Showing posts with label Foreign Oct 2021. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foreign Oct 2021. Show all posts

Sunday, October 31, 2021

PM Modi’s plane flies over Pakistan airspace to reach Italy after getting official nod

Islamabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special VVIP flight, en route to Italy for the G20 Summit, flew over the Pakistani airspace on Friday and the aircraft will use it again on its return journey after getting formal permission from Islamabad, according to a media report here on Sunday.

Prime Minister Modi’s plane Boeing 777, 300ER, K7066 entered the Pakistani airspace from Bahawalpur, passed through Turbat and Panjgur and via Iran and Turkey reached Italy, The Express Tribune reported.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sources, Indian authorities had requested Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for permission to use the airspace for Modi’s special flight.

Pakistan accepted the request, allowing the Indian prime minister to fly through its airspace.

The relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated after India announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories in August, 2019.

India has told Pakistan that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Islamabad in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.

Prime Minister Modi arrived in Italy on Friday to participate in the G20 Summit where he is joined by other world leaders in discussions on global economic and health recovery from COVID-19, sustainable development and climate change.

The report quoted the CAA spokesperson saying that on its way back to India after the Climate Summit in Glasgow, Prime Minister Modi’s plane will use Pakistan’s airspace again.

31/10/21 PTI/Print

Saturday, October 30, 2021

Helicopter seized in Chennai was destined to Iran, says ED

Chennai: A day after the Enforcement Directorate freezed a multipurpose utility helicopter that was dismantled and stored in a warehouse near Chennai, sources said the action came after a request from the US as the authorities there suspected that it was scheduled to be sent to Iran, a country that the US has kept in the prohibited list.

The helicopter owned by Marilog Avion Services, Bangkok, was seized from the Free Trade Warehouse Zone, Sriperumbudur, under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

It was legally imported from the US by one Hameed Ibrahim and was kept at the warehouse for export, sources said, noting that the US’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) believe that Marilog Avion Services was involved in a scheme to illicitly procure Bell 214 helicopters on behalf of Iranian end-user, FARSCO Aviation MRO Centre. Mohamad Rifan and Ibrahim Nasir as the principal employees of Marilog Avion Services.

The DHS had registered a case and was investigating the matter due to the alleged attempt to take it to Iran. Then the Department of Justice made a request for assistance in accordance with the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in executing the warrant issued by the District Court of Columbia, US, to seize the helicopter located in Chennai.

The directorate said the helicopter was imported by Hameed Ibrahim and Abdulla from AAR Corporation, US, and shipped to India through Thailand in 2019. It was stored in the warehouse in Sriperumbudur. Searches were carried out at various premises, including the warehouse and the residential premises of the directors of Marilog Avion Services.

Officials said the helicopter was kept at the warehouse on a monthly rental basis. It was found in a dismantled condition, with its rotor blade, tailboom, engine, rotor hub, etc. detached and packed separately. Subsequently, a freezing order under Section 17(1A) of PMLA, 2002, was issued to the custodian of the warehouse to restrain further movement of the helicopter and its spare parts from there.

30/10/21 DT Next

Indore: Air India cancels new flight to Sharjah

Indore: Air India has cancelled planned operation of Indore-Sharjah international flight, two days before scheduled date of launch of flight from Indore.

Local officials with the airline said that flight has been cancelled due to operational reasons.

"The direct flight between Indore and Sharjah (UAE) has been cancelled. We received an intimation regarding cancellation from headquarters today," Vikas Shah Air India (Indore) station manager said on Friday.

Shah added that booking for the flight was however not started.

Airline sources however claimed that the flight has been cancelled due to unavailability of aircraft. "There is still no confirmation about the date for launch of the international flight from Indore," they said.

Air India had on October 8 announced to operate a regular international flight between Indore and Sharjah (UAE) from November 1.

The flight was announced to operate for twice a week including Mondays and Saturdays, and the announcement had brought cheers among people travelling regularly between Indore and Sharjah.

30/10/21 Times of India

Friday, October 29, 2021

DGCA extends ban on scheduled international commercial flights till November 30

New Delhi: The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday extended the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights till November 30.

A notice issued by the DGCA stated that the restrictions shall not apply to international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by DGCA.

The notice also stated that the international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case-to-case basis.

In September, the DGCA had extended the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights till October 31.

29/10/21 India Today

Direct flights between Delhi-Sydney to start from November 15

India’s national-carrier Air India has announced plans to resume direct, non-stop flights between Delhi and Sydney from November 15. As per the reports, the flights will operate thrice a week. This move comes after the Australian flag-carrier Qantas announced to make new flights operational on the said route from December 6, which is after almost a decade.

Qantas will be resuming flight operations on the Sydney-Delhi route via Darwin, whereas flights from Delhi to Sydney would be operating non-stop.

Reportedly, Qantas will be initially operating flights between Sydney and Delhi thrice-a-week on its A330 aircraft, which will likely be increased to daily flights by end of the year. Reports have it that the flights would operate until at least late March 2022, which will then remain in place if there is sufficient demand.

India’s national carrier, while sharing this information via tweet, stated that booking would start from 1200 hours on Wednesday through booking offices, the Air India website, authorised travel agents, and booking offices.

As reported earlier, the New South Wales state of Australia will be opening borders for international travellers, without quarantine, starting from November 1, which will mark the full return of overseas travel after more than 19 months.

The said move will allow both the airlines to resume flight operations between India and Australia, which will be beneficial for tourists as India will also start issuing tourist visas for international travellers starting November 15.

29/10/21 Times Travel

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Air fares to Singapore, Malaysia remain pricey

Chennai: Air fares from Chennai to Singapore and Malaysia are several-fold higher than pre-Covid rates at a time when the travel sector is inching back to normalcy.

The two countries relaxed norms recently so that people who have permanent residency permits, workers and others can start travelling. One-way fare on direct flights is Rs 25,000 to Rs 27,000 to Singapore while it is Rs 26,000 to Kuala Lumpur for travel in November.

The fare is higher for travelling via Colombo or Dubai but many are not travelling via transit hubs because of ever-changing restrictions. The fare is high because the government is yet to permit more flights on the route and continues to run 'air bubble' flights operated by Air India Express or Air India.

Airport sources said that foreign carriers, which used to have one or two flights per day from Chennai in the preCovid-19 days, are unlikely to resume flights till end of December unless the government fully allows scheduled services. Fewer flights and high fares have troubled those who are flying on business, jobs and on permanent residency visas and those who have a second home. Travel and tour operators are hoping that Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand will soon permit leisure travellers.

Singapore has allowed transit passengers but people are not able to use it because there is only one flight from Chennai. S Baskar from Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) said fares would reduce only if commercial flights resume operations. Some travel agents expect southeast Asian countries to allow leisure travellers by next month.

28/10/21 Times of India

Indian Man Who Lived In US Airport For Three Months Acquitted Of All Charges

A man who spent three months living in a secured terminal at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport instead of flying home to India as he had planned has been acquitted on a felony trespassing charge.

Cook County Judge Adrienne Davis acquitted Aditya Singh on the charge this week without his attorney having to mount a defense, the Chicago Tribune reported. Singh, 37, is expected back in court Friday on an escape charge for allegedly violating the terms of his electronic monitoring while out on bond for the trespassing charge.

Davis' rationale for acquitting Singh wasn't immediately clear. But after his January 16 arrest, the Transportation Security Administration, which regulates security at the airport for the Chicago Department of Aviation, determined that Singh hadn't violated airport regulations.

“Mr Singh did not breach or improperly enter secured areas — he arrived there like tens of thousands of arriving passengers do every day, by stepping off a plane,” Christine Carrino, an aviation department spokeswoman, said in a statement to the newspaper earlier this year. “While we won't speculate on Mr Singh's motivations, he decided to remain in the secure area and made every effort to blend in as a passenger and airline employee until his arrest.”

Singh, who came to the US nearly six years ago to get a master's degree, was living in Orange, California, when he boarded a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago last October for what was supposed to be the first leg of his return home to India.

But he was arrested in January after two United Airlines employees noticed he was wearing a badge that an airport operations manager had reported missing.

Singh told police that he stayed at the airport because the coronavirus pandemic had left him afraid to fly, and that he had been able to get by with the help of strangers who bought him food. A friend of Singh's told the Tribune that he told her in text messages that he enjoyed talking to people at the airport about his Buddhist and Hindu beliefs on healing.

“I'm actually growing spiritually due to this experience and I know I will come out stronger,” he wrote to the friend in a text she shared with the newspaper.

28/10/21 Associated Press/Outlook

Sri Lankan national held with fake Indian passport

Trichy: City police arrested a 51-year-old Sri Lankan national at the Trichy international airport on charges of possessing a fake Indian passport, while he was about to board a Sri Lankan Airlines flight to Colombo.

According to police, the accused has been identified as V Sivakumar, 51, residing at No. 301/1, New EB Colony, Vadamadurai in Dindigul. While he arrived at the Trichy international airport on October 26 to board a Sri Lankan Airlines flight to Colombo, immigration authorities intercepted him and examined his passport.

During the check, it came to light that the passport possessed by Sivakumar was fake. Subsequently, he was handed over to the airport police and they registered a case under Sections 467, 468, 471 of IPC read with 12 (b) of Passport Act and 14 of Foreigners Act and arrested him.

Inspector Malaisamy said that Sivakumar is a Sri Lankan national, and had arrived at Dindigul. During his return, he used the fake passport to exit the country, he said.

28/10/21 Times of India

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Mangaluru: Kuwait flight schedule changed, fare hiked - Passengers inconvenienced

Mangaluru: The flight schedule of the night flight to Kuwait from here has been changed to daytime. As a result, passengers from coastal Karnataka and Malnad region are facing hardships for the last 18 months. The flight charges have been hiked. The flight has not resumed operations even after the second wave ended. Therefore people from the coast and Malnad are now opting to travel through Kannur airport.

In the past, the flight to Kuwait used to leave at 8.45 pm and reach Kuwait at 11.15 pm. From Kuwait, the flight departed at 12.15 am and reached the city at 7.30 am. This timing was very convenient for the passengers who used to leave or arrive here on Thursdays and Fridays.

