Qatar Airways Mumbai Recruitment Drive Sees Huge Crowd, Applicants Sent Away

Qatar Airways is now undergoing a global recruiting drive, which the company describes as "the largest talent acquisition in the aviation industry's history. Qatar Airways, in particularly, is recruiting a "substantial number of new professionals from India to support its worldwide operations" in a range of areas, said a report from Spring Field Gazzete.

These hiring positions include those with Qatar Airways, Qatar Duty Free, Qatar Aviation Services, and others. The reason behind this recruitment drive is not only that because the demand in worldwide travel is increasing but also because Qatar is preparing to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

As part of this strategy, the airline was having an open recruiting event at the Hilton Mumbai on September 29-30, 2022. Several videos and pictures have emerged on social media which show people standing in a long queue outside the hotel in Mumbai.

People on social media called it the longest "job interview queue." Long queues were seen outside the hotel for the Qatar Airways walk-in interview. Because of the massive crowd, the airline had to turn away many applicants.

The wild job fair was even called chaos. "The lines were so long that one would assume they were for the biggest Black Friday deal ever. People had to be turned away, which obviously irritated a number of people who had come long distances to attend this event," the outlet further said.

As quoted by the Spring Field Gazzete, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker stated that the Doha-based airline had no trouble hiring pilots in mid-2022, claiming that the business got over 20,000 applications for just 700 positions, with all candidates being qualified and type-rated.

Qatar Airways Group announced in a statement that the business began accepting applications from Indian residents for various posts across divisions on September 16, 2022.

In India, the group intends to engage personnel for its many businesses, including Qatar Airways, Qatar Duty-Free, Qatar Aviation Services, Qatar Airways Catering Company, and Qatar Distribution Company, as well as Dhiafatina Hotels.

30/09/22 NDTV

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Air India to introduce 20 more weekly flights to Birmingham, London and San Francisco

Air India will introduce 20 additional weekly flights to Birmingham, London and San Francisco in next three months as the Tatas-owned airline seeks to strengthen its international presence. With 5 additional flights a week to Birmingham, 9 additional flights to London and 6 additional flights a week to San Francisco, more than 5,000 additional seats will be offered every week to customers, the carrier said in a release on Friday.

The airline’s current schedule of 34 flights every week to the UK will now go up to 48 flights. Birmingham will receive extra five flights per week, three from Delhi and two additional from Amritsar. London will receive nine additional weekly flights, of which, five are from Mumbai, three from Delhi and one from Ahmedabad.

Together, seven Indian cities will now have non-stop Air India flights to the UK’s capital, the release said. Air India’s flights to the US will increase from 34 to 40 per week. It will connect Mumbai with San Francisco with a triweekly service, and reinstate a triweekly Bengaluru operation. With the additions, Air India will have 16 weekly flights from the current 10, with non-stop service from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

According to the release, the additional flights, which will be introduced in a phased manner from October to December this year, is part of the airline’s ongoing endeavour to reclaim its position as a leader on the international aviation map. Air India CEO & MD Campbell Wilson said as the airline reinvents itself under the Vihaan.AI transformation programme, adding frequency and improving connectivity from major Indian cities to more international destinations is a significant focus.

30/09/22 PTI/Financial Express

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Vietjet opens direct routes from Hanoi/HCM City to Ahmedabad

Ho Chi Minh City: For the first time, people and tourists will have opportunities to fly directly from Vietnam to Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat state in western India, by two routes of Vietjet from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with four return flights per route on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

With just more than four hours directly flying per leg, Vietjet brings people and tourists from Ahmedabad to ancient Hanoi, the peaceful capital of Vietnam, which is beautiful and hospitable with unique cultural features or a modern Ho Chi Minh City, an economic icon with a vibrant pace of life, offers various entertainment experiences. In addition, Ahmedabad, a city recognised as a world heritage by UNESCO owns the interference between a modern science-technology city and a cradle of cultures with many unique architectures such as Bhadra Fort, Swaminarayan Temple, Hathee Singh Jain, captivate millions of tourists around the world.

With one way ticket priced just from 668,000 VND, excluding taxes and fees, and an attractive 0 VND, excluding taxes and fees, ticket promotions on every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, people and tourists can easily buy tickets to fly directly from Ahmedabad to the two largest cities in Vietnam on Vietjet’s official channels at website www.vietjetair.com, Vietjet Air mobile app or its official worldwide ticket offices and agents.

Let’s fly with Vietjet now to experience the journeys with the modern and new fleet, dedicated and professional cabin crews, soft leather seats, fresh and hot meals from characteristics of global culinary culture, convenient products and services bring passengers good journeys, meeting all passenger’s demands, etc. Especially, passengers can enjoy free payment fees or can apply the “Fly now - Pay later” program within only 3 minutes only registration to experience the top services and products of Vietjet.

It’s more easier for Vietnamese tourists to discover India with convenient and fast e-visa policy without COVID-19 test, or for the international tourists to visit and stay in Vietnam, especially “Pearl Island” Phu Quoc with visa exemption policy for 30 days.

30/09/22 Vitenam Plus

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GMR Airports raises Rs 1,110 cr from JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley

GMR Airports has raised Rs 1,110 crore from JPMorgan Securities and Morgan Stanley India Primary Dealer to make timely payments on bonds due on September 24. GMR Airports had an Rs 1,330-crore payment due on September 24 to DB International, Standard Chartered Bank and Aditya Birla Special Situation Fund. It raised two-year bonds at 12.13% through private placement of bonds on September 22 to repay the trio.

