in a "time-bound" manner and submit periodic status reports to the apex court.

The complaint was filed on October 4 with the CBI after their meeting with CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma, who was late Tuesday night directed by the Centre to proceed on leave in the wake of feud with the second-in-command in the agency Rakesh Asthana.

The petition by the trio came two weeks after the apex court had on October 10 asked the Centre to provide details of the decision- making process in the Rafale deal with France in a sealed cover by October 29.

It had clarified that it does not want information on pricing and technical particulars. The court's order had come on two PILs filed by advocates M L Sharma and Vineet Dhanda.
24/10/18 PTI/Times of India

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Saudia Boeing 777 and UPS Jets avert collision

New Delhi: Another mid-air collision was averted in the Kolkata airspace last Tuesday, this time involving a Saudia Boeing 777 aircraft and a Boeing 747 plane owned by global logistics company UPS, raising questions over the safety of Indian skies.
The planes came within about 300 feet of each other but a collision was averted after the traffic alert and collision avoidance system or TCAS on both the aircraft was triggered automatically enabling the planes to be diverted in two different directions.
Last Tuesday, the Saudia flight from Riyadh to Manila came close to the UPS’ Boeing 747 plane that was Mumbai-bound from Bangkok. The incident happened when the UPS aircraft was asked by the controller to climb from 32,000 feet to 34,000 feet.
While climbing, the UPS aircraft was vertically about 300 feet away, when it reached an altitude of 32,700 feet, as the Saudia aircraft was flying at an altitude of 33,000 feet.
A radar controller has been grounded, pending the inquiry into the incident.
The incident is the second within two days over the Kolkata airspace, raising alarm bells in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
24/10/18 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Druk Air Guwahati-Singapore flights a boon

Guwahati: Singapore Airlines on Tuesday said it was looking forward to welcoming more travellers from Guwahati, who can tap Changi Airport’s extensive network to destinations in Asia such as Australia, China, Indonesia and Japan.

Changi Airport in Singapore has announced the launch of its 16th city link to India with the introduction of a new non-stop service between Guwahati and Singapore, operated by Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines.

This new route marks the first direct connection between the Northeast and Singapore.

From September 29, Drukair has commenced two weekly flights from Guwahati to Singapore.

The introduction of this new service is expected to reduce travel time from almost 10 hours, including transfers, to four and a half hours.

Lim Ching Kiat, the managing director of Air Hub Development, Changi Airport Group, said in a statement on Tuesday, “We are pleased to launch the first non-stop service between Northeast India and Singapore with our valued partner Drukair. India is the third largest tourism source market for Singapore and one of

Changi Airport’s key growth markets. This new route enhances connectivity between Singapore and India, bringing the city links to 16. We look

forward to welcoming more travellers from Guwahati, who can tap Changi Airport’s extensive network to destinations in Asia such as Australia, China, Indonesia and Japan.”

He said the new link is expected to strengthen not only cultural and socio-political ties between the countries but also facilitate opportunities to enhance travel and trade practices.
24/10/18 Telegraph

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Malindo Air starts service from Kolkata to KL

Kolkata: Malindo Air, a full-service carrier owned by Lion Group of Indonesia, launched its direct connectivity from the city to Kuala Lumpur with five flights per week in the initial phase.

The city became the eighth destination for Malindo Air in India after Delhi, Amritsar, Mumbai, Kochi, Bangalore, Chennai (through another Lion Group airline Batik Air), Trichy and Trivandrum.


GM (sales and development) of Malindo Air, Ramdas Shriram said that the airlines flies to 54 destinations across various cities and Asia and Australia.

