Flight AI173 from Delhi was diverted to Magadan in Russia on Tuesday owing to an engine glitch, the Tata Group-owned private carrier said in a statement.
Virtually addressing employees of Air India across the globe, he said for the airline to be the best again there will be an organisational redesign, and it will "require a huge transformation, probably the largest transformation and the change all of you would ever go through". The carrier will expand its "outreach both domestically and internationally" and it has the desire to connect India with every part of the globe, he added.
Government officials say a shareholding structure has been mandated to discourage non-serious bidders from accessing Air India's data room
Air India Express, the low-cost subsidiary of Air India, would pay an annual royalty to the parent company after it starts operations to the Gulf next month end.
As many as 31 evacuation flights will be operated to neighbouring countries of crisis-hit Ukraine and will bring back more than 6,300 Indians stranded in the eastern European nation, according to official sources.
Kozhikode will connect Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam and Muscat daily; Salalah will be twice a week, Kuwait thrice a week and one weekly service to the city of Al-Ain.
Tata Group-owned AirAsia India, which is in the process of being merged with Air India Express, has taken short-term loans worth Rs 630 crore during the last six months to deal with cash crunch. AirAsia India has been making losses since its first commercial flight on June 12, 2014. Its net loss increased by 42 per cent to Rs 2,178 crore in FY22.
Two unions representing Air India pilots have asked members not to accept the revised compensation and employment offer, calling the company's proposals "unfair labour practices." They said any coercion on pilots to sign the offer would lead to industrial unrest. The Tata group airline announced on Monday a new salary structure for pilots and cabin crew.
A K Chopra, a retired DGCA official, had flagged concerns regarding engineering, flight safety, operations, and training standards in the airline and subsidiaries, thus warning the management of grave safety risk. He also called for the replacement of the chief of flight safety Harpreet A De Singh, who, he said, did not meet the regulatory requirements for holding the post.
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said on Saturday that 149 people have been admitted to hospitals, 23 have been discharged, while three are critically injured in the B737 plane crash.
No other corporate house in India is in a better position than Tata group for the takeover of debt-laden airline Air India, former deputy chairman of erstwhile Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Thursday. Tata Sons has emerged as the top bidder for the takeover of the state-run airline but the bid is yet to be approved by a group of ministers headed by Home Minister Amit Shah. "You can't have a better corporate, with a better position than the Tatas, we can hand it (state-run airline Air India) over," he said while replying to a question in a virtual event.
The home ministry has given security clearance to Air India CEO-designate Campbell Wilson, paving the way for him to take charge of the airline, according to a senior official. The appointment of Wilson as the chief executive officer and managing director of Air India was announced by Tata Sons on May 12. Tata Sons took over the loss-making carrier on January 27.
"The strategic divestment transaction of Air India successfully concluded today with transfer of 100 per cent shares of Air India to M/s Talace Pvt Ltd along with management control," DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a tweet. A new board, led by the strategic partner, takes charge of Air India, he added.
IndiGo will introduce business class seats in select flights on 12 domestic routes starting from November 14 and also launch a customer loyalty programme, as the 18-year-old airline seeks to expand business and strengthen global presence. The announcements, made at an event in the national capital on Monday to mark 18 years of operations, also highlights a pivotal trajectory for the airline.
The Air India board has cleared a proposal for sending its pilots on deputation to its budget arm, Air India Express, which has been facing shortage of commanders for some time now.
The government will start working on selling the ground-handling arm of erstwhile national carrier Air India and the Expression of Interest (EoI) is expected in the next fiscal, an official said. "We already have the Cabinet approval for selling the subsidiaries of Air India. "So we will come out with an EoI inviting bids for one of the ground-handling arms in the next fiscal," an official told PTI.
The cancellation of certain frequencies to the Gulf sector was done to rightsize the airline due to commercial and operational reasons.
"All those who were involved in rescue operations at Kozhikode Airport should go into self-quarantine. State Government will conduct COVID-19 tests of all," said K K Shailaja.