GMR Airports, which operates Delhi and Hyderabad airports, paid entire dues to DB International and Aditya Birla Capital, but part payment was made to Standard Chartered Bank. On September 22, it raised Rs 795 crore from JP Morgan Securities and Rs 315 crore from Morgan Stanley India Primary Dealer through private placement of bonds, the people said.

Financial covenants of the bond documents stipulate that the indebtedness of Delhi International Airport (DIAL) cannot exceed $1.94 billion and that of GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL) cannot exceed $1.75 billion until the new bonds are redeemed. It also stated that any new financial indebtedness should be aimed only for capital expenditure of DIAL and GHIAL.

30/09/22 ContructionWorld

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Atlanta Airport Officials Meet With Airlines on India Trade Mission

Atlanta airport officials last week participated in four-day trade mission to India, a fast-growing economy that has long lacked a nonstop flight link to the world’s busiest airport despite heavy advocacy from a more-than-100,000-strong diaspora community. 

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport General Manager Balram Bheodari, Deputy General Manager and Chief Commercial Officer J’Aimeka Farrell and International Affairs Director Alrene Barr joined 15 organizations visiting the cities of Delhi and Hyderabad on the four-day India Aerospace Mission led by the U.S. International Trade Administration. 

From Sept. 19-23, participants met with civil aviation officials in the capital, along with international aerospace companies there and in Hyderabad, including Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures, which supplies empennages for the C-130 cargo planes built at the Lockheed plant in Marietta. 

ATL officials visited GMR Group, an infrastructure company with maintenance, repair and overhaul unit called GMR Aero Technic. According to a LinkedIn post from Ms. Ferrell, they also “met with executive leaders for several India-based airlines and contributed healthy dialogue to opportunities for mutual growth in India and the U.S.” 

30/09/22 Global Atlanta

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Malaysia-bound flight delayed as man shouts ‘bomb’ during fight with co-passenger inside plane

A brawl between two passengers over keeping their luggage in the overhead cabin delayed a Malaysia-bound plane by more than two hours as one of them shouted “bomb” during the fight, setting off a thorough security check, officials said on Friday.

Enforcement agencies were alerted about the “bomb” threat from the Malaysia Airlines’s MH173 around 1 pm after which the Central Industrial Security Force inspected the flight, the officials said.

The aircraft finally departed for Kuala Lumpur after a delay of two hours and 40 minutes and four passengers allegedly involved in the incident were handed over to the local police, they said.

“A fight broke out between two passengers over keeping their bags in the overhead cabin of the aircraft. When one passenger asked the other what was in his bag, the other replied ‘bomb’. The flight was then grounded as the pilot was informed about it and the pilot intimated the ATC (air traffic controller),” an official source told PTI.

“A bomb threat assessment committee immediately probed the matter and the flight was put through checks after which the bomb call was declared a hoax,” the source said.

A total of four passengers — all Indians — were handed over to the police, they added.

The passenger who made the bomb claim wad identified as Varindar Sidhu, according to sources.

30/09/22 PTI/Indian Express

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Aeroflot To Resume 3 Routes To India, Sri Lanka, And Thailand

Aeroflot is resuming flights to some of the popular Asian destinations that it previously served. Starting next month, it will fly to Colombo, Bangkok, and Goa again. Let’s take a look at the details.

Starting on Sunday 9th October, Russia’s flag carrier Aeroflot is resuming its service between Moscow and Colombo in Sri Lanka. The flight schedule will run as follows:

Flight SU 0288 departs Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO) AT 23:20 to arrive at Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) at 10:50.

Flight SU 0299 departs Colombo (BIA) at 12:50 and arrives in Moscow (SVO) at 19:30.

The nine-hour flight will be operated on Sundays and Thursdays on the way to Sri Lanka and on Mondays and Fridays on the way back.

The equipment used on this route will be an Airbus A330-300 aircraft.

Unlike Colombo, flights to Bangkok will operate daily once the route launches on Sunday 30th October, which is the first day of the IATA winter timetable. This route will run under the following schedule:

Flight SU 0272 departs Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO) at 22:20 to arrive at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) at 11:40 for a total flight time of nine hours and 20 minutes.

Flight SU 0273 departs Bangkok (BKK) at 22:20 to arrive in Moscow (SVO) at 11:40 for a total flight time of 10 hours and 15 minutes.

The schedule remains the same every day of the week. The equipment on this route is also an Airbus A330-300.

Of the three route re-launches, Goa in India will launch last, on Wednesday 2nd November. It will operate three times weekly. The route has not been put on sale yet, but Aeroflot said it would be doing so shortly.

29/09/22 Jakov Fabinger/Simple Flying

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Bolivian woman arrested at Mumbai airport for carrying cocaine worth Rs 13 crore

Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau has seized 3.2kg of black cocaine worth Rs 13 crore from a Bolivian woman at the Mumbai international airport, an NCB official said on Thursday.

After the Bolivian woman was caught on Monday with the contraband brought from Brazil, the NCB also nabbed a Nigerian national, who was to supply the drug in different states, from Goa in a follow-up action, he said.

The woman was held as she was about to board a flight for Goa from Mumbai, the official said.

During a search, NCB officials seized the contraband from her, he said.

In the follow-up action, a Nigerian national, who was to supply the drug to peddlers in multiple states, was held from Goa, the official added. 