In the past, the passengers who left Kuwait late night on Thursdays used to reach here on Friday morning. The weekly offs in Kuwait are on Friday and Saturday. These two days could be put to use beneficially. People coming on a week's holiday could make the best use of this timing. When going to Kuwait too they used to get rest for a day and start work on Sunday.

After the first lockdown, the Air India flight schedule to Kuwait was suddenly changed when the flights resumed. So far no plausible reason could be attributed to this change. This time, the schedule was changed from night to day. Now the flight leaves Mangaluru at 7 am and reaches Kuwait via Bahrain at 11.05 am. From there, it leaves at 12.15 pm and reaches here at 7.15 pm. This time table of Wednesdays and Saturdays is not convenient for the people of coastal Karnataka and Malnad employed in Kuwait. Now people have to leave during the mid-week. They have to arrive at the airport three hours in advance to catch the 7 am flight. From Kuwait, they have to leave during the day. The timing is not at all suitable for NRI Kannadigas from Kuwait who have weekly offs during the week ends. Therefore the travellers have been demanding to stick to the earlier schedule. Various organisations including Kuwait Tulukoota, Kuwait Kerala, Muslim Association Karnataka, GSB Sabha and Tulukoota have submitted petitions through MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, but so far the time table has not undergone any change.

After Covid19 second wave, flights to other nations have resumed but not to Kuwait and Dammam. The passengers hope that if the flights begin in November, the schedule will be changed to a convenient time but the Air India Officials are not ready to commit anything.

27/10/21 Daijiworld

UAE-India flights: Air India Express resumes Al Ain-Kozhikode service with Dh392 fare

Air India Express is resuming its services from Abu Dhabi’s Al Ain to Kozhikode in Kerala from next month, the airline’s Abu Dhabi office said.

The flight service was suspended in March 2020 as part of nationwide precautionary measures taken in the UAE to contain the spread of Covid-19.

To mark its return, the airline is offering passengers a special ticket price starting from Dh392.

The first service will commence from November 4, with a weekly operation on Thursday.

The first flight (IX 0335) will take off from Kozhikode and land at Al Ain International Airport by 12.25 pm, and the return service (IX 0336) will depart at 1.25 pm.

27/10/21 Ashwani Kumar/Khaleej Times

Elderly Woman Found Infected in RT-PCR Test at Indore Airport Prevented from Boarding Dubai Flight

A72-year-old woman was not allowed to board the Indore-Dubai flight on Wednesday after she tested positive for coronavirus at the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar international airport here following which she was admitted to a COVID care centre, an official said. Every passenger of the weekly Indore-Dubai flight is subjected to undergo the Rapid RT-PCR test at the Indore airport. Today, 104 passengers were examined and among them, a 72-year-old woman was found coronavirus positive, health department’s medical officer Dr Priyanka Kourav told PTI.

The infected woman is a resident of Indore’s Bijalpur area. She had already taken both doses of the vaccine against COVID-19, she said. As a precautionary measure, we have admitted her to a COVID-19 care centre, though she was not having any symptoms of the disease. Till recently, she had not travelled anywhere outside Indore, Dr Kourav said.

Earlier, a 26-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman were prevented from boarding the Air India’s Dubai flight on September 15 and October 13, respectively, after they tested positive for coronavirus during the Rapid RT-PCR test at the Indore airport.

27/10/21 News18.com

NRI turned back from Delhi airport: Badal seeks PM intervention, SGPC slams govt

Chandigarh: Reacting to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport authorities sending Darshan Singh Dhaiwal back to the United States after denying him entry to India, five-time Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “intervene personally and effectively to get the injustice vacated immediately”.

Pointing out in a written statement that Dhaliwal was sent back from the IGI airport on October 23-24 night with the authorities saying that this was being done as a punishment for organising langar for agitating farmers at Delhi borders, Badal called it “an affront to the sacred practice of langar started by the great Guru Sahiban”.

Requesting the PM to personally invite Dhaliwal as a “goodwill gesture which will send a great positive signal to NRIs”, Badal also sought “stern action against the erring officials who brought a bad name to the country with their action”.

Badal said Dhaliwal and his family were coming to India to attend a wedding in the family, but were told to choose between supporting the farmers and entering the country. He (Dhaliwal) was specifically asked to stop organising langar for agitating farmers at Delhi borders if he wanted to come to his homeland.

Badal said that organising or sponsoring a sacred socio-religious work such as ‘langar’ has always been regarded as one of the highest and noblest duties for every devout follower of Sikhism. Doing so for the country’s ‘annadata’ (bread winners) is a noble task that needs to be emulated rather than penalised.

He demanded “revocation of three black laws” and said stakeholders be brought “on board before any legislation affecting them”. Badal also demanded setting up a panel with farmers and farm experts to advise the government on agriculture policies and enlarging the list of crops for ensured marketing with MSP.

27/10/21 Indian Express

Karnataka issues guidelines for international arrivals

Bengaluru: In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Karnataka government has issued a new set of guidelines for international passengers arriving in the state.

According to the notification issued on October 25, passengers coming from countries including the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand and Zimbabwe would need to follow additional measures on arrival in India, including post-arrival testing.

As per the new guidelines, all passengers planning to travel to Karnataka have to submit a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal before the scheduled travel.

"They are also supposed to upload a negative RT-PCR Covid test report on the portal, conducted within 72 hours prior to the journey. Each passenger should also submit a declaration with respect to the authenticity of the test report. Finally, they should provide an undertaking at the portal or to the Ministry of Civil Aviation through the concerned airlines before their travel that they would abide by the decision of the appropriate government to undergo home-quarantine/self-health monitoring," said the notification.

The state government asked the concerned airlines/agencies to provide a list of do's and don'ts, along with tickets to the travellers and instructed them to allow boarding by only those passengers who have filled in the Self Declaration Form on the Air Suvidha portal, and uploaded the negative RT-PCR test report.

It further instructs airport authorities to advise passengers to download Arogya Setu on their phones.

"If any passenger reports symptoms of Covid-19 during flight, he/she shall be isolated as per protocol," added the circular.

Asking the airlines staff to follow all Covid-19 related guidelines, the government said that in case of any symptomatic person during the screening, the airport authorities should isolate that person and take it to the medical facility as per protocol. "His/her contacts should also be identified as per protocol," added the circular.

As per the guidelines, if a fully vaccinated person is travelling from a country that along with India accepts WHO-approved Covid-19 vaccines, they shall be allowed to leave the airport and undergo self-monitoring for two weeks.

27/10/21 ANI/Times of India

US Lifts Travel Curbs On India, Others, Children Exempt From Vaccine Rule

Washington: US President Joe Biden on Monday signed an order imposing new vaccine requirements for most foreign national air travelers and lifting severe travel restrictions on China, India and much of Europe effective Nov. 8, the White House said.

The extraordinary US travel restrictions were first imposed in early 2020 to address the spread of COVID-19. The rules bar most non-US citizens who within the last 14 days have been in the United Kingdom, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe without border controls, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil.

"It is in the interests of the United States to move away from the country-by-country restrictions previously applied during the COVID-19 pandemic and to adopt an air travel policy that relies primarily on vaccination to advance the safe resumption of international air travel to the United States," Biden's proclamation says.

The White House confirmed that children under 18 are exempt from the new vaccine requirements as are people with some medical issues. Non-tourist travelers from about 50 countries with nationwide vaccination rates of less than 10% will also be eligible for exemption from the rules. Those receiving an exemption will generally need to be vaccinated if they intend to remain in the United States for more than 60 days.

The White House first disclosed on Sept. 20 it would remove restrictions in early November for fully vaccinated air travelers from 33 countries.

The Biden administration also detailed requirements airlines must follow to confirm foreign travelers have been vaccinated before boarding US-bound flights.

One concern among US officials and airlines is making sure foreign travelers are aware of the new vaccine rules that will take effect in just two weeks.

26/10/21 Reuters/NDTV

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

All about Srinagar-Sharjah flight: Immigration check, arrival-departure segregation timings, other details

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to deploy special officers for immigration checks to ensure fool-proof security and passenger safety at Srinagar International Airport.

This follows the resumption of international traffic at the airport.  Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off the first Srinagar-Sharjah flight on Saturday. International flights formally will resume from November 3.

An official document accessed by The Kashmir Monitor reveals that Divisional Commissioner PK Pole has directed the airport administration to set up separate immigration and customs counters

“It has been decided that ADGP will provide adequate manpower for immigration checks. There is enough manpower available for the customs,” the document said.  

The government has decided that barriers will be placed to preclude the possibility of intermixing of International and Domestic passengers at the Srinagar international airport. 

Adequate space for 180 arriving passengers in the international arrival hall and 53 counters are placed for registration of other arriving passengers,” the document said.

The document said the arrival segregation on Wednesday and  Saturday will be needed from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm and the departure segregation on Wednesday and  Saturday will be needed from 3 pm to 7 pm.

Director Health Services Kashmir has been directed to set up separate cabins for COVID testing at the airport.

Officials said traffic has increased by 170%. Around 12,000 passengers arrive and depart from the airport daily.

The first international flight from the Srinagar airport to Dubai was started on February 14, 2009, by Air India Express. It was a once-a-week service. However, it was later discontinued due to low demand.

26/10/21 Firdous Hassan/Kashmir Monitor

Singapore Reopens Its Border for Indians: What Are the Travel Rules?

Singapore is re-opening its borders for citizens of six countries, including India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. People with a 14-day travel history to these countries will be allowed to enter and transit through Singapore. The new rules will be effective from Tuesday, 26 October.

The Singapore government has, however, stated that travellers from these countries will have to go through its Category IV border controls, The Indian Express reported.

Singapore is gradually opening its borders to more countries for quarantine-free travel as it seeks to rebuild its status as an international aviation hub and prepares to redefine "normal" for COVID-19.