"We hope to get a load factor of 90 per cent during the peak season out of Kolkata", he told reporters here on Tuesday.
23/10/18 PTI/Business Standard

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Vallair leases Boeing 737-700 to Indian operator SpiceJet

Vallair, the aircraft trading, leasing and specialist MRO organisation, has completed a long-term lease agreement with SpiceJet of India for a Boeing 737NG. The aircraft (MSN36118) was previously operated by TUI and was purchased from GEXX.
The aircraft is one of a number of Boeing aircraft that Vallair has recently purchased for ultimate cargo conversion. As part of Vallair’s developing service and ongoing support for the carrier the intention is that it will return to Vallair after SpiceJet’s commercial lease has expired. Whereupon it will form part of the organisation’s developing P2F programme, before reverting to SpiceJet for operation as a freighter.
SpiceJet operates a dedicated air cargo service under the brand name SpiceXpress offering cargo connectivity across India and on international routes. SpiceJet is the first Indian airline to offer end-to-end cargo services and the airline’s freighter fleet consists of Boeing 737 aircraft.
The SpiceJet passenger airline has made flying affordable for more Indians than ever before. It operates 416 average daily flights to 57 destinations, including 49 domestic and 8 international routes. The airline connects its network with a fleet of 37 Boeing 737 MAX and NG jets and 23 Bombardier Q-400s.
23/10/18 AJOT

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Big blow to international expansion plans of new airlines

New Delhi: In what could be a big blow to new airlines planning international operations expansion, the government has planned to keep the bilateral flying rights with countries such as Dubai, Singapore and Qatar unchanged. 

It may be noted that bilateral flying rights can only be increased if Indian carriers make use of at least 80 per cent of the entitlement on those routes, added the report. While all the three countries had asked for a limit increase considering the heavy air traffic from India, the government plans to keep the bilateral rights unchanged. 
In simple terms, existing airlines which currently operate have used up their rights fully in case of Dubai, almost 90 per cent in Qatar and well on its way to breach the 80% mark in case of Singapore. 

Considering that a lot of foreign airlines fly a lot of Indians from Dubai to Europe, Africa and the Americas, it is one of the key connecting destinations and is a key route for Indian airlines. While some Indian airlines are aggressively expanding online, the real problem will be dealt with by newer airlines which will not be able to get rights for flights to Dubai, Singapore and Qatar. 

However, a senior aviation ministry official told ET that there will be no agreement for increasing foreign flying rights with the aforementioned countries. He added that there is little or no evidence that merits an increase is foreign flying rights marginally. 
23/10/18 TimesNowNews.com

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Wow Air to connect New Delhi with Vancouver starting June 2019

Mumbai: Icelandic long-haul budget carrier Wow Air, which is set to commence its flight services to India from December, said Wednesday it plans to fly to Vancouver in Canada from New Delhi, starting June next year.
The proposed flights on the New Delhi-Vancouver routes will be operated thrice a week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, a release said.
Wow Air has also announced inaugural fares starting Rs 21,999 for an economy class and Rs 63,610 for the business class travel on the New Delhi-Vancouver flight.
The transatlantic airline in May announced services from New Delhi to multiple destinations in North America and Europe through its Reykjavik hub in Iceland from December.
"We are happy to announce the new flight to Vancouver from New Delhi. This new addition will definitely give a boost to the response from the Indian market. We are eagerly waiting for the operations to begin from New Delhi in December," said Skuli Mogensen, founder and chief executive officer, Wow Air.
23/10/18 Economic Times

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Canada Says AAP Lawmakers, Turned Away From Airport, Welcome Any Time

Chandigarh:  Months after turning back two Punjab legislators belonging to the Aam Aadmi Party from the Ottawa airport, Canada has written to India saying that the lawmakers can visit the country, an official said today.
Canadian authorities, in a communication to India's Ministry of External Affairs through the Indian High Commission in Ottawa, have said that both the legislators could travel to Canada whenever they chose to.
"I have been informed that the Canadian Border Services Agency has conveyed to our Mission in Ottawa that due to privacy legislation, they are unable to provide further details in the matter. However, they have also conveyed that Mr. Kultar Singh and Mr. Amarjit Singh are eligible to return to Canada, if they choose to do so, at any future time," Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said in a communication to Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana K.P. Singh, according to a spokesman for the Speaker.
Amarjit Singh and Kultar Singh, members of Punjab Legislative Assembly, were sent back from the Ottawa international Airport by the Canadian Immigration Authorities on July 21 despite their having the required travel documents.
23/10/18 IANS/NDTV

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Lufthansa’s India-Frankfurt Flight Now Connects To Austin

Leading European airline Lufthansa is launching a new direct flight from Frankfurt to Austin, Texas. Commencing on May 3rd, 2019, Lufthansa will offer five weekly flights from Frankfurt Airport to Austin – Bergstrom International Airport.  With this new flight offering, Austin will become the German carrier’s third destination in Texas, following daily service to Dallas and Houston.