29/09/22 Tribune

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Special flight carrying 55 Afghan Sikh refugees arrives in India

A special flight carrying 55 Afghan Sikh minorities fleeing from Afghanistan arrived in India at New Delhi airport on Sunday, as a part of efforts to evacuate the distressed minorities in the Taliban-led nation.

International President of World Punjabi Organisation and Punjab Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, Vikramjit Singh Sahney received the Afghan refugees who arrived at the Indira Gandhi Airport today.

A special flight operated by Ariana Afghan with a number 315 was organised by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandak Committee, Amritsar in coordination with the Indian World Forum and the Government of India to evacuate these Afghan minorities. "The 55 families which were stranded in Kabul, Jalalabad have arrived safely in Delhi today. I am thankful to the Indian government to facilitate e-visas. We will rehabilitate them in the "My family My responsibility" programme." Punjab MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney said.

Sahney is running a programme "My family My responsibility" under which 543 Afghan Sikhs and Hindu families are being rehabilitated in West Delhi by providing them with all facilities.

He said, "We are already rehabilitating 543 families by providing them with monthly household expenditures, house rent and medical facilities, and the rehabilitation of these people will be a part of the same programme."The Afghan refugees thanked the Indian government and Prime Minister to provide urgent e-visas and safely evacuating them.

An Afghan Sikh, Baljeet Singh, who returned on the same flight, said, "The condition is not very well in Afghanistan. I was imprisoned for four months. Taliban have cheated us, they butchered our hair in prison. I am thankful and happy to return to India and to our religion. There are 11-12 people left behind who will also return soon, I hope."

26/09/22 ANI/Wion

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Hanimaadhoo Airport development agreement signed with India's JMC

JMC Projects Limited of India has signed an agreement with the Maldives government to develop Hanimaadhoo International Airport.

The agreement was signed on behalf of the Maldives government by Managing Director of Regional Airports, Mohammed Rizvi, at a ceremony held Sunday night. JMC's Vice President, KS Reddy, signed the agreement on behalf of the company.

The agreement signing ceremony was attended by Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail, Planning Minister Mohamed Aslam, Regional Airports officials, the Indian Ambassador to the Maldives, MPs representing Boduthiladhunmathi constituencies, and some members of the HDh. Atoll Council and Hanimaadhoo Council.

The Hanimaadhoo International Airport project is one of the largest investments in the history of the country in an area outside the capital. The Maldives government first announced the decision to award the development of Hanimaadhoo International Airport to JMC on August 10. JMC is already involved in several flat construction and water and sewerage projects in the Maldives. JMC was awarded the contract for $136.6 million -- MVR 2.1 billion.

The Hanimaadhoo International Airport is being redeveloped under an $800 million line of credit scheme provided by Exim Bank of India. Including JMC, four companies had submitted bids for the project when the deadline expired in March this year. Only companies shortlisted by the Exim Bank could bid for the project.

The Hanimaadhoo airport development project will include a 2.46 km runway and a brand new terminal with the capacity to cater to 1.3 million passengers per annum. Other facilities needed to expand international flight services will also be established under the project. The project is scheduled to kick off later this year and will be completed in 2024.

26/09/22 Avas

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Andhra Pradesh: Vijayawada-Sharjah flight service from October 31

Air India's wholly owned subsidiary and low-cost arm, Air India Express, is set to operate flights on the Sharjah-Vijayawada-Sharjah route twice a week from October 31.

The airline has also made tickets available for booking on its website for the four-hour journey between Sharjah-Vijayawada and Vijayawada-Sharjah every Monday and Saturday.

As per the tentative schedule, the aircraft will leave Sharjah International Airport at 11 a.m. and reach Vijayawada by 4.25 p.m. In the return direction, it will leave for Sharjah at 6.35 p.m. The price starts from ₹12,000.

Vijayawada International Airport Director M. Lakshmikanth Reddy said that Air India Express was already operating one service per week to Muscat of Oman. Two more services to Sharjah would be added soon.

He said the airport would be handling a total of three international services per week. Direct flights between Muscat and Vijayawada were being operated every Tuesday.

Having direct flight to the two destinations will help many from Prakasam, Guntur, Bapatla, Palnadu, Krishna, NTR, Eluru, West Godavari, Kakinada, East Godavari and Konaseema districts who work in the Gulf countries.

Several direct flights were operated between the city and other destinations in Gulf countries during the COVID-19 pandemic under the Vande Bharat Mission.

Earlier, Indigo had operated direct flights to Singapore from Vijayawada in collaboration with the State government for more than six months. It was the first international service from the city airport that was accorded international status in August 2017.

25/09/22 Tharun Boda/The Hindu

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Tatas likely to offer a stake to Singapore Airlines, for Air India – Vistara merger

Tata Sons, the controlling entity of Air India, Vistara and AirAsia India, is looking to merge the three carriers under a unified Air India banner. To make it work, the Tatas are likely to offer Singapore Airlines (SIA), its joint venture partner in Vistara, a stake in Air India.

The stake offer has been accepted “in-principal” by SIA, which holds a 49% share in Vistara parent Tata SIA Airlines, an ET report on September 23 quoted top executives as saying. Discussions are on between N Chandrasekaran, chairman of both the Tata Group and Air India, and SIA’s executives.

N Chandrasekaran, Tata Sons chairman, had earlier stated that the group’s airline businesses are operating on thin margins, and must be consolidated to ensure operational efficiencies and keep control of costs.

Tata Sons and SIA did not respond to queries, the report said. Sources, however, said while SIA could agree to the merge, any financial infusion into Air India was unlikely as the airline is focused on getting its business back on track.