What are the travel rules? Who can enter? Here is everything you need to know about Singapore's conditional lifting of travel ban

26/10/21 Nuzhat Khan/Quint


Air India Ups Non-Stop US Schedule Ahead Of Country Reopening

As the US prepares to welcome fully vaccinated international travelers from November 8th, India’s soon-to-be-privatized national carrier Air India has decided to increase the frequency of its flights to the country. There’s never a shortage of passengers flying between India and the US. With COVID cases in India on a steady decline and the US becoming increasingly comfortable to allow international visitors, Air India seems ready to milk the opportunity.

Air India will add three more weekly flights to the US from the second week of November, between Mumbai (BOM) to Newark (EWR). With a flight duration of around 15 hours, United Airlines also serves this route using a Boeing 777-300ER.

Anticipating a good demand for US travel, Air India had also announced earlier this month its decision to increase frequency between New Delhi (DEL) and Chicago (ORD) from six to seven days a week.

Following India’s severe second COVID wave earlier this year, flights to the US had dropped significantly. This was most apparent during the fall season when thousands of Indian students flew to the US for higher education. With travel restrictions in place and limited flying options at that time, ticket prices increased enormously.

According to a Times of India (TOI) report, Air India will have 26 weekly flights to the US once the Mumbai-Newark service starts.

Even as the aviation sector begins to emerge from the shadows of COVID-19, Air India is facing issues with keeping some of its aircraft in flying condition. The TOI report quoted an AI official commenting on the flights to the US,

26/10/21 Gaurav Joshi/Simple Flying

Nepal seeks deal with India for flight inspection services

Airport and flight inspections have to be conducted every year, but Nepal has not been able to conduct the tests for the last two years due to Covid-19.

Nepal has asked the Airports Authority of India to provide periodic airport and flight inspection services for its airports.

On Monday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal sent an official letter to the Indian state entity proposing to sign a long-term government-to-government deal as it wants to avoid being possibly forced into contracting unreliable companies amid the difficult times caused by Covid-19.

Raj Kumar Chhetri, officiating director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, told the Post that they had officially written to the Airports Authority of India after its proposal was approved by the board on Thursday.

“We have proposed signing a three-year contract. Once the Indian authority sends its response, we will sign the agreement,” said Chhetri, adding that they had planned to complete the periodic airport and flight inspection services of eight airports, including the upcoming international airport in Bhairahawa, by mid-December.

Radio communication infrastructure and air navigation aids of all airports need to be inspected after installation and before full operation. The air navigation aids that are in service need to be regularly inspected according to International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards and requirements to ensure safety and continuously accurate operational performance.

26/10/21 Sangam Prasain/Kathmandu Post


Air India to add US nonstops post Nov 8 when Uncle Sam reopens for fully vaccinated travellers

New Delhi: This could be the last expansion of services by state-owned Air India before it transits to the Tata Group and the big bang expansion then. The Maharaja will be adding its highly popular US nonstops from next month as Uncle Sam reopens for fully vaccinated foreign travellers stating November 8.

It currently has 23 weekly flights to America. "We are adding three more weekly flights, between Mumbai and Newark, from second week of November. We are awaiting normal flight operation clearance from US airports. So AI will have 26 weekly flights, a number that could have been much higher if we had more Boeing 777s available and had so many of them not been down with maintenance issues," said officials, adding that out of 16 B777s, nine are available for operations at the moment.

A severe paucity of funds has seen several AI planes grounded due to spare issues. Getting the existing fleet, or newly leased planes, up in the air to mount more flights will be crucial for the Tatas to cash in on the reopening of travel. An airline insider said AI is awaiting "achche din" with the Tatas taking over. "Hopefully with Tatas getting in board, our days of slow/no/bad decision making will be over. As a PSU decision making is much slower due to clearances required. Private airline owners have in pre-pandemic times been known to order planes on SMS during board meetings," said an insider.

26/10/21 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

2 kg gold hidden as wet dust in airplane seized, one held

Mumbai: Mumbai, Etihad, Air Intelligence Unit, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Gold, Mumbai, Mumbai news, Indian express, Indian express news, Mumbai latest newsAccording to sources, the gold dust was left under the seat for the cleaning staff to collect it and bring it out of the aircraft. (Express Photo)

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Mumbai customs has seized about 2kg gold from an Ethiad Airways flight that landed in Mumbai from Abu Dhabi today, sources told The Indian Express. Sources said the gold, smuggled in the form of wet dust, was hidden under the seat of the aircraft in place of the safety jacket. The total value of the seized gold is about Rs 90 lakh.

One passenger has been arrested in connection with the incident.

“The passenger was examined and his personal search resulted in recovery of gold concealed in his jeans pant. The gold was pasted inside two layers of the pant. Officers have cracked this modus operandi successfully on account of information exchange between different airport intelligence units,” said an official.

According to sources, the gold dust was left under the seat for the cleaning staff to collect it and bring it out of the aircraft. The AIU is probing the role of a few airport staff in connection with the case, said sources.

26/10/21 Khushboo Narayan/Indian Express

Monday, October 25, 2021

Fliers face trouble as Air India stops ticket bookings for flights on Amritsar-Rome, Amritsar-Nanded routes

Amritsar: After Air India stopped ticket bookings for flights on Amritsar-Rome and Amritsar-Nanded routes from October 31, fliers and aviation experts anticipate that these flights would be eventually be withdrawn.

The thrice a week Nanded-Amritsar direct flight connects two important Sikh temporal seats — Sri Akal Takht Sahib and Takht Sri Hazur Abchal Nagar Sahib in Nanded. It has been flying on the route for the last nearly three years.

Similarly, the booking for once a week Delhi-Amritsar-Rome flight is not available and has been removed from the schedule released on the Air India’s website. The winter schedule starts from October 29 and lasts till March 26, 2022.

These flights are unavailable for bookings in the winter schedule indicating that Air India has either suspended these routes or was pulling out the flights altogether.

The FlyAmritsar Initiative has asked Air India to continue its direct flights from Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport to Nanded in Maharashtra and Rome in Italy even after October. Its global convener Sameep Singh Gumtala has written letters to Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur to draw their attention over the matter. He urged them to approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia over this issue.

Yogesh Kamra, a member of the airport advisory committee, said he was surprised by the Air India’s move as the flights to Nanded and Rome were running with a good flight load of over 70 per cent average occupancy.

Air India’s tweet, however, belies these claims. On October 23 it tweeted: “Fly non-stop from Amritsar to Nanded. For detailed schedule and to book tickets log in to airindia.in.”

25/10/21 Tribune 

FAA team begins aviation safety rating audit for DGCA team in India

The Federal Aviation Administrations (FAA), the United Nations (UN) body for aviation safety, has initiated an evaluation of the safety rating of India's aviation, along with licensing of personnel and airworthiness of aircraft.

The FAA conducts aviation regulators' adherence to the norms led by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

According to a senior official of the regulatory body in India, a five-member team of FAA is currently in the country for the audit of safety guidelines, including the licensing of personnel and airworthiness.

"The safety audit by FAA is expected to emphasise upon the key areas of issuing licences to personnel involved in this sector as well as aircraft's airworthiness," the top official told ANI.

The official in the know of the matter added that this FAA team consists of domain experts from legal, investigations and safety fields.

According to the government official, this FAA team will be auditing the safety norms in India for over five days.

25/10/21 ANI/Business Standard

Fliers face trouble as Air India stops ticket bookings for flights on Amritsar-Rome, Amritsar-Nanded routes

Amritsar: After Air India stopped ticket bookings for flights on Amritsar-Rome and Amritsar-Nanded routes from October 31, fliers and aviation experts anticipate that these flights would be eventually be withdrawn.

The thrice a week Nanded-Amritsar direct flight connects two important Sikh temporal seats — Sri Akal Takht Sahib and Takht Sri Hazur Abchal Nagar Sahib in Nanded. It has been flying on the route for the last nearly three years.

Similarly, the booking for once a week Delhi-Amritsar-Rome flight is not available and has been removed from the schedule released on the Air India’s website. The winter schedule starts from October 29 and lasts till March 26, 2022.

These flights are unavailable for bookings in the winter schedule indicating that Air India has either suspended these routes or was pulling out the flights altogether.

25/10/21 Tribune

International travellers flying into India from select countries need not home quarantine from today

Fully vaccinated travellers coming into India from countries with which India has reciprocal arrangements for mutual acceptance of WHO approved COVID-19 vaccines will be allowed into the country without the need to home-quarantine. They will, however, have to produce a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR report. This test should have been conducted within 72 hours before undertaking the journey. Also, 15 days must have elapsed since the completion of the vaccination schedule.

India has signed agreements with 11 countries – the UK, France, Germany, Nepal, Belarus, Lebanon, Armenia, Ukraine, Belgium, Hungary and Serbia. However, travellers from this Category A countries that have signed the pact who are partially vaccinated or not vaccinated would need to take a post-arrival test, home quarantine for seven days and go for a retest on the eighth day.

Meanwhile, passengers arriving from 'countries at risk' such as South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand and Zimbabwe will have to take a post-arrival Covid-19 test, home quarantine for seven days, and then re-test on day eight. The quarantine and testing is mandatory for all - whether fully, partially, or not vaccinated.

The guidelines require all airlines to ensure that all travellers have Covid-19 negative test reports before they board flights, and any passenger found symptomatic on arrival will be isolated, taken to a medical facility and tested for Covid-19. For anyone who does test positive, co-passengers in the same row, three rows in front and three rows in the rear of the aircraft, and the cabin crew will also be asked to quarantine for 14 days.

All travellers need to submit a self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal before the scheduled travel and upload a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR report. This test should have been conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey. They also need to sign a declaration with respect to the authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution if found otherwise. The airlines will only let those travellers board who have filled in the Self Declaration Form.

If travellers under home quarantine develop any signs and symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 or test positive for COVID-19 on re-testing, they will have to immediately self-isolate and report to the nearest health facility or call the national helpline number (1075) or state helpline number.

25/10/21 Times of India

Sunday, October 24, 2021

Relief for expatriates, Air India to resume flights to Saudi Arabia this month

Riyadh: Air India has announced that it will resume flight services to and from Saudi Arabia from the end of this month. India-Saudi services will start from October 31. Air India announced on Twitter that it would operate services to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

Services are expected to be available from major airports in the country. Bookings have started for flight tickets from October 31st to March 26th next year. Air India said tickets can be booked through websites, booking offices or through authorised travel agents.