The airline will operate A330-300 in a three class cabin configuration offering customers Business Class (42), Premium Economy (28), and Economy Class (185). Flights will be operated on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Optimally timed, flights arriving from India will connect perfectly to LH468 departing from Frankfurt at 10:05 am and arriving in Austin at 2:20 pm. On the return LH469 leaves Austin at 4:05 pm and arrives in Frankfurt at 9:10 on the following day thus comfortably reaching all departures to India.
22/10/18 T3

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All you wanted to know about International UDAN

Recently, the Airports Authority of India, on behalf of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Centre and the Assam government invited proposals from bidders for selection under a new International Air Connectivity Scheme. The last date for submission of bids is November 22. This international air connectivity scheme is being referred to as International UDAN or Overseas UDAN.
International UDAN is an extension of the domestic UDAN scheme that rolled out last year. Udaan means flight in Hindi and UDAN in this context is ‘Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik’. That is, let the common citizen of the country fly. UDAN in its domestic avatar seeks to boost air connectivity by linking up un-served and under-served airports in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities with the big cities and also with each other. This is done by offering cheap tickets to passengers and the Central and State governments paying a subsidy to the airlines to enable them to offer cheap tickets. Two rounds of bidding have happened under domestic UDAN and many flights have commenced, with some routes doing well and others not so much.
Under International UDAN, the plan is to connect India’s smaller cities directly to some key foreign destinations in the neighbourhood. Such direct air connectivity, it is hoped, would promote the development of the city and the State by wooing tourists and businesspeople to travel via smaller towns, instead of their flying through the metros. The scheme seeks to make use of the open skies policy that India has with other Asian countries that allows direct and unlimited flights to and from these nations to 18 Indian destinations. Now, these routes are untested, and airlines could be understandably reluctant to ply them. To encourage them to participate, the government offers a subsidy in the form of pre-decided payout per seat. Airlines are required to bid on the number of passenger seats per flight for which such support is required.
22/10/18 Anand Kalyanaraman/Business Line

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GoAir to commence direct flights from 10 Indian cities to Phuket

New Delhi : GoAir made history on 11 October, 2018, when it commenced its inaugural International operations with its first non-domestic flight between Delhi (DEL), Mumbai and Phuket (HKT). The flight also marked the first-ever direct flight from India to Phuket.

Speaking on the occasion, the elated Mr. Jeh Wadia, CEO of GoAir said “With great pride and humility we announce that Phuket is our first international route. The level of interest from Indian travellers has been excellent. Thanks to Gulu Lalvani, who convinced me to open-up Phuket to the Indian market, we are making Phuket our Thailand hub. We already have routes from Mumbai and Delhi to Phuket, and by the end of next year we will increase this to 10 cities flying direct to Phuket.”
 “With the introduction of these flights, GoAir aims to amplify and replicate its domestic success story, redefining its fly smart experience and value proposition in the aviation industry.” He added

India is a country of more than 1.3 billion people with a rapidly growing appetite for international travel. World Bank data shows that almost 22 million Indians travelled overseas in 2017 while the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) predicts that India will account for 50 million outbound tourists by 2020. That these figures look set to more than double in three years is no surprise to Mr. Gulu Lalvani, Chairman of Royal Phuket Marina.

Gulu Lalvani, Chairman of Royal Phuket Marina (right), with Jeh Wadia, CEO of GoAir (left) after GoAir commenced their first direct flights to Phuket.