Earlier this year, Singapore Airlines had asked the Tatas to wait for some time before taking any decisions about the merger. Both the Tatas and SIA have discussed such possibilities, and SIA had reportedly even agreed to join the Tata bid for Air India but, because of the pandemic, decided to back out.

23/09/22 Radhika Bansal/100Knots

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They want a nonstop flight to India; RDU told them what must happen here first

Members of the Triangle’s growing Indian community want to persuade an airline to fly nonstop between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and India. They heard from RDU officials Thursday that it won’t be easy. Nearly 200 people turned out for a town hall meeting in Morrisville to hear RDU’s CEO and an air service consultant explain how the airport goes about persuading airlines to establish flights to new destinations. Most came with the hope that growing ties between North Carolina and India would be enough for an airline to begin flying between the two. India accounts for the second highest number of foreign-born residents of North Carolina, after Mexico, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The community’s growth has helped persuade Indian companies such as Infosys and Bharat Forge to locate in the Triangle, said Sen. Jay Chaudhuri of Wake County, the state’s first Indian-American legislator.

“We’ve been able to see our community leverage its influence and our hospitality to deepen the ties between India and North Carolina from an economic perspective,” Chaudhuri said at the meeting’s outset. “The question is can we rally our community, can we rally our companies, now to establish a nonstop flight from India to North Carolina to support our efforts. I believe there are a number of reasons we can do this.”

Others spoke about the difficulty of flying between the Triangle and India for business and to visit family. They spoke of long layovers, missed connections and lost baggage at the few American airports that offer nonstop flights to the subcontinent of Asia.

“You do not have an idea of what we have to go through in these places to get to India,” said Vimal Kolappa, CEO of East Coast Hospitality, a hotel group, and a member of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, which recruits companies to the state. Using data provided by airlines, RDU knows how many people fly from the region and where they’re going. In 2019, at the pre-pandemic peak of air travel from the Triangle, about 75 people a day flew to India, said Howard Mann of the consulting firm Campbell-Hill Aviation Group. Some flew nonstop to London or Paris and made connections, while others went through places such as Washington or New York.

23/09/22 Richard Stradling/News Observer

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Ghana national arrested at Bengaluru airport with 104 cocaine capsules in belly

Bengaluru: A 53-year-old Ghana national was arrested from Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Monday with 104 cocaine capsules worth Rs 13.6 crore inside his stomach.

The man identified as Baah Ampadu Kwadwo was arrested by the Customs officials soon after he landed in the city on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 690 from Addis Ababa -- the capital of Ethiopia, a Times of India (TOI) report said.

A native of Ghanian capital Accra, Baah Ampadu Kwadwo had reportedly swallowed 104 capsules before boarding the six-hour direct flight. A hospital scan confirmed that the man had swallowed the drug pills and they were removed over a medical procedure that lasted for three days, the report said. The procedure involved in the removal of the pills is very long as the breakage of the capsules inside the body could cause drug overdose and kill the person. The man was carrying 1.2 kg of cocaine in his stomach.

23/09/22 Mirror Now

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IndiGo starts direct flights between Mumbai and Ras Al-Khaimah

New Delhi: IndiGo, India’s leading carrier, has started new daily direct flights between Mumbai and Ras Al-Khaimah (United Arab Emirates) from Thursday.

Ras Al-Khaimah is the 100th overall destination and 11th in the Middle East in the 6E network. It was also named as Gulf tourism capital for 2020 and 2021 by the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The operator and managing body of Ras Al-Khaimah International Airport welcomed the arrival of the inaugural IndiGo flight from Mumbai.

The aircraft received a ceremonial water cannon salute as it taxied to the terminal to mark the occasion.

Chairman of Ras Al-Khaimah International Airport Engineer, Sheikh Salem Bin Sultan Al Qasimi; Atanasios Titonis, Chief Executive Officer of Ras Al-Khaimah International Airport; Stanislav Bujnovsky, Director — Commercial and Business Development, welcomed Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo, who travelled in the inaugural flight to Ras Al-Khaimah.

22/09/22 IANS/Siasat

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Sri Lanka offers concessions to Indian flights willing to land in Jaffna

Sri Lanka is offering concessions to Indian flights willing to operate flights to the Jaffna airport.

Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told Parliament today that Indian airlines have not shown any interest in operating flights to Palaly.

He said that several discussions had been held with Indian airlines but the talks have not been fruitful.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) requested the Minister in Parliament today to offer concessions to Indian airlines to land at Palaly in Jaffna.

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the Government is willing to consider the request if even one Indian airline offers to operate flights to Jaffna.

“First you bring one plane and show,” the Minister said in response to the request made by the TNA.

He said that the Government has spent and refurbished the Palaly airport and is paying the salaries of the staff.

However, he said international airlines have yet to show interest in operating flights to the airport in Jaffna.

22/09/22 Colombo Gazette

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Will look into deplaning claims: Scindia

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia Tuesday said he will look into the facts surrounding Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann being allegedly deplaned from a Delhi-bound flight at Frankfurt airport on claims that he was in an inebriated state. Scindia said that it was “important to verify the facts”.

“This was an incident on international soil. We will have to make sure that we verify the facts. It is up to Lufthansa Airlines to provide the data. Based on the request that has been sent to me, I will certainly look into it,” Scindia told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Delhi.