24/10/21 Kerala Kaumudi

PIA pilots to provide inflight updates on Pak-India match

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has instructed its pilots to provide updates to passengers on the Pakistan-India cricket match being played in Dubai Sunday night.

Millions glue to TV screens for the T20 World Cup 2021 face-off between the arch-rivals.

Thousands more, including Federal Information Minister Fawad Hussain Chauhdry, have arrived at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The PIA has made special arrangements to keep passengers updated on the Pakistan-India match, according to SAMAA TV.

On PIA flights, the captains will offer updates on the match, it said.

Passengers travelling in the skies will also be able to enjoy the match, though not live.

The flights in the air would be provided regular updates from the radar and air traffic controllers. The captains would then relay the information to passengers.

24/10/21 Samaa

Saturday, October 23, 2021

Amit Shah flags off inaugural Srinagar-Sharjah direct flight

Srinagar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off the inaugural Srinagar-Sharjah flight from the Sheikh Ul-Alam international airport here on Saturday, reviving the direct airlink between the valley and the UAE after 11 years.

The flight, operated by Go First, took off for Sharjah at 6.30 pm IST and is scheduled to land in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) around 9 pm IST.

Shah flagged off the flight virtually from the Raj bhawan here.

The first international flight from the Srinagar airport to Dubai was started on February 14, 2009 by Air India Express, but the once-a-week service was discontinued due to a low demand.

Go First, formerly known as GoAir, is the first airline to start direct international connection and direct international cargo operations from Srinagar.

It will operate four flights a week between Srinagar and Sharjah.

"The introduction of the direct flight to Sharjah will boost trade and tourism between Srinagar and the UAE," the airline said in a statement.

It is offering a special ticket price of Rs 5,000 on the flight to Sharjah.

"The UAE and Srinagar are popular as holiday destinations and Go First flights will meet the demand for convenient travel options. The new services will also support the growing trade and investment links with both Srinagar and Sharjah," the airline said.

"Having been in operation here for over 15 years, we at Go First share a special relationship with the region and are committed to its growth. We are delighted to be the first airline to connect Jammu and Kashmir with the UAE and it bears testimony to our commitment to the region.

"We believe that this connectivity will be pivotal in bilateral exchange of trade and tourism between the two regions," Go First's chief executive officer Kaushik Khona said.

The direct flights from Sharjah will offer seamless connections to Srinagar and beyond to Chandigarh, Delhi, Jammu, Leh and Mumbai and vice versa.

Go First is the only airline appointed for the cargo movement of the horticultural, perishable and agricultural produce of the Jammu and Kashmir Horticulture Products, a state-owned company, the airline said.

23/10/21 PTI/Business Standard

First Time In A Decade: Qantas Plans Direct A330 India Flights

Australian national flag carrier Qantas is set to resume Airbus A330 flights between Sydney and the capital of India, Delhi, for the first time in nearly a decade. In a statement released on October 22, 2021, the Sydney-based carrier says it will offer three non-stop weekly flights from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) to Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL).

Starting December 6, 2021, Qantas will deploy one of its 28 Airbus A330 aircraft on the nearly 6,500-mile route. In its statement, Qantas says that pending approval by the Indian authorities, it would like to offer daily flights between the two cities by the end of the year. Flights between Sydney and Delhi will stop at Darwin International Airport (DRW) in the Northern Territory, while flights in the opposite direction will be non-stop.

In its statement, Qantas says it plans to operate the Sydney to Delhi flights until at least late March 2022 but adds that the flights could continue beyond that if the demand for seats warrants it. The Sydney to Delhi service marks the first time Qantas has operated direct commercial flights to India in nearly ten years. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Qantas has conducted more than 50 repatriation flights to India on behalf of the Australian Government to bring Australian nationals home.

When speaking about the resumption of Sydney to Delhi flights in the company statement, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said:

“Australians rolling up their sleeves means our planes and our people are getting back to work much earlier than we expected.

“This is the best news we’ve had in almost two years, and it will make a massive difference to thousands of our people who finally get to fly again.

“We know that Australians are keen to get overseas and see friends and family or have a long-awaited holiday, so bringing forward the restart of flights to these popular international destinations will give customers even more options to travel this summer.

“Given the strong ties between Australia and India, flights between Sydney and Delhi have been on our radar for some time, and we think there will be strong demand from family and friends wanting to reconnect once borders open.”

When speaking about the resumption of international flights, Qantas says that while many aspects of flying will be like they were pre-COVID-19, some things will look slightly different, at least in the beginning. All passengers traveling to Australia need to be fully vaccinated with Australian Government approved COVID-19 vaccines.

23/10/21 Mark Finlay/Simple Flying


Friday, October 22, 2021

International Flights: When Are Curbs Likely to be Lifted? Aviation Official Makes BIG Statement

New Delhi: The coronavirus-induced restrictions on international flights are unlikely to be immediately, reported news agency PTI quoting a senior civil aviation ministry official who said that current frequencies under air bubble arrangements are adequate to meet the current demand. Scheduled international passenger flights to and from India remain suspended since March last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. India has air bubble arrangements with more than 25 countries for operating international flights.

Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal reportedly told PTI that the current frequencies available under the air bubble arrangements are adequate to meet the demand and there is not much demand for international routes as the visa regime is very restrictive. He also noted that on certain sectors such as US and Canada, airlines have 30 to 40 per cent load factors for mid-December 2021. “We can surely consider opening once demand nears pre-COVID levels.” 

Speaking on the sidelines after the inauguration of the Kushinagar international airport in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, Bansal also said that if there is a need, then air bubble arrangements can be expanded. Under an air bubble arrangement between two countries, international passenger flights can be operated by their respective carriers into each other’s territories subject to certain conditions. Currently, India has air bubble arrangements with 28 countries, including the US, the UK, Germany and Japan.

To a query on when fare bands are likely to be removed, Bansal said a call would be taken “once demand returns to pre-COVID levels”. Domestic air services resumed after two months on May 25, 2020.

21/10/21 PTI/India.com

Global Xpress approved for Indian airlines

BSNL, a partner of Inmarsat, has received the necessary licences to deliver Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) Ka-band mobile broadband services in India. Under BSNL’s Inflight and Maritime Connectivity (IFMC) licence from India’s Department of Telecommunications, GX will be available to Indian customers across the government, aviation and maritime sectors.

The announcement means that India-based airlines such as Vistara, Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo, will be able to deploy GX for inflight connectivity within India and throughout the world. According to Inmarsat there will be a phased introduction of services for customers and partners.

In other Inmarsat news, the company is launching a further seven GX satellites, including its next-generation GX satellites, over the coming three years, each of which will add more capacity into a single region than the first four satellites combined. The GX gateway for India is located in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

BSNL’s chairman and managing director, P.K. Purwar said, “All of us at BSNL appreciate the commitment to excellence shown by the Indian Government as we have worked on approvals to deliver this service to the country. Equally, we thank our partner Inmarsat for their spirit of collaboration in reaching today’s milestone to help power forward economic development in India through higher-quality connectivity for our customers.”

21/10/21 Adam Gavine/Aircraft Interiors International

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Resuming India operations after a decade, Qantas to launch Delhi-Sydney flight in December

Australian airline Qantas will start a non-stop flight between Delhi and Sydney, three times a week, from December 6. The frequency of the flight will increase to a daily service by the end of the year, the airline said in a statement. It added that the flight is subject to discussions with Indian authorities to finalise approvals.

This will be the airline’s first commercial flight between India and Australia in almost a decade. The last time Qantas operated direct commercial flights between India and Australia was in 2009, when it operated to Mumbai.

“The flights will initially operate until at least late March 2022, with a view to continuing if there is sufficient demand. Delhi to Sydney flights will operate non-stop, while flights from Sydney to Delhi will operate via Darwin,” the statement added.

Over the past 12 months, the airline has operated more than 50 repatriation flights from India on behalf of the Australian Government, to take Australians home.

Before the pandemic, Air India was the only carrier providing non-stop connections between India and Australia although other airlines, such as Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, also provided one-stop connections from various cities in India to various cities in Australia.

22/10/21 Ashwini Phadnis/Moneycontrol

Thursday, October 21, 2021

International airfare relief in sight: India open to adding more frequencies under air bubbles on need basis

Kushinagar : There may soon be some relief from steep international airfares. Aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal on Wednesday said that India will be “happy to add frequencies under air bubbles formed with other countries on a need basis.”

Scheduled international flights are suspended since last March and since then international connectivity is being provided under Vande Bharat flights and air bubbles with about 30 countries.

The mismatch in demand and supply, especially with travel restrictions lifting post the second wave, is leading to a surge in fares during the coming winter months.

“We are willing to add more frequencies that will lead to more competitive fares. However, generally speaking international fares are usually not very high (with bookings yet to pick up). According to Air India, advance bookings during the (period starting) mid-December is in the range of 40%,” Bansal said.

To be sure, international travel is a bilateral issue whose modalities are decided by two countries mutually. India unilaterally will not decide on fully reopening its skies as the same has to be reciprocated by other countries.

But travellers — with most doing so out of dire necessity — are suffering. What used to be return fare in pre-pandemic times is now not even one-way fares on several routes like India-Canada and India-UK on peak demand days.

21/10/21 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Airline returns bags with articles ‘missing’

Pune:The Yerawada police are investigating a 45-year-old woman’s complaint of costly gifts, chocolates, perfumes, clothes and other valuables, collectively worth Rs1.4lakh, missing from her two travel bags, which were initially ‘misplaced’ by a global airline while she was travelling from San Francisco, the US, to Mumbai, between September 29 afternoon and early hours of October 1, and then returned to her.

The woman had raised the issue of missing bags with the airline, which managed to trace and return the same to her around 3.30pm on October 3.

However, on opening the bags, she found the gifts and other articles missing. The police have invoked a charge of criminal breach of trust in the case.

When contacted, the woman told TOI, “I have lodged a complaint with the police, who are investigating the case. I have nothing more to comment on the issue for now.”