Congratulating GoAir  and Jeh Wadia on commencing their International operations with  the first-ever direct flight from India to Phuket, Mr. Gulu Lalvani, Chairman of Royal Phuket Marina said that” “It is heartening to witness a direct connectivity between Phuket and India. I firmly believe that the new services offered by GoAir will greatly contribute to the growth of tourism of Thailand.  We look forward to working together with GoAir towards our goal of establishing Phuket International Airport as the Gateway to Thailand.
“We will also soon be flying into Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok. Thailand is a big part of our international expansion, it is a destination popular with Indian travellers and Phuket is at the heart of that,” explained Mr. Wadia. “Ninety percent of our fleet are new and within six months this will be 100%. We placed an order for 164 planes and have taken delivery so far of 41. Our plans for Phuket and the region are big.”
‘The only grudge / resentment everyone  had was the harrowing experience of deboarding / reboarding the flight at Bangkok airport, especially while going back to India and now with GoAir having commenced direct flight to Phuket ,the travel time will be cut short by 4-5 hours providing tourists a great relief” said Mr.Jeh Wadia of GoAir.
The start of direct flights to Phuket could not have come at a better time for the island. Opening up Phuket to the second largest country in the world, will help to soften the impact declining arrivals from China.
I see  First ever direct flight from India to Phuket International Airport by GoAir as the “Gateway to Thailand,” Highlighting  the enormous potential Phuket offers , Mr. Lalwani  said “The upside for Phuket is clear and the potential is limitless. Key cities in India are connected by a four-hour flight and being the first mover in the market, I expect this route to be a huge success for GoAir. No doubt other Indian airlines will follow their lead.”
These direct three-to-four flights from India will benefit Phuket's economy immensely. As well as bringing more lucrative Indian weddings to Phuket, their average holiday spend is high. Typically May and June have the lowest hotel occupancy in Phuket, yet this is the school holiday period in India and a time when many Indians travel. GoAir's direct flights will help to provide a big boost to the island's tourism businesses during that period,” added Mr. Lalvani.
“India has the highest level of pollution in the world today and once Indian travellers realise they can go non-stop to the paradise island of Phuket, I wouldn't be surprised to see Indian arrivals out number Chinese arrivals within three years.”
Owned by Waida Group, GoAir was recently reported to be the fastest growing airline in the world by Routes Online.
For more information about Royal Phuket Marina, visit www.royalphuketmarina.com, and for GoAir visit www.goair.in.
22/10/18 GoAir/Press Release

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No new flying rights for Dubai, Qatar & Singapore

India plans to keep bilateral flying rights with Dubai, Singapore and Qatar unchanged after domestic carriers objected to an increase on the grounds that their international plans would be hit, an official said.
The move could, however, be against the interests of consumers and hurt one of India’s newer airlines, analysts said. Under the new civil aviation policy, any move to increase rights can only take place if Indian carriers utilise at least 80% of the entitlement on those routes. All three had asked for an increase in rights as the destinations qualify on this count.
Indian carriers have used up rights to Dubai fully and those to Qatar by about 90%. With new Singapore flights having been started, utilisation on that route has breached the 80% mark. Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways carry a large percentage of onward traffic from India to Europe, the Americas and Africa through their home bases. The government decision comes as Indian carriers such as IndiGo and SpiceJet are aggressively expanding operations to international destinations.
“The objection by Indian carriers has been on the grounds that these carriers carry a lot of sixth-freedom traffic through their hubs, thus taking away business from Indian carriers,” said the senior aviation ministry official cited above. “We have accepted their concerns and would not be agreeing on any increase in foreign flying rights with these countries.”
While an unchanged limit may favour some carriers, it may not be good news for airlines like Vistara that have applied to the ministry to fly overseas and have sought rights to fly short-haul destinations that include Singapore, Male and others. Vistara is jointly owned by the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines. Analysts said the government should not limit rights as this wouldn’t be in the best interests of consumers.
22/10/18 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Singapore Changi now connected to 16 Indian cities with direct flights

New Delhi: Singapore is now linked to 16 Indian cities with Bhutan’s Drukair Royal Airlines starting flights to the prosperous island nation from Guwahati. This is the first direct flight between Northeast India and Singapore.
Drukair has started twice-weekly flights from Guwahati to Singapore from September 29. This direct service will reduce travel time from almost 10 hours, including transfers, to 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Changi Airport Group air hub development MD Lim Ching Kiat said: “We are pleased to launch the first non-stop service between Northeast India and Singapore with our valued partner Drukair. India is the third largest tourism source market for Singapore and one of Changi Airport’s key growth markets. This new route further enhances connectivity between Singapore and India, bringing the city links to a total of 16. We look forward to welcoming more travellers from Guwahati, who can tap Changi’s extensive network to destinations in Asia such as Australia, China, Indonesia, and Japan.”
India is Changi’s sixth largest market, registering more than 45 lakh passenger movements in the past 12 months, growing at 14% year-on-year. “Last month, IndiGo launched daily services from Kolkata and Tiruchirapalli, operating the airline’s first services from the two cities to Singapore. Air India Express will also be launching additional four-times weekly services from Bangalore, starting from October 29. With the additional services, Changi Airport will be connected to 16 cities in India by some 280 weekly one-way services,” Changi Airport said in a statement.
22/10/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Indian support for Palaly Airport development