Political leaders across parties reacted to the Air India Express aircraft crash, which took place on Friday evening at Kozhikode airport.
The government in January restarted the divestment process of Air India and invited bids for selling 100 per cent of its equity in the state-owned airline, including Air India's 100 per cent shareholding in AI Express Limited and 50 per cent in Air India SATS Airport Services Private Ltd.
Airline systems across airports, which were impacted due to a global IT outage on Friday, have started working normally, and all issues are likely to be resolved by noon on Saturday, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said. The ministry is constantly monitoring the operations at airports and airlines to ensure travel readjustments and refunds are taken care of, he added.
Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has once again found himself at the center of a controversy, this time for his comments about Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Kamra has been a controversial figure for years, with his comedy often targeting politicians and other public figures. This latest incident has led to a backlash from Shinde's supporters, who have vandalized the venue of Kamra's show. Kamra has a history of making controversial remarks, including heckling a TV anchor on a flight and making comments about the judiciary.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot was on Thursday denied boarding on an Air India subsidiary AIX Connect flight over alleged 'delay' in reporting.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 83 people were under treatment at various hospitals and the condition of 22 of them was 'serious'.
While Air India Express is expected to get the full insured amount for the hull loss, it will have to pay compensation to the kin of the deceased and injured, according to applicable laws. The compensation will be paid from its liability cover.
According to airline sources, the software, which is of Atlanta-based SITA company, was not functioning approximately from 3 am to 9 am on Saturday. Consequently, boarding passes could not be issued at major airports across the world and various flights were delayed.
Industrial disputes dropped 89.3 per cent to 34 in 2022 compared to 318 a decade ago, shows central and state data.
'If you are selling family silver, and if you are not getting the right value, then what is the point?'
Indians in Bahrain, who are awaiting the low-cost Air India Express flights in April, are unhappy, as the services would not benefit a majority of low-paid workers.
The 30-member team will be headed by Malappuram Additional Superintendent of Police G Sabu, a government release said.
Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express have operated 31 inbound flights during the first five days of Vande Bharat mission, bringing 6,037 stranded Indians home amid the coronavirus triggered lockdown, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Tuesday.
On May 22 2010, a Boeing 737-800 passenger jet operating Air India Express Flight 812 from Dubai to Mangalore, crashed on landing. Nearly 160 people lost their lives in the 2010 crash.
Divestment-bound Air India is looking to sell securities of its two provident trusts AIEPF and IAEPF, and has sought applications for transaction advisors to help with the proposed sale of the securities. The Air India Employees Provident Fund (AIEPF) trust and Indian Airlines Employees Provident Fund (IAEPF) trust are governed by the Provident Fund Trust Act, 1925. The two trusts' investments together amounted to Rs 4,500 crore as of August 31, 2021, according to the tender document, seeking RFPs for the appointment of the transaction advisors.
Domestic air traffic grew by over 18 per cent last month compared to October last year as Air India's passenger load factor overshot that of IndiGo which had the largest number of flight cancellations, official data showed on Monday.
No response has been received for the Expression of Interest floated for the strategic divestment of Air India
If the government is asking a maximum price for Air India but asks to keep old personnel, it will not match.
Amid continuing uncertainty over the fate of the national carrier, an official said there is also need for funds to restart operations of 12 grounded narrow-body planes.
The Tata group may have to deploy upwards of $1 billion to improve the airline's passenger reservation system, upgrade and refurbish Air India's fleet, primarily the wide-body aircraft which are the mainstay for the airline's international operations, people in the know said. While the group has not yet decided on how it intends to integrate Air India with its existing airlines AirAsia India and Vistara, sources said the first task will be to refinance Air India's existing loans, upgrade its aircraft gradually, and rewrite multiple business contracts with vendors and suppliers. "They will have to do 100 things to stabilise the airline and will have to put in a lot of money," DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said, confirming that many aircraft are grounded.
Two landings were aborted by pilots due to tailwind.