Sub-inspector Bhagwan Gurav of the Yerawada police station said, “The woman went to the US on August 29 for her daughter’s admission to a degree course in a university.”

On September 29, she boarded her return flight to India from San Francisco around 3.30pm. She had to change to another flight of the same airline at Paris for her onward journey to Mumbai and since her two travel bags had more than the prescribed weight, she had to check-in her luggage again.

“However, on landing at the Mumbai airport around 00.30am on October 1, she realised that her two bags were missing and took up the matter with the airline authorities. She filled in a form reporting the missing bags and left for home at Yerawada in Pune. Later, on the afternoon of October 3, a representative of the airline delivered the two bags at her residence. On opening the two bags, she realised that many articles were missing,” the sub-inspector said.

“Following this, the woman passenger sent an email to the airline, which asked her to report the incident to the police. The airline officials on October 16 asked her to email them a copy of the police complaint and details of the articles and valuables missing from the bags,” Gurav said.

21/10/21 TImes of India

Kenya Airways to adopt Indian IT firm’s single system solution

India-based IT and business solution company, Cargo Flash Infotech will be replacing Kenya Airways’ manifold of operations and management systems that were either have limited connectivity options or systems working in silos, in which information sharing is restricted due to systems’ limitations.

Kenya Airways’ numerous operations and management systems are currently being substituted by Cargo Flash’s single, next-generation ‘nGen’ system that includes Cargo Reservations (RES) System, Cargo Revenue Accounting (CRA) System, Cargo Handling and Warehouse Management, ULD Management Solution, and Customer Portal.

Furthermore, the new and additional systems included as a part of this single ‘nGen’ system are Mail Booking and Handling System, E-commerce (Door-to-Door) System, Target Planning System, in addition to Complaint and Claim Management System. The web-based solutions will further bolster the airline’s scope to reap a seamless, error-free and spontaneous management, accumulating several processes under one roof.

21/10/21 Logistics Update Africa

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Ex-Jet Airways 777 Flies To Be Scrapped After 2 Years Stuck In Amsterdam

On Tuesday afternoon, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport said goodbye to a Boeing 777-300ER that had been parked there for 2.5 years. The aircraft belonged to former Indian full-service carrier Jet Airways and was sold to IAG Aero Group last month. The 777 landed in Victorville, California, where it is expected to be scrapped. Let’s find out more about its final flight.

At around 12 pm local time, former Jet Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER departed Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, heading west towards the US. The final take-off video of the twin-engine plane, still in Jet’s livery, was uploaded on social media. This marks the end of the road for the 777, which at the height of its operations flew for Jet Airways to some of its most ambitious destinations in Europe and the US.

According to RadarBox.com, the plane landed in Victorville at 1:29 pm local time after a journey of 10 hours and 34 minutes. There, it is most likely to be disassembled, with its two G-90 engines and all other important parts removed.

The 777, with former registration number VT-JEW, was sold to IAG Aero Group last month for just $9 million and had its registration changed to N377CL. The transaction was part of Jet’s bankruptcy proceedings, and the purchase was made at a price far less than the plane’s market value of around $38 million.

The aircraft was seized in Amsterdam in April 2019 in the most dramatic fashion, just an hour before its scheduled departure for Mumbai. A week later, the financially struggling Jet Airways ceased all operations.

In January 2020, it was reported that KLM was interested in buying the airplane, but the deal did not materialize. Any further discussion about the plane’s future was put on hold following the COVID outbreak until last month, when it finally found a new owner.

20/10/21 Gaurav Joshi/Simple Flying


The second Boeing 737 Max 8 that GOL will one day own in Brazil

On Friday (15), a Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft with registration number N536RL (MSN 44864) landed at Confins International Airport in the Belo Horizonte metropolitan area. Despite a US registration, this aircraft will soon be merged by Gol Linhas Aéreas with a Brazilian registration to be revealed.

This is the second aircraft to arrive in Brazil as a result of a GECAS lease. The two planes located on Brazilian soil are the result of an original order from Indian Airlines, which went bankrupt and had its orders closed.

The other aircraft with registration number N533RL (msn 43615Arrived in early August and should have a PS-GPA score. It will be GOL’s first aircraft with the prefix PS, and so far the company only uses aircraft with the prefix PR, but in March of this year, it booked aircraft with this new series issued by ANAC, as we explained. 

Although these aircraft are three years old, they have never flown commercially. There is no general information on when it is registered by GOL and incorporated into the fleet.

There is also no publicity about how many former Jet Airways planes will arrive on GOL, but these planes have arrived with the Indian airline’s seat configuration, which includes the Executive and seats 174 passengers, and GOL currently has a 737 MAX 8 configuration. For 186 passengers – it is expected to return their formation.

So far, GOL has incorporated 14 Boeing 737 Max aircraft into its fleet. In the next few days, another will arrive directly from the factory. The company expects to end the year with 28 units.

20/10/21 Willa Ruiz/Lodi Valley News

European drone developer FIXAR ties up with Paras Aerospace to enter Indian market

European commercial drone and software developer FIXAR on Tuesday announced its entry in the fast emerging domestic unmanned aerial vehicle market in collaboration with Paras Aerospace, a subsidiary of Paras Defence. As a first step towards this partnership, the company will launch its flagship fixed wing drone FIXAR007 in the country, a release said.

The initial agreement targets delivery of 150 drones to the operators in India in the next 6-8 months with the first expected to arrive next month, it said.

These drones have applications in areas such as real-time video surveillance, laser scanning and aerial photography for various sectors including government, agriculture, security, surveying, among others, according to the release.

The FIXAR007 drone has demonstrated an increased flight length (up to 60km), a payload capacity of 2kg/4.4lb max, and increased stability compared to similar class drones.

As an end-to-end in-house product, FIXAR007 is adjustable to diverse market safety requirements making it promptly available in the market, it said. "We're excited to enter the Indian market as it holds great potential. We estimate fast overall unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market expansion based on a liberalisation of Drone Rules in India, which eases user and operator access to unmanned aerial vehicles and allows the application of UAV solutions to a broader array of applications," said Vasily Lukashov, founder-CEO, FIXAR.

"We are glad to take this step together with Paras as a well-known and reliable company in the field of aerospace in India," he added.

The rapidly growing domestic UAV market is pegged at $ 1-billion in 2021 and further growth is estimated based on the increased drone applicability range, and new advanced UAV models developed to carry heavier payload and work in challenging and severe environments, it stated.

Both companies will collaborate to ensure access to efficient and cost-effective unmanned aerial solutions, offering a autonomous vertical take-off and landing model, FIXAR007 and a professional multirotor FIXAR INDOOR dedicated to indoor mapping, inspection, monitoring, surveillance, inventory, and exploration, as per the release.

19/10/21 PTI/Economic Times

India relaxes quarantine norms for international arrivals

New Delhi: India will follow new entry norms for international arrivals starting Monday (October 25), thanks to growing vaccination globally and changing nature of the pandemic.

All international passengers flying into the country will still require to undergo a Covid RT-PCR test 72 hours before, the quarantine requirements have been significantly relaxed.

The Union health ministry has identified some countries as “at risk”.

These include: European nations, UK, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. Arrivals from these places will need to follow additional measures on arrival in India, including post-arrival testing.

“Travellers from (all non at risk) countries will be allowed to leave the airport and shall self-monitor their health for 14 days’ post arrival,” the rules that come into effect from 12.01 am on October 25 say.

Additionally, the health ministry has prepared a list of countries (called category A) with who India has an agreement for mutual recognition of vaccination certificates for individuals fully jabbed with nationally/WHO recognised Covid-19 vaccine.

These include: UK, France, Germany, Nepal, Belarus, Lebanon, Armenia, Ukraine, Belgium, Hungary and Serbia.

For travellers coming from an at risk country with which India has reciprocal arrangements for mutual acceptance of WHO approved Covid-19 vaccines (Category A) like EU nations and UK, the requirement is: “If fully vaccinated (meaning got required jabs at least 15 days before arrival) they shall be allowed to leave the airport and shall self-monitor their health for 14 days’ post arrival.”

20/10/21 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Air fares from India to Dubai pinch travelers as airlines cash in on return-rush

Mangaluru: It’s not the best time for air travel, unless warranted, with the airlines trying to recoup their losses, especially to the Middle East.

Even after a month after UAE allowed expatriates to return to the place of work, the airfares are not showing any signs of relenting.

For the next 75 days, the fares are 150% higher one way for a layover flight and in excess of Rs 200% for a direct flight from all airports in India to Dubai and Sharjah, the main ports of entry into the UAE.

Interestingly, earlier the Dubai – Mangaluru fares were showing this trend of higher prices as expatriates used to return home for the holiday season.

Those fares are now half of what they used to be with none of the expatriates taking a risk to visit India due to the volatile pandemic situation. But that trend is also changing with airlines booking full flights and the Dubai-India fares are also on the rise.

An airline source told TOI that the airfares will not go back to pre-pandemic levels in the near future or for at least the coming three months.

"The airlines have suffered the worst and they are trying to make good their losses by keeping fares at 2X times the pre-pandemic levels," the source added.

Consider this, a Mangaluru-Dubai fare during the pre-pandemic lean months of November till December first week used to be sub 10,000.

Now they are in the range of Rs 21,000 to 25,000, 250% the re-pandemic levels till travel up to January 9.

A trip to Dubai from Bengaluru is also not cheap and the fares are above Rs 20,000 till January 10.

From Mumbai to Dubai it is in excess of Rs 17,000. Even from New Delhi it is above 10,000 to Rs 12,000. All these lower fares are for layover flights and the direct flights cost a passenger another few thousands more.

18/10/21 Stanley Pinto/Times of India


No more RT-PCR checks at Karnataka airports for international flyers

Bengaluru: In a move that comes as a relief to international travellers landing in the state, the government on Monday said their RT-PCR certificates will no longer be checked on arrival at airports.

Flyers will now upload the certificates instead on the Air Suvidha portal and airlines will have to check these before allowing them to board.