India will provide its full support to Sri Lanka towards the development of the Palaly Airport, inaugurating direct air links form South India to Palaly and Batticaloa and providing 750 jeeps for streamlining the Sri Lanka Police Mobile Services, Indian Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh said.

The Indian Home Affairs Minister gave this assurance when he met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at the New Delhi Taj Hotel Niswan Conference Hall on Saturday.

Minister Rajnath Singh said defence cooperation between Sri Lanka and India had brought mutual benefits to both countries.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe thanked India for the support and co-operation extended towards combating crime in Sri Lanka, a press release by the Prime Minister’s office said.

Preimier Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka had succeeded in reducing its crime rate by 30 percent during the last two years while solutions had been found for almost 90 percent of complaints received.
22/10/18 Daily News

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How a few volunteers at Bagdogra airport are helping curb trafficking of Nepalese women

The women stood out in the crowd on a September evening. Raj Kumar Gurung and Rajesh Singh spotted the three – one clad in a saree and two others in worn-out jeans and T-shirts – looking “totally lost” next to the pay-and-use toilet in front of Bagdogra International Airport.
Gurung picked up a conversation with them. The older woman in the saree was 45, and the younger two were 18 and 24. All three were from Jhapa district in eastern Nepal. They only had printouts of their tickets for Delhi and little money in their handbags. They had no luggage, and no idea where in the big city they would be staying and with whom. From Delhi they were to go to Oman in the Persian Gulf as domestic workers “soon”.
Gurung and Singh knew right away they were potential victims of trafficking.
The two men are members of the transit monitoring team set up by the non-profit Kanchenjunga Uddhar Kendra in Siliguri. Their goal: to prevent the crossborder trafficking of Nepalese girls and women through Bagdogra airport. The team of volunteers catches potential victims, counsels them, and tries to take them back to Nepal. The monitoring unit was set up in May at the airport that is barely 20 km from the India-Nepal border. Since then, it has sent close to 100 Nepalese women home.
The three women were sent back too.
Human trafficking from Nepal rose after the devastating earthquake of 2015, as thousands of lives were lost, houses flattened and livelihoods disrupted. A trend emerged of vulnerable girls and women being lured with money and sold into child labour, forced marriage or sexual slavery.
22/10/18 Scroll.in

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Drukair launches first direct connection between North East India and Singapore

Singapore Changi Airport has announced the launch of its 16th city link to India with the introduction of a new non-stop service between Guwahati and Singapore, operated by Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines. This new route marks the first direct connection between Northeast India and Singapore.

From September 29, Drukair commenced twice weekly flights from Guwahati to Singapore. The introduction of this new service is expected to reduce travel time from almost 10 hours, including transfers, to 4 hours 30mins. The new link is expected to strengthen not only cultural and socio-political ties between the countries but also facilitate opportunities to enhance travel and trade practices.

Lim Ching Kiat, managing director, Air Hub Development, Changi Airport Group said, “We are pleased to launch the first non-stop service between Northeast India and Singapore with our valued partner Drukair. India is the third largest tourism source market for Singapore and one of Changi Airport’s key growth markets. This new route further enhances connectivity between Singapore and India, bringing the city links to a total of 16. We look forward to welcoming more travellers from Guwahati, who can tap Changi’s extensive network to destinations in Asia such as Australia, China, Indonesia and Japan.”
22/10/18 Financial Express

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Newly certified drone pilots share why they signed up for the city’s first drone-flying course