His comments have come in the aftermath of Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa writing to the Civil Aviation Minister seeking an inquiry into the matter. In a letter on Monday, Bajwa had written: “I would request you to kindly initiate an inquiry for verification of this news from the Lufthansa Airlines as it involves not only an individual but the office he represents and such a conduct deserves to be deprecated.”

According to reports, Mann was supposed to take a flight from Frankfurt to Delhi on September 17 at the end of his eight-day trip to Germany, where he was visiting to attract investments for Punjab. He, however, returned to India on Monday. On Twitter, Lufthansa’s media relations account wrote: “Our flight from Frankfurt to Delhi departed later than originally planned due to a delayed inbound flight and an aircraft change”. “For data protection reasons, we do not provide any information regarding individual passengers,” it added.

Even as the airlines did not respond to queries seeking a comment, Bajwa was quick to react. He said, “I am thankful that he (Scindia) responded to my mail and letter. People of Punjab are highly disturbed with the incident, reports of which are going viral all over social media. We expect clarity on the issue soon.”

He also egged on the CM to break his silence over the issue, “There is a studied silence from the CM and the CMO and this proves that something is amiss.”

SAD chief Sukhbir Badal also continued with his attack on the CM, saying, “Punjabis are pained to see how our CM @BhagwantMann’s actions have been lowering the prestige of the state. #Lufthansa has never said that Mann wasn’t drunk & that the deplaning incident didn’t take place. In fact the airline has refused to disclose the incident citing privacy laws.”

He added, “I talked to two passengers who were on the same flight to verify the incident. One of them, an industrialist, was in the 1st class & the other, a hotelier from Rajasthan, was in business class. Both told me that Mann had fallen down on the first seat after entering the aircraft. When the air hostess informed Mann about his actual seat, he then proceeded to that swaying from one side to another. The air hostess then informed the flight Captain about the situation and it was the Captain who came to the spot and took the decision to de-board Bhagwant. Mann should tell how did he fall ill suddenly after enjoying comfort of VIP lounge at Frankfurt airport for two hours. Besides ordering an inquiry into the episode, the Governor should dismiss Mann from his post. Such a person shouldn’t be allowed to continue in office any longer.”

21/09/22  Kanchan Vasdev/Indian Express

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Air India and Willis Lease Finance Corporation Ink Historic ConstantThrust Engine Sale & Leasebacks

Coconut Creek, Fla: Air India has signed definitive sale and lease back agreements with Willis Lease Finance Corporation  (“Willis Lease”) for 34 CFM56-5B engines installed on its Airbus A320 family fleet.

The engines will be covered under Willis Lease’s ConstantThrust program, which will deliver significant reliability and cost savings versus a traditional MRO shop visit program. This is the first ConstantThrust® sale and leaseback agreement for aircraft engines by any Indian carrier.

Under the sale side of the transaction, Willis Lease will purchase from Air India 34 engines powering 13 Airbus A321 aircraft and 4 Airbus A320 aircraft. Through its ConstantThrust program, Willis Lease will provide replacement and standby spare engines, allowing Air India to avoid potentially costly and unpredictable shop visits on engines powering a transitioning aircraft fleet. Willis Lease will also have an in-country team to coordinate and manage the entire program and all logistics and transportation involved.  

Headquartered in Florida, USA, Willis Lease is a leading aviation finance company, specializing in the lease, finance and management of aircraft, spare commercial aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. Willis Lease’s ConstantThrust program leverages those capabilities and its spare parts, engine and aircraft technical management services, as well as its aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, to deliver programmatic support to airlines and lessors worldwide.

21/09/22 Golbe News Wire

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Direct Flights From Jaipur To Abu Dhabi Frequently Cancelled Due To Low Passenger Load

Beginning on May 5, 2022, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi will offer a new route to Jaipur, the state of Rajasthan’s capital. However, the budget airline in the UAE seems to cancel these flights quite often in recent times. The low passenger load is the cause of this. It appears that there is a crisis on different foreign flights leaving from Jaipur.

The airline declared that it would run affordable, twice-weekly nonstop flights to Jaipur International Airport on Mondays and Thursdays. Every Monday and Thursday at 12:05 a.m., flight 3L 175 left Abu Dhabi and arrived in Jaipur at 4:55 a.m.

But following the low traffic rate on these flights, Air Arabia airlines has to forcibly stall the flights on these routes. They totally shut down their operations on this route on September 8th 2022.

20/09/22 Deeplata Garde/Curly Tales

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Vietjet flight denies boarding to sports body chief in wheelchair

Mumbai: Wheelchair-bound Arvind Prabhoo, chairperson of the All India Pickleball Association, was unable to accompany the 16 players representing India at the 2022 World Pickleball Championship between September 20 and 24 in Bali as he was not allowed to board a Vietjet flight from Mumbai on Saturday night.

Prabhoo — a quadriplegic after a car accident 35 years ago left him paralyzed from the neck down — alleges that this was the first time he was denied a boarding pass on grounds of the airline “not having a policy for wheelchair-bound passengers” and no aisle chair.

“Despite telling them that I was ready to pay for an aisle chair from another airline or my four personal attendants could lift me to the seat, the airline turned down both my requests saying they were unprepared to handle me in case of an emergency,” he said.

Prabhoo, who is also president of Mumbai Suburban Table Tennis Association, said, “I had registered myself as a disabled passenger and requested wheelchair assistance while booking my flight. Why do they have the option when they don’t have the facilities and why was I not informed at the time of booking,” asked Prabhoo, who wrote to the ministry of civil aviation on Monday describing his plight.