The announcement comes as part of relaxations following a steady decline in Covid-19 cases in the state. For the first time since March 2020 when the pandemic broke out, swimming pools will open for recreational purposes. Earlier, only athletes were allowed to train. Now, those who have taken two doses of vaccine can head to the pool.

On Sunday, the state’s technical advisory committee on Covid recommended opening up of more activities, noting the consistent call in daily cases, positivity rate and active cases.

In an order issued on Monday, chief secretary P Ravi Kumar said that henceforth, checking of Covid RTPCR test reports of international passengers on arrival will be discontinued. Also, international passengers will not be checked for oxygen saturation levels unless they show symptoms like fever, cough, cold and difficulty in breathing. The order has also directed monitoring of passengers via automated thermal cameras.

On quarantine protocol for arrivals from the United Kingdom, the prevailing guidelines issued by the Union ministry concerned will be followed, the order said, adding that a clarification will be issued by the health department.

19/10/21 Times of India

Srinagar to begin direct international flights from October 23

New Delhi: Srinagar is set to begin international flight, connecting the city directly with the rest of the world operations, from October 23. Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir Pandurang K Pole on Monday held a meeting regarding the operation of international flights from Srinagar International Airport. Necessary arrangements needed to put in place and management of passengers in view of the COVID-19 pandemic were discussed in the meeting, said an official press release.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner Budgam, Director Airport Authority Srinagar, Regional Director Bureau of Civil Aviation, Srinagar, Director Health Services Kashmir, Commandant CISF, Airport Srinagar, CMO Budgam, CMO Srinagar and Dr. Gazala of Airport Srinagar.

On this occasion, the Director of Airport Authority gave a presentation regarding the layout plan for operation and regulation of activities at the airport. 

A threadbare discussion was held over the management of passengers during the arrival and departure of domestic and international flights keeping the sensitivity of the Covid pandemic in view besides the arrangements for immigration and customs.

19/10/21 India TV

Monday, October 18, 2021

Air fares: Many unable to return to work abroad

Trichy: The number of people flying to foreign destinations for education, leisure and business has picked up in a big way, but the hike in air fares driven by this demand has put a large number of workers in trouble. Many who have got calls to rejoin work are forced to shell out Rs 16,000 to Rs 40,000 one-way and also quarantine costs running into lakhs once they land in UAE, Qatar or other countries in the Middle East.

A good number of people hailing from areas in central and southern parts of the state work as labourers in the Middle East. About 2.14 lakh passengers working abroad have arrived via Trichy airport, but only 10% to 20% are able to go back to join duty, say travel agents. Workers who tried to go back in August and September have found that the fare was about 50% more than pre-Covid days. “The total cost will cross Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.20 lakh when quarantine charges are also added,” said a passenger.

According to the present schedule from Trichy, the fare ranges from Rs 16,000 to Rs 17,700 to Sharjah, Rs 21,000 to Rs 29,700 to Dubai, Rs 46,000 to Muscat. The fares are higher from Chennai because the number of transit travellers, especially students, who fly via UAE to Europe and the UK is high. Air India Express and IndiGo operate 31 flights to the Middle East in a week from Trichy under Vande Bharat Mission and air bubble agreements. There are around 20 flights in a week from Chennai to destinations in the Middle East. S Bhaskar of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) said that the fare is higher than the usual price because of fewer flights.

18/10/21 D Vincent Arockiaraj/Times of India

530grams of cocaine seized at Kochi airport, 2 Nigerian women held

Kochi: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths in Kochi seized 530 grams of cocaine and arrested two women hailing from Nigeria in connection with the seizure. The value of the seized cocaine is estimated to be around Rs 5.5 crore in the international market.

The carrier, Kane Simpou Julie (21), had arrived at the Cochin International Airport Limited (Cial) on Saturday from Lagos via Doha. Although she possessed a Côte d'Ivoire passport, sources said that she was a resident of Nigeria. Julie arrived on a Qatar Airways flight. The contraband was concealed in the false bottom of her trolley bag. Sleuths approached her based on specific intelligence and made the seizure.

Sleuths then found out from the carrier about the second accused, another Nigerian woman, Ifoema Queen Anozie (33), who has been staying in India for the past four years. She was based out of Mumbai and used to coordinate with the carrier about the contraband supply and the carrier's travel.

Sources said that the DRI sleuths kept the information about the seizure quiet so as to make the woman think that the consignment got through the airport safely. She had come to Kochi via train from Mumbai and had got off the train at the South station. Later on, sleuths contacted the woman through texts and made her come to a hotel on the pretext of meeting the carrier.

DRI officials recorded her arrest when she came for the meet-up. They recorded the arrest of both accused on Sunday and produced them before a magistrate. The duo have been remanded in 14 days of judicial custody.

18/10/21 Times of India

Sunday, October 17, 2021

Indore: Scindia urged to increase frequency of Dubai flight

Indore: Water resources minister Tulsiram Silawat has urged civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to increase the frequency of the Indore-Dubai flight. Silawat met Scindia in New Delhi on Saturday and, during discussions he presented the demand in this regard.

Silawat expressed his gratitude for the gifts of three new flights given by Scindia to the city. From October 31, Indigo Airline will start three new flights to Surat, Jodhpur and Prayagraj from the city. He said that Air India’s Indore-Dubai international flight also started on September 1 and the Malwa region had become ready to touch newer heights in tourism and air connectivity.

17/10/21 Free Press Journal


US-Bangla to resume Dhaka-Kolkata flights from Thursday

US-Bangla Airlines is set to resume its Dhaka- Kolkata flights from Thursday (October 21) under the air bubble agreement inked between Bangladesh and India.

The flights would leave Dhaka at 9:45am every Thursday and Saturday, and land in Kolkata at 10:45am (local time). On the same days, the flights would depart from Kolkata at 11pm and arrive in Dhaka at 12:30pm.

The passengers would need to secure a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test report within 72 hours before boarding the flights. They will also need to get molecular tests done on their own expenses after landing in Kolkata.

All the passengers are now allowed to travel to India under the air bubble deal following the current visa related directives.

With all the taxes and surcharges applied US-Bangla’s Dhaka-Kolkata one way flight ticket price has been set at Tk7,226 and the price of round-trip is Tk12,733.

17/10/21 Dhaka Tribune

Saturday, October 16, 2021

Air India Increases Flight Frequency Between Delhi, Chicago From Nov 3

A day after the US allowed fully vaccinated foreign travellers to enter the country from November 8, Air India on Saturday made the announcement that it will increase the flight frequency from Delhi to Chicago from November 3. Taking to Twitter, the airline stated that the frequency will be increased from 6 days a week to 7 days a week. The Airline also stated that it has started bookings through its official website, Booking Offices, Call Centre and other Authorised Travel Agents.

“Air India will increase frequency between New Delhi & Chicago from 6 to 7 days a week effective 03rd Nov ‘ 21 to 23rd March’22. Bookings opened through Air India Website, Booking Offices, Call Centre & our Authorised Travel Agents,” the airline said in a statement.

Prior to this, Air India had increased its flight frequency to the US from the first week of August. In a tweet, the flag carrier had said: “Air India will operate additional flights between New Delhi & Newark on 6th,13th, 20th & 27th August ‘21. These are in addition to the existing flights operating in this sector. Bookings open through AI Website, Booking Offices, Call Centre & Authorised Travel Agents.”

However, the news of increasing the flight frequency has comes as a blessing for air passengers who are eagerly waiting to fly to the US.

As per the updates, the airline was operating at least 21 flights per week to the US, with the maximum increase in New York (JFK and Newark or EWR) flights followed by Chicago and San Francisco.

The flights are being operated under Air Bubble agreement which has been signed between India and United States

On Friday, the White House said the US will allow fully vaccinated foreign travellers to enter the country from November 8. With this announcement, the US will essentially lift travel restrictions from countries like India, United Kingdom and China.

16/10/21 India.com

Friday, October 15, 2021

The bizarre story of why a Boeing 720 has lain abandoned at Nagpur airport for 24 years

“A normal dad might have an old muscle car he tinkers with on the weekend, but my dad had a Boeing 720.”

Fathers can be like that. They tell the best of stories of their own heroics. Sometimes these turn out to be true, sometimes not. Twitter user Chris Croy, quoted above, is stuck somewhere midway.

He believes that, in the early 1990s, his aeroplane mechanic dad, Kevin Paul Croy, fixed an abandoned Boeing 720 and flew it from America to India, only for it to be abandoned again – this time for the next 24 years.

In a Twitter thread posted on October 12, Croy, based in St Louis, Missouri, United States, narrated his version of what happened, based on “news reports, public records or my mom”.

What unfolded in Croy’s tweets was an almost bizarre turn of events involving the 160-seater plane, his father and an Indian-American flying enthusiast now leading a retired life in a small town in India.

No surprise then that the thread got retweeted thousands of times by Thursday afternoon.

“Sometime in 1990 my dad, an aeroplane mechanic at Brown Field Municipal Airport, saw a guy circling the abandoned Boeing 720. It had been resting in the dry desert air ever since the previous owner, Kenneth Copeland, had ditched it a couple (of) years back for reasons unknown,” Croy posted.

“The guy…named Sam Veder asked my dad if it could fly again. My dad said yes, he could get it flying. The 29-year-old plane was not commercially viable in the United States, but India was another story. All they had to do was get it there.”

Croy said that his father, against common counsel, then spent a year turning the plane airworthy, while his mother worked on the documentation required for the US Federal Aviation Administration’s permission to take off.

The “junkyard jet” then embarked for India with “my dad and Sam Veder on board”.

“If Sam was going to die, then mick mechanic who ‘fixed’ it was going to die with him,” Croy, whose Twitter bio describes him as “decent, but only in moderation”, wrote.

While the plane made it to its destination, engine trouble during its maiden flight from New Delhi enforced an emergency landing at the Nagpur airport in Maharashtra. There it lay for the next 24 years owing to a dispute over payments and dues.

“There is no moral here. Hail Lord Balaji,” Croy tweeted, adding that, “My dad lied and told my mom that the plane was still flying around India carrying ‘people and chickens’.”