Last month, Ashish Jadhav, 35, a merchant navy officer and a musician in the city, signed up for the first batch of the drone-flying course launched at Pimpri Chinchwad Polytechnic.
Eleven participants had enrolled in what was an intensive five-day session on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones. After completing the training, Jadhav, who is skilled at playing multiple musical instruments, is confident that he can film a music video for his rock band, Rudraxsha, with the help of a drone.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Civil Aviation made an announcement to legalise the use of UAVs in the country. The government’s Drone Regulations 1.0 policy, which will be implemented from December 1, is set to sanction the use of UAVs in areas such as disaster relief, agriculture and health, as well as the logistics and supply chain industry. “That’s precisely why drone pilots will be in demand in years to come,” points out Mayank Soni, 42, founder of Drone Tech India, which has collaborated with Pimpri Chinchwad Polytechnic to offer the city’s only course on flying drones.
Drone Tech India’s module follows the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) guidelines for drones. The first batch was familiarised with topics such as DGCA’s regulations, basic principles of flight, Air Traffic Control’s (ATC) procedures and radio telephony and weather and meteorology.
“Their course is detailed, which is important because piloting UAVs involve many factors other than simply flying the craft,” says Jadhav. Above all, a pilot can’t afford to lose focus.
“Losing focus could lead to accidents. Drones manufactured by DJI have four fastmoving propellers. A craft like that could perhaps even damage property,” he cautions.
Rishil Soni, 26, a jeweller from Gujarat was one of Jadhav’s batchmates. He travelled all the way from Gujarat to Pune to attend the training.
“I want to try out drone photography,” says the jeweller, who saw the advertisement calling out to aspiring drone pilots to Pune on a social media platform.
Industry experts are confident that the drone policy will encourage companies to use UAVs for various purposes. It has been reported that drones are currently being used to monitor crop health at a farm in Karnataka and that the state government has sanctioned Rs 2.5 crore to kick-start a pilot drone project, in agriculture, in a village in Haveri district. Indian logistics companies are also planning to deploy UAVs to deliver goods, which is projected to reduce transportation cost.
20/10/18 Ashwin Khan/Pune Mirror

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Interim international departures terminal at Hyderabad Airport to begin operations from Oct 23

Hyderabad: All international departures at the Hyderabad airport will operate from the Interim International Departures Terminal, effective October 23 10:30 am.

The airport has advised passengers to check with their respective airlines before starting for the airport.

Passengers who are booked on Air India International flights: AI 127, AI 952, AI 978, AI 988, AI 966 and AI 051 and travelling to domestic destinations are also advised to report at Interim International Terminal (IIDT) as per their scheduled departure time.

The IIDT is located adjacent to the Haj Terminal and can be accessed from both Shamshabad and Srisailam sides of the Airport’s main approach road via Rotary 1 (Cargo rotary) that leads towards the Haj Terminal.
20/10/18 V Rishi Kumar/Business Line

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Vijayawada to Singapore flight services from October 25

Vijayawada: The first International flight service from Vijayawada to Singapore would be launched on October 25 by Indigo airlines. Though the Gannavaram airport received International status in May 2017, the commencement of international services have taken a lot of time. From a long time, international services from Vijayawada airport are pending with multiple airline service providers showing interest initially but backing out in the last minute.

Early this year, Air India has given its nod to start its services to Dubai with a Boeing carrying 160 passengers in each trip. However, due to security reasons, clearances were not given for hopping flights.

Meanwhile, the airport authorities have also initiated talks with other airline companies like Singapore-based Silkair and Dubai-based airline Emirates, Fly Dubai. Finally, Indigo has come forward to start the international flight from Vijayawada to Singapore.
20/10/18 New Indian Express

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Ms Bhuvana Rao succeeds mrs. Vandana Sharma as Air India regional manager-Americas

New York: Ms Bhuvana Rao took over  over as Air India Regional Manager-Americas, October 17. She succeeds Mrs Vandana Sharma who has been transferred as Deputy General Manager at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Ms Bhuvana Rao, an MBA from University Business School, Chandigarh is a seasoned Aviation professional with over 30 years of experience in  various areas of Commercial Aviation. She had  2 overseas assignments, heading  Air India operations in France and in Abu Dhabi. In her last assignment she was in charge of Sales & Marketing for Western Region in Mumbai.
19/10/18 Indian Panorama

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GoAir’s plan to sub-lease aircraft suffers setback, talks with Bamboo Airways fall through

According to Financial Express, Wadia Group-promoted budget airline GoAir’s plan to largely be an Airbus A320neo fleet airline seems to have suffered a setback as the airline’s discussions with start-up Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways to sub-lease its A320ceo aircraft have fallen through, a source said.