To add to his ordeal, Prabhoo, the son of former mayor Ramesh Prabhoo, was asked to write to the airline when he sought a refund and was also refused a refund for his attendants. “They said since my attendants were allowed to board, they would not be granted a refund...Why would my attendants travel when I wasn’t being allowed to?”

20/09/22 Times of India

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Air India Express fire was doused in just 90 seconds: Oman Airports

Muscat: The Fire and Rescue team at Muscat International Airport managed to extinguish a fire that broke out in the Air India Express aircraft last week, within 90 seconds.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Oman Airports said: “A proud morning salute to the Muscat International Airport’s Fire and Rescue team for their outstanding performance in responding, in only 90 seconds, and extinguishing an engine fire on an aircraft last week.”

Some passengers suffered minor injuries during an evacuation operation after smoke started billowing out of an Air India Express flight at Muscat International Airport on Wednesday morning.

The aircraft was taxiing towards the runway for take-off to Kochi at 11.20 am on Wednesday when officials noticed smoke coming out from the aircraft.

Airport officials said the passengers were immediately evacuated from the Air India Express flight on slides and the fire was brought under control.

17/09/22 Times of Oman

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India to increase flight services to UAE to curtail spike in airfares, minister V Muraleedharan says in Dubai

Dubai: A visiting Indian minister on Friday said his government would take steps to increase flight services between India and the UAE to curtail the huge spike in airfares in the sector.

India’s Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, V Muraleedharan, was speaking to the media after attending a community meeting and Onam celebrations organised by the Indian People’s Forum at the Indian Consulate in Dubai. He stopped over in Dubai while returning home after an official visit to Africa.

Addressing a question on the exorbitant ticket rates due to which several Indian expat families’ summer travels were affected, the minister said the Indian government “has taken serious note of the issue.”

He said he had personally discussed the matter with the previous and current minister of Civil Aviation multiple times. He cited that the aviation sector is not regulated by the government and airfares are largely market-driven.

However, Muraleedharan said the Indian government had last year taken the initiative to increase the number flight services and would continue with the same approach in the upcoming peak travel seasons to lessen the burden on the expats travelling during peak seasons. “We will try to increase the number of flight services like last year by collaborating with the airline companies,” he said.

16/09/22 Sajila Saseendran/Gulf Times

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Air India expands nonstop service from SFO

Air India said it plans to resume nonstop service to Bangalore from San Francisco International Airport and add nonstop service from SFO to Mumbai.

The service expansion at SFO was part of the carrier’s announcement that it’s adding five Boeing 777 aircraft to its fleet between December and March. Air India is tight-lipped on when it will start flying the nonstop routes from SFO to Bangalore and Mumbai.

The Air India SFO-to-Bangalore nonstop will operate three times per week, said the airline, which did not discuss the planned frequency of the SFO-to-Mumbai nonstop.

Air India currently operates 10 nonstop flights per week from SFO to New Delhi and is the only airline flying nonstop from SFO to India at this time. 

United Airlines, the dominant carrier at SFO, has temporarily suspended its SFO to New Delhi flight in response to the situation in Ukraine and continued closure of Russia air space, a United spokesperson said in August. United also has postponed several times its new SFO-to-Bangalore nonstop service, which is now scheduled to start March 25, 2023. 

United’s SFO-to-New Delhi nonstop is also appearing in United’s schedule, starting March 25, according to the airline's website. The carrier is selling tickets on the SFO-to-Bangalore nonstop for seats in economy, premium economy and business classes. On the SFO to New Delhi nonstop on March 25, the airline is listing fares for premium economy and business class tickets but economy class is “not available” despite a seat map that looks wide open, according to United’s website. United declined to comment Friday about its service from SFO to India.

16/09/22 Mark Calvey/San Francisco Business Times/BizJournals

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Special plane lands in Namibia to get African Cheetahs

Cheetah Reintroduction Project in India: As part of the first-of-its-kind transcontinental mission, a special plane landed in Namibia to get a total of eight Namibian Cheetahs back to Indian territory after being extinct for over 70 years. Five female and three male cheetahs will head for India in a customized Boeing 747-400 jumbo aircraft from Namibia's capital Windhoek, travelling overnight and reaching Jaipur on the morning of Saturday, September 17. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release eight cheetahs being brought from Namibia into the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. PM Narendra Modi will release Cheetahs on his birthday on September 17. The large carnivore got completely wiped out from India due to their use for coursing, sport hunting, overhunting, and habitat loss. 

The cheetahs will be flown to their new home -- Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh -- in helicopters. According to the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), an international not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Namibia and dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild, the five female cheetahs are aged between two years and five years, and the male cheetahs are aged between 4.5 years and 5.5 years.

According to the CCF, the aircraft bringing the cheetahs to India has been modified to allow cages to be secured in the main cabin but will still allow vets to have full access to the cats during the flight.

15/09/22 ZeeNews

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Qantas Starts Sydney-Bengaluru Flights With The Airbus A330

Qantas has inaugurated its long-awaited nonstop service from Sydney to the southern Indian city of Bengaluru. It took off on September 14th and is en route to India as this article is written. Driven by good passenger numbers, its new IndiGo codeshare, and fast-growing India-Australia traffic, Bengaluru joins Delhi in seeing Qantas metal.

At 10:11 on September 14th, Qantas flight QF67 departed Sydney bound for Bengaluru. With a distance of 5,810 miles (9,350km), the first flight is expected to be around 11h 30m, according to Flightradar24.