In his late 60s now, Croy senior probably lives in “somewhere southern California…the Los Angeles metro area”, according to his son.

Like all legends, though, his, too, is wobbly in its origin.

Croy was almost immediately corrected by Twitter users about the name of the Indian-American who supposedly flew on the aircraft from the United States to India. It was not Sam Veder, but Sam Verma.

Quartz reached out to Verma, now 81 years old, retired, and living in the small Indian town of Betul, Madhya Pradesh, around 175 km northwest of Nagpur.

He confirmed only parts of Croy’s story, including bits about the temple.

A US citizen, Verma did fly on the Boeing 720 to India, but the plane was piloted by one Captain Mehta, a former Air India pilot. Verma could not recall the pilot’s first name. The other crew members were a flight engineer and a co-pilot, all former employees of India’s national carrier.

“There was no American in the crew,” Verma, who used to work for Electra Tech Corporation back then, told Quartz. “We took off from the San Diego airport in California. The plane was purchased from a Trust by Electra Tech Corporation and leased to Continental Aviation.”

Continental Aviation was a private carrier, reportedly one of India’s first, and founded by a group belonging to the category widely referred to in the country as non-resident Indians.

While several media reports referred to Verma as “owner” or “promoter” of Continental Aviation, the mechanical engineer from Chicago’s Illinois Institute of Technology said he was only responsible for maintenance of aircraft and their flight operations.

Three other planes, according to him, were purchased by the company and these flew between several cities in India, including Mumbai, New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram, in the early 1990s.

The aircraft was then grounded only because unprofessional behaviour on the part of the technicians and pilots – all from the Air India stable – hired by Continental rendered the airline financially unviable.

“The attitude of retired engineers from Air India was untenable for the airline,” Verma said. “No proper maintenance was done. Some of them would report late to duty citing reasons like the non-availability of paan.”

“Madhavrao Scindia was the aviation minister then. But what could he do with this culture? The company got into financial trouble. Finally, I got tired and gave up.”

Continental Aviation, according to Verma, abandoned one plane each in the cities of Bhopal, Mumbai, and Nagpur. Verma himself bought one small plane from the company for around $100,000 and flew it as a hobby till old age grounded him.

In September 2015, after decades of lying forlornly at the Nagpur Airport, the Boeing 720 was removed from there “in only 30 minutes” to the adjacent Nagpur Flying Club, according to a report by News18.

“Completely possible I am wrong and I would assume that Verma is right, everything I tweeted is either from news reports, public records or my mom,” Croy, who is learning to code nowadays, said in response to queries posed by Quartz.

Dads are not always right. But then the heroics they conjure up are always so narratable.

15/10/21 Harish Pullanoor, qz.com/Scroll.in

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Indian government considers reviewing bilateral air services agreements, airlines cautiously optimistic

The government is considering reviewing bilateral air services agreements, or ASAs, that India has signed with various countries, a move that has been welcomed by global airline executives while raising a degree of concern.

Globally, airlines are allowed to fly only after countries exchange ASAs with each other.  These agreements can specify the number of seats per week in each direction or the number of flights per week in each direction and also the cities to which a designated airline can fly.

Depending on the demand and individual needs of each side, the carrying capacity to each city can be defined.

Airlines in India can request the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to increase flights to a particular country. MoCA sends the request to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which forwards it to the Indian mission in the country to which the airlines want to operate more flights.

If foreign airlines want to operate more flights to India, they approach the Indian mission in their country. The Indian mission sends the request to the MEA, which forwards it to the MoCA. The MoCA then reaches out to the Indian airlines to gauge their own interest in increasing flights to that country.

In the last couple of years, India has hardly exchanged any fresh ASAs. Yet, the Indian government is keen to revise some ASAs which it believes are heavily skewed in favour of airlines from some other countries. Some experts say that only 36 percent of international air traffic to India goes to Indian airlines and over 60 percent of the revenue generated on these routes goes to foreign airlines.

It is in this backdrop that the Indian government is now looking at reviewing the bilaterals, a decision that has generally been welcomed by the global airline industry.

Rohit Ramachandran, chief executive officer of Kuwaiti airline Jazeera Airways, says he supports the Indian government’s move. “It is long overdue. Kuwait is probably the last country in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which has not had its bilaterals since 2007,” he said, adding that the allocated seat capacity of 12,000 seats on each side has been “maxed out.”

Since 2007, the Indian community in Kuwait has more than doubled to close to one million now, Ramachandran said. “It makes perfect sense to increase the bilaterals in a logical manner by which I mean in line with the population growth of the Indian community in Kuwait. So whether it is Indian nurses or teachers or middle-income engineers it makes sense for them to fly direct to their home country rather than fly through other points in the Gulf,” he said.

14/10/21 Ashwini Phadnis/Moneycontrol

United Airlines to start daily Bengaluru-San Francisco flight from May 28 in 2022

New Delhi: US-based United Airlines announced on Thursday that it would start a daily flight on Bengaluru-San Francisco route from May 28 next year.

"The new route (service) is United's first-ever nonstop service between Bengaluru and the US," the carrier's statement noted.

The new flight builds on the airline's existing services from New Delhi to Newark, Chicago and San Francisco, as well as from Mumbai to Newark, it stated.

United's service from Bengaluru to San Francisco will be operated with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring a total of 257 seats -- 48 flat-bed seats in business class, 21 seats in premium-plus class and 188 seats in economy class, it mentioned.

United offers more flights between India and the US than any other US carrier, it mentioned.

Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23 last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May 2020 and under bilateral "air bubble" arrangements with selected countries, including the US, since July 2020.

14/10/21 PTI/New Indian Express

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Indian-origin cardiologist among 2 killed in California plane crash

New York: A twin-engine plane owned by an Indian-origin cardiologist has crashed in the US state of California, killing two persons, including the physician, and causing a fire that engulfed nearby homes and left a swath of destruction, according to media reports.

Dr Sugata Das, who worked as an interventional cardiologist at Yuma Regional Medical Centre (YRMC) in Arizona, owned the small plane, according to the centre. However, there's no confirmation whether Das was the pilot at the time of the crash on Monday, KYMA.com, a CBS/NBC-affiliated TV station, reported on Tuesday.

"We are deeply sad to hear news of a plane owned by local cardiologist Sugata Das, which crashed near Santee (California)," YRMC's Chief Medical Officer Bharat Magu said in a statement.

"As an outstanding cardiologist and dedicated family man, Das leaves a lasting legacy. We extend our prayers and support to his family, colleagues, and friends during this difficult time," Magu said.

Born in a Bengali family, Das grew up in Pune. He was also the director of the Power of Love Foundation, a US non-profit organisation that is involved in helping women and children overseas that are infected or affected by AIDS and HIV, according to its website.

The website said Das, the father of two boys, lived in San Diego and was the owner of a twin-engine Cessna 340 and an instrument-rated pilot who flew between his home and Yuma.

The crash near Santana High School in Santee appeared to have sparked a fire that burned at least two homes, damaged five others and several vehicles, but responding firefighters were able to put out the blaze before it spread to other houses.

Another person who died was a UPS worker who was on the ground.

UPS confirmed that one of its employees was killed during the plane crash. "We are heartbroken by the loss of our employee, and extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends. We also send our condolences for the other individuals who are involved in this incident, and their families and friends." KXTV, an ABC affiliate, reported, citing a statement issued by the UPS.

At around 12.30 pm (local time), authorities began receiving reports of a plane down in a neighbourhood on Greencastle Street, the report added.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the plane was a twin-engine Cessna C340 and crashed at about 12.15 pm.

12/10/21 PTI/Tribune

India opens borders to tourists for holidays but too late for Air India

India has announced that it will resume granting tourist visas for foreign nationals after a 19-month pause.

The announcement also suggested that regular commercial airlinks could resume for tourists as soon as next month, with non-Indian nationals being granted visas to arrive by air from 15 November.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said that passengers travelling on chartered flights would be eligible for tourist visas from Friday.

"After considering various inputs, the MHA has decided to begin granting of fresh Tourist Visas for foreigners coming to India through chartered flights with effect from 15 October, 2021"

Prior to the Covid 19 shutdown India was one of the largest air travel hubs in the world.

In 2019 the country welcomed 10.6 million tourists. Foreign exchange earnings from tourism amounted to $41 billion, the year before.

With huge domestic and international air infrastructure, the seven airlines based out of India have been hard hit by the travel downturn.

On Friday the bankrupt national airline Air India was bought by Tata Sons, along with a portion of its $11.75 billion debt.

Tata's chairman Ratan Tata tweeted a cautiously optimistic message following the bid, saying: "While admittedly it will take considerable effort to rebuild Air India, it will hopefully provide a very strong market opportunity to the Tata Group's presence in the aviation industry."

12/10/21 Thomas Bywater/NewZealand Herald

Monday, October 11, 2021

India, Bangladesh to increase flight frequency; here's a look at air bubble arrangement

As the Covid restrictions are getting eased down around the world by many countries, the flight frequency between the nations is increasing as the people are being allowed to travel to other countries.

In a recent update, the government has announced India and the neighbouring nation Bangladesh has mutually decided to increase the frequency of flights under the Air bubble arrangement from 7 to 21 per week per country. The move is set to come to effect from October 15. The move comes in the wake of benefitting passengers traveling for medical and business purposes.

As the Covid restrictions are getting eased down around the world by many countries, the flight frequency between the nations is increasing as the people are being allowed to travel to other countries.

In a recent update, the government has announced India and the neighbouring nation Bangladesh has mutually decided to increase the frequency of flights under the Air bubble arrangement from 7 to 21 per week per country. The move is set to come to effect from October 15. The move comes in the wake of benefitting passengers traveling for medical and business purposes.

Flights between India and Bangladesh under the bilateral air bubble pact resumed in September after four months of suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With scheduled international passenger flights to and from India remaining suspended since March last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, New Delhi has entered into air bubble arrangements with various countries, including Bangladesh, for operating flights.

The pact with Bangladesh, which came into effect on October 28, 2020, was valid till March 27, 2021, wherein Indian and Bangladeshi carriers were permitted to operate services between the two nations.