The airline was in discussion with the Vietnamese carrier, which has delayed its October launch, for sub-leasing nine of its A320ceo aircraft type. GoAir, with a fleet of 41 aircraft — a mix of both A320neos and A320ceos — had earlier said that it was weighing options of either sub-leasing its A320ceos or returning the lease of 16-17 of the A320ceos in its fleet.

“We are looking at whether we should be keeping the A320ceos on board or return the leases as they are 20% more expensive than the A320neos. We are looking at the sub-leasing options for the A320ceo fleet as well,” GoAir CEO Cornelis Vrieswijk had told the media earlier in August. The airline plans adding 13 A320neo aircraft to its fleet by March 2019. A deal with Bamboo Airways could not be consummated as GoAir was pricing its A320ceos much higher than the existing market rate, a source said.
17/10/18 TravelBizMonitor

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Singapore Airlines, Vistara, Philippine Airlines, SriLankan Airlines and more to reveal innovation plans at FTE Asia EXPO 2018

The free-to-attend Future Travel Experience Asia EXPO 2018, an anna.aero sister event, will take place in Singapore on 13-14 November and you are invited to attend for free!

More than 1,750 air transport industry innovators are expected to attend this major passenger experience and business performance show, which includes a huge exhibition, free education sessions, technology briefings, a new ‘Onboard Hospitality Zone’, and the FTE Asia Awards ceremony.

All of these features are free-to-attend for all, while airline and airport attendees also qualify for free access to the Premium Conference, which will feature high-level speakers from the likes of Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Philippine Airlines, Changi Airport Group, IATA, Peach Aviation, Saudi Arabian Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Bengaluru Airport, Auckland Airport, KLM and Vistara.
17/10/18 anna.aero

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Flag carrier PIA facing problems over accounts in India: Pak

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday said its flag carrier PIA was facing problems with regularisation of its accounts in India.
"We have underscored to the Indian side the need for facilitating smooth operation of Pakistan International Airlines in line with its obligations under the Air Services Agreement between India and Pakistan. Failure to do so would be a setback not only for the airline and people-to-people contacts but also bilateral relations. We expect the matter to be resolved amicably," Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said.
He said the court in Delhi hearing the case was informed at the last hearing that India's Ministry of Home Affairs has refused security clearance.
He said despite repeated requests, India has not extended the visa of the PIA manager's family forcing them to return to Pakistan.
18/10/18 PTI/Business Standard

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Delhi and Dubai top hotspots for time-crunched Mumbai fliers

Mumbai may be the financial capital of the country, but when it comes to travel, Delhi and Dubai have been the most preferred destination. Data provided by the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) has revealed that of the total domestic and international passenger traffic to and from Mumbai airport between April 2018 and August 2018, maximum fliers flew between the Mumbai-Dubai and Mumbai-Delhi sectors.

As per the data, out of total 6.08 million international passengers that flew in and out of Mumbai Airport between April 2018 and August 2018, a majority of them travelled to Dubai followed by London, Singapore, Bangkok and Abu Dhabi. The Dubai-bound traffic share stood at 1.02 million. In case of domestic travel, nearly 14.65 million passengers flew to and from Mumbai Airport between the same period, maximum travelled to Delhi followed by Bengaluru, Goa, Hyderabad and Chennai. 
With cheap airfares and easy travel, looks like the travel bug has smitten all and sundry. Sharat Dhall, chief operating officer at Yatra.com said that Mumbai is one of the busiest airports in India. “Travellers from Mumbai have chosen Delhi and Dubai as the most popular destinations. The travel to Delhi seems to be mostly driven by business travellers since Mumbai is the financial hub,” Dhall said.
18/10/18 Mehul R Thakkar/DNA

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