The A330-200 is scheduled to operate all flights, with the honor of the inaugural going to 11.8-year-old VH-EBP. Delivered in December 2010, it has 251 seats: 27 fully flat beds in business and 224 in economy seats.

Qantas will serve Bengaluru year-round on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. In the current week, the route's schedule is as follows, with all times local:

Sydney to Bengaluru: QF67, 09:30-16:55 (block time of 11h 55m)

Bengaluru to Sydney: QF68, 18:35-10:20+1 (11h 15m)

14/09/22 James Pearson/Simple Flying

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Air India’s Kochi Bound Plane Catches Fire At Muscat Airport, Passengers Evacuated

As many as 151 people were evacuated from an Air India Express plane at the Muscat airport on Wednesday after fire and smoke were noticed in one of the engines and aviation regulator DGCA is probing the incident, according to officials.

The incident happened when the Kochi-bound Boeing 737-800 aircraft was taxiing at the airport. Some passengers suffered minor bruises at the time of evacuation, the officials said.

There were a total of 141 passengers, 4 infants and 6 crew members onboard the aircraft, the officials said.

Videos and images on social media showed smoke emanating from the plane parked at the Muscat airport.

In a statement, an Air India Express spokesperson said there were 141 passengers onboard the plane, which was to depart Muscat at 1120 hours (local time).

"While it was on the taxiway, another aircraft reported observing fumes from one of the engines. However, there was no fire warning indication in the cockpit. As a matter of abundant precaution, and following the prescribed SOPs, the crew stopped on the taxiway and activated the onboard engine fire extinguishers," the statement said.

Air India Express also said the matter is being investigated by the regulatory authorities as well as the airline's flight safety department.

A senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the regulator is probing the incident and appropriate action will be taken after the investigation is completed.

Air India Express has arranged a relief flight to bring back the guests from Muscat.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Oman said there was fire in one of the engines of the aircraft.

"Before the aircraft take off, the aircraft was hit by a failure and a fire in one of its engines, which required an immediate evacuation of passengers," the authority said in a tweet.

As per preliminary information, the aircraft VT-AXZ was scheduled to operate flight IX442 from Muscat to Kochi. During taxiing, one of the engines had fire and smoke and subsequently, all the passengers and crew were evacuated on taxiway. Slides were deployed to evacuate the people, the DGCA official said.

According to another input, an observer reported that during taxiing, one of the plane's engines was on fire, the official added.

14/09/22 Outlook

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Bengaluru route takes off thanks to Aviation Attraction Fund

A new Qantas route between Sydney and Bengaluru has taken to the skies today thanks to the NSW Government’s Aviation Attraction Fund, marking the first direct connection between Australia and Southern India by any airline.

Treasurer Matt Kean said the new service will deliver more than 44,000 inbound international seats to Sydney up to 30 June 2023.

“This is the second international service announced through our $60 million airline war chest, which is aimed at turbocharging the State’s tourism pandemic recovery,” Mr Kean said.

“As a direct flight to India, there is potential to support more than 100 jobs and generate more than $19 million in overnight spending for the NSW visitor economy.”

Minister for Tourism Ben Franklin said that India is a significant trade partner for NSW with huge potential for future growth.

“This partnership between Qantas and the NSW Government, through the Aviation Attraction Fund, opens up a new direct route between India and NSW, as well as fantastic opportunities for the NSW visitor economy,” Mr Franklin said. 

“In 2019 India was the fastest growing market to NSW. We welcomed 175,000 visitors, with travellers spending an estimated $444 million. In July 2022, India was the third largest source of visitors to NSW, with those numbers expected to surge in the coming months due to pent-up demand.

“Our airports are the gateway to our state, so supporting the return of airlines to them through the Aviation Attraction Fund is key to achieving our goal of making NSW the premier visitor economy of the Asia Pacific.”

Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure said this new direct flight route solidifies Sydney’s standing as a global city.

14/09/22 NSW

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1981 Indian Airlines hijacker Gajinder Singh reveals his Pakistan location in social media post

New Delhi: Contradictory to the Pakistan government's denial of his presence, Gajinder Singh, an accused hijacker of a 1981 Indian Airlines flight, revealed his current location was Pakistan's Punjab province. The location of the fugitive terrorist surfaced after the individual posted an image of himself, posing for the camera in front of a gurudwara, on his Facebook profile.

The runaway hijacker of an Indian Airlines aircraft, which was headed to Amritsar and was forcibly diverted to Lahore in 1981, uploaded his image on Monday.

Singh, known as the co-founder of the radical organisation Dal Khalsa, shared his photograph, standing in front of Pania Sahib Gurudwara at Hasal Abdal in Pakistan's province of Punjab.

An Indian Airlines Boeing 737 domestic passenger aircraft, departing from the Delhi airport and scheduled to land at Amritsar, was hijacked by five terrorists of the Dal Khalsa on September 29, 1981. Reports suggest that the hijackers were armed with daggers and hand grenades. After hijacking the aircraft which was carrying around 111 passengers, the terrorists forced a diversion to the Lahore airport.

Their demand was the establishment of a separate State for Sikhs. The leader of the hijackers was Gajindra Singh, whose recent images have appeared in Pakistan. The hijackers not only demanded the release of another terrorist, and the leading face of the Khalistani movement, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, but also spoke with the Indian envoy to Pakistan, Natwar Singh, demanding a sum of USD 500,000.