India has an air bubble agreement with 28 countries, which include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, the Maldives, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Ukraine, the UAE, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and the United States. Under an air bubble pact, between two nations, special international flights can be operated by their airlines between their territories.

In the recent development, the UK has eased travel restrictions for fully vaccinated Indians who have received a UK-approved jab. Starting October 11, they will not have to self-isolate or take a COVID test when they arrive in the UK.

The move is a relief to thousands of Indians who travel to the UK for work, studies, and leisure. The change in guidelines came days after Delhi imposed reciprocal measures on British nationals in retaliation for UK travel curbs on Indian citizens.

11/10/21 Free Press Journal

Delhi Airport Only Acceptable Covid Test Site Across India For Canada-Bound Travellers

New Delhi: Genestrings Diagnostic Centre's lab at the Delhi international airport has been appointed by the Canadian government as the sole COVID-19 testing facility in India for Canada-bound passengers, a statement said on Monday.

As per the latest guidelines by the Canadian authorities, travellers eligible to enter Canada and travelling on direct flights from India must obtain a pre-departure negative COVID-19 molecular test result from the Genestrings' lab, the statement said.

The facility -- which is located above the metro station in the Airport Connect Building (ACB) at the Delhi international airport -- will perform this test within 18 hours before the scheduled departure of the passengers and a test report with a QR code will be given to them, it said.

The QR code given by the lab has to be shown to the airline just before boarding, it added.

Canada lifted the flight ban on passenger flights from India on September 27. Air Canada is currently operating two to four flights every day from the Delhi airport, the statement said.

Currently, flights to Canada are being operated from only Delhi in India.

11/10/21 NDTV

Baby Shaun born on board Air India flight from London

Kochi: Little did seven-month pregnant Simi Maria Philip know about the events that would unfurl as she boarded the London to Kochi flight. Simi went into labour when the plane was only midway through its flight.

A Malayali team was soon arranged out of the passengers aboard the plane. The child was born premature and was underweight. The captain flew the plane to the nearest airport in Frankfurt after realising that the baby would not survive the flight that would take another 7 hours to reach Kochi. The AC in the flight was turned off and the temperature was adjusted to keep the baby comfortable. The plane landed in Frankfurt and Simi heaved a huge sigh of relief. She had lost her first child just one week after birth.

Simi thanked Ernakulam native Dr Inshad Ibrahim and his team who were aboard the Air India flight from London to Kerala. Inshad, who works at Wrexham Maelor Hospital in Wales became a part of the baby's birth as he was returning home with his family on the flight.

“Simi’s water broke two and a half hours after the flight’s take off. The Malayali doctor Richa Philip and Nurse Leela Baby who were aboard the flight helped Simi at first. Simi was treated on a blanket that was laid on the floor of the food area of the flight. Although the birth happened fast, the baby was still and not moving. When the baby did not cry even after a while, we got tensed. I tapped the baby’s face and back and that is when he started crying. That was a huge relief. Then we had to run around looking for a scissor to cut the umbilical cord.” Inshad talked about the story of the baby’s birth.

The baby weighed only 1 Kg. The plane soon turned into a mini-hospital when other passengers working in the medical field offered help. Malayalis including Mariamma, Steffy, Pratheesh and Jaison were all part of the medical team. The flight took a detour and landed at Frankfurt where Air India has a base.

10/10/21 Mathrubhumi

2 Uzbek nationals arrested at Delhi airport for smuggling foreign currency worth Rs 84 lakh

New Delhi: The Customs officials arrested two Uzbek nationals at the Delhi Airport for allegedly smuggling foreign currency to the tune of over Rs 84 lakh, officials said on Wednesday.

Both the Uzbekistan nationals were caught at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi while they were trying to board a flight to Tashkent via Sharjah on an Air Arabia flight.

According to Customs officials, "USD 95,400 [Rs 70.59 lakh] was recovered from passenger one, whereas USD 19,200 [Rs 14.20 lakh] was recovered from passenger two" during the personal and baggage search.

Sources said that during the questioning, both the passengers failed to explain the source of foreign currency, after which a case was filed against them.

“The recovered foreign currency has been seized under the Customs Act and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA),” said Shaukat Ali Nurvi, Additional Commissioner of Customs IGI Airport.

11/10/21 Munish Chandra Pandey/India Today

Sunday, October 10, 2021

Madhya Pradesh: Excitement galore over Dubai, Sharjah flights

Indore: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is attracting passengers for multiple reasons, including the India-Pakistan T-20 match, Dubai Festival and tourism and business activities. This is reflecting in the booking of tickets for the forthcoming Indore-Dubai flight. The excitement over the coming Indore-Sharjah flight, schedule to start on November 1, is also rising.

Following the announcement of the launch of the Indore-Sharjah direct flight, excitement among the potential passengers is on an upward spiral. Although it will start next month, queries have started to knock on the offices of travel agents in the city. TK Jose, chairman of the MP Chapter of Travel Agents’ Federation of India (TAFI), said that passengers were quite enthusiastic over the news of launching of the Indore-Sharjah flight by Air India on November 1. He said that many of his clients had expressed happiness over the launch of a second flight for Sharjah.

The fare on the Indore-Sharjah flight is likely to be the same as that on the Indore-Dubai flight, because the travel time for both the destinations is almost same. Sharjah and Dubai are about 40 km away. The passengers on the Sharjah flight can reach Dubai in approximately 40 minutes as there are abundant means of transportation between both the cities. The ticket booking for the Sharjah flight has not yet been opened by Air India. The starting fare on the Economy class may be around Rs 12,000 and may go up to Rs 44,000. In case of Business class, the starting fare may be from Rs 416,000 and may go up to Rs 60,000.

10/10/21 Manish Upadhyay/Free Press Journal

Namal to lead 100-strong delegation for Kushinagar airport opening

It is reported that Minister Namal Rajapaksa, who is currently in Maldives enroute from Kenya, is to visit India on Oct. 20 which marks the Vap full moon.

The 'Sunday Times' reports that Namal, together with more than 100 monks will leave in a fortnight on a special flight provided by the Indian government for Kushinagar, for the opening of a new international airport in the city.

A large number of Buddhist monks who had backed the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna will be included in the tour, reports say.

Kushinagar is a main pilgrimage site for Buddhists as it is where the Parinirvana of the Buddha took place.

The flight has been arranged keeping with the promise given by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa during the virtual summit between the two leaders last year.

Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, State Minister of Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure Jeevan Thondaman and officials from the Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs Ministry will also join the tour, 'Sunday Times' add.

10/10/21 SriLanka Mirror

Saturday, October 09, 2021

What The IndiGo Codeshare Means For American’s India Relaunch

Last week, American Airlines announced that it had signed a codeshare agreement with low-cost giant IndiGo on 29 domestic routes. The move came just weeks before American returns to the Indian market after nearly a decade, looking for favorable results. While the announcement might seem routine, it could be a massive boost for American’s, giving it a critical foothold. Let’s find out more.

American Airlines last flew to India in 2012, on a direct service from Chicago to New Delhi. This route was axed during the carrier’s restructuring due to poor yields and increased competition, leaving over five million yearly passengers with only two direct connections (United and Air India).

However, in 2019, American announced that it would return to India on a very specific route: Bangalore to Seattle. The connection between the major technology hubs was in high demand by corporate clients and leisure travelers alike, opening up direct flights from BLR to the US. While the route was delayed twice due to the pandemic, it is set to kick off on January 4th, 2022 currently.

However, 2020 also proved to be a favorable year for American in India. The nation’s ongoing international flight ban means connections through Europe and the Middle East are mostly barred, creating sky-high demand (and prices) for direct flights. The US airline seized on this chance and is now launching a New Delhi-New York service at the end of October, the busiest pair between the countries. So, where does IndiGo come in?

While American is leaning on its foreign partners (British and Qatar Airways) to build the most efficient network from India, domestic connectivity is crucial. This is where IndiGo comes in. As India’s biggest airline, a trusted brand, and one with a robust schedule, IndiGo will offer American’s passengers options to connect across the country (to 29 destinations in total) or connect onto nonstop US flights.

This partnership will be crucial once the ME3 returns to India in the coming months. If American can build efficient itineraries out of hubs like Hyderabad and Chennai to New York and Seattle, they could pose a legitimate challenge to one-stop foreign connections. While many may still prefer to stop abroad, American would still slowly build a market nationwide.

08/10/21 Pranjal Pande/Simple Flying

Piyush Goyal to Take Up Issue of Increasing Number of Flights Between India and UAE

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said he will take up the issue of increasing the number of flights between India and the UAE with the civil aviation ministry as both ways there is huge demand and there is a possibility of increasing flights under the air bubble. He also informed that the RBI has approved Emirates NBD Bank’s proposal to open two new branches in India.

The issues were flagged during the ninth meeting of the UAE-India High Level Joint Task Force on Investments (the Joint Task Force) here on Saturday. It was co-chaired by Hamed-bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry.

“They have flagged the issue of increasing the flights under the air bubble which we are operating right now. I am given to understand that all flights are going full both ways…..both ways, there are huge demands and there is a possibility of increasing flights under the air bubble particularly also in view of the Dubai expo. “Once I’ll get back, I will certainly flag this issue … I will certainly take it up," Goyal told reporters here after the meeting

However, he said that there are certain issues in the long run which still need to be sorted out between the two countries on expanding bilateral air transport arrangements, which will require the civil aviation ministries of both the governments to engage more deeply. Given the importance of air transport in facilitating bilateral ties and people-to-people connections, both sides agreed that their respective civil aviation authorities should continue to work together on a priority basis, for their mutual benefit, to ensure the speedy normalisation of air transport operations between the two countries.

08/10/21 PTI/News18.com

Air India to start flight from Indore-Sharjah from November 1

Indore: From November 1, Air India will start a flight from Indore to Sharjah.

It will be the second international flight by AI from Indore, the first being to Dubai.

“The flight will also connect Delhi and Mumbai from Mumbai to Indore, then to Sharjah. In return, it will come back to Indore and then fly to Delhi,” AI Indore station manager Vikas Shah told TOI.

09/10/21 Times of India