The hijackers underwent a trial in Pakistan and were sentenced to life imprisonment by a court. However, they were released from jail and allowed to walk free in October 1994. Reports suggest that Singh had been on the country's most wanted list during 2002 and the Indian government has repeatedly tabled requests to Islamabad seeking his deportation.

Reports suggest that Pakistan, over the years, has denied Singh's presence on its soil.

06/09/22 India Today

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India: Ghanaian man busted with 87 capsules of cocaine at airport

The Mumbai Customs at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in India seized 1,300 grams of cocaine concealed in 87 capsules swallowed by a Ghanaian national upon his arrival in the country on August 28. The drug is valued at over $1.6million in the illicit market.

The accused, Raymond Anane Kyeremateng, 57, was detained by officials attached to the Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) based on profiling and suspicion.

Suspecting that he had some narcotics contraband in his body, the Customs officials took the court’s permission for his medical examination and took him to the Sir JJ hospital the same day.

His x-ray examination report confirmed the presence of foreign substances in his stomach, following which he was admitted to Sir JJ hospital.

“During his stay at the hospital, 87 oval-shaped capsules were removed from his body. From the 87 capsules, 1,302 grams of cocaine was recovered,” said a Customs official.

Customs officials then took the accused into custody and placed him under arrest on Friday morning after booking him in a drug smuggling case under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

During interrogation, he revealed to the Customs officials that in the past he had similarly smuggled drugs in India thrice.

06/09/22 Graphic Online

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Iran to form aircraft maintenance consortium with Russia, China, India: report

Iran will form an aircraft maintenance consortium together with Russia, China and India, reports indicate.  

The Head of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran (CAO) Mohammad Mohammadi Bakhsh said the consortium will be formed in order to set the standards for aircraft repair services, according to Silk Road Briefing.   

Baksh also said Iran repaired six foreign aircraft from four countries in 2022 and will eventually manufacture its own aircraft.  

In July 2022, Iranian media began to report that a cooperation agreement regarding the delivery of Iranian-made aircraft parts to Russia had been signed between Russia and Iran.  

Additionally, the reports suggested Iran would help Russia maintain its fleet of foreign-made aircraft and increase the frequency of flights to Russia.  

In March 2022, Russian Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev said the country would use “Iran’s experience” in circumventing Western sanctions imposed following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  

The invasion prompted many Western companies to stop supplying parts and aircraft to Russia, as well as carrying out maintenance on Russian-owned aircraft. 

05/09/22 Valius Venckunas/Aerotime Hub

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UK-based Hans Airways all set to connect Amritsar & Birmingham

Amritsar: UK-based Hans Airways is all set to connect Amritsar and Birmingham, which will be a bonanza for Punjabi diaspora living in England.

There is currently a huge demand on this route as Air India is operating only one weekly flight and the diaspora faces inconvenience of flying back to London from Punjab.

Sources in the aviation sector said the airlines wished to connect the Punjabi diaspora with India, Europe and North America. It would be providing the agriculturists of Punjab an opportunity to directly export farm fresh vegetables and other commodities to Birmingham and other cities across the UK.

They stated that the Airways is now in the last phase of completing all obligations in obtaining its Air Operators Certificate (AOC) from CAA and will be ready to commence scheduled operations within upcoming weeks.

A joint delegation of the Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) and FlyAmritsar Initiative (FAI) comprising AVM patron Manmohan Singh Brar, Yogesh Kamra, convener (India), FAI, and Ravreet Singh, member, FAI, recently met Satnam Singh Saini and Amit Dhiman, chief executive officer and general manager for India of the British start-up airline.

05/09/22 Tribune

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Guwahati resumes international flight; Druk Air starts operating flights for Singapore, Bhutan

As international travel picks up and demands for flights see an upward tick, Guwahati’s Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (LGBIA) resumed services on foreign routes from Saturday. International flights were suspended due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first flight that took off from the airport was a Druk Air plane that left for Singapore at 9.10 am. The airport authority officials said that the same airline will also operate a flight from the city to Bhutan on Sundays.

After around four and half hours in the air, the flight that left Guwahati at 9.10 AM (IST) landed at Singapore’s Changi airport at 16:10 Singapore local time. The service resumed on September 3, and it will operate once a week. The outbound flights depart on Saturday and returning ones on Sundays.

The return flight leaves Singapore on Sundays at 12:30 PM (IST) and reaches Guwahati International airport at 14:30 (IST). It will then leave for Paro Airport at 15:20 and land at 16:30. The airport in Paro, approves only a few pilots to make a landing. Bhutan’s national airline Druk Air is the only international carrier that operates flights to Guwahati.

With the opening of DrukAir services, Bhutan has started allowing international tourists to travel to the country. Druk Air has started its operations and will provide convenient travel options for passengers from northeast India to Bhutan and Singapore. Druk Air also offers flights to Delhi with Airbus A319.

05/09/22 Financial Express

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Five ball pythons seized at Chennai airport

Chennai: The Air Intelligence officers, here, seized 5 ball pythons from a passenger who arrived from Bangkok on September 2 and arrested him for illegally carrying live reptiles, principal commissioner of customs K R Uday Bhaskar said on Monday.

The male passenger from Dindigul district was intercepted by the Customs officials on Friday based on intelligence input.

On examination of his check-in luggage, the officials found the wildlife species.

The ball pythons were seized under the Customs Act, 1962, read with Wildlife Protection Act 1972, an official release said.

The wildlife species were deported back to Thailand on September 3 under the deportation order issued by Animal Quarantine, Chennai.

05/09/22 PTI/Print

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