'IndiGo is fooling the country and the government has succumbed to it.'
It also recommended fixing of responsibility on 'agencies and individuals' who took such a 'whimsical' decision and sought 'suitable action' to prevent such 'intangible loss' being caused to a state-run company.
'It has got to be the biggest error in aviation. If it is the biggest error, then all those individuals in positions of power should be removed because they have caused the biggest meltdown in Indian aviation history.'
In about a fortnight, Vistara - known for its premium service - will take off on its final flight before merging into the legacy of Air India. Set for November 12, the merger has sparked discussions on how these two distinct brands will blend.
The former beat Air India while the latter got the better of Bharat Petroleum in the semi-finals of the Shastri hockey tournament.\n\n
The International Cricket Council confirmed that stranded players from the South Africa national cricket team and West Indies cricket team have finally left India after Gulf airspace closures during the West Asia conflict disrupted travel following the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
SKYTRAX's annual airport rankings for 2026, based on a global passenger poll, placed four Indian gateways within the top 100. Delhi moved up to 28th and led the India-South Asia region, while Hyderabad climbed to 43rd and earned praise for staff service. Goa and Mumbai improved to 64th and 66th respectively.
In little over a year, Air India and IndiGo have announced plans to purchase up to 170 wide-body planes as they bet on ambitious expansion and efforts also continue to make India a global aviation hub. Also, the two carriers' orders usher in European aircraft maker Airbus into the country's wide-body space, which has traditionally been dominated by US major Boeing. If narrow-body aircraft orders of Air India, IndiGo and Akasa Air are added to the list, the order book is well over 1,200 planes and that too in less than 14 months or since February 2023.
Indian carrier Vistara on Monday announced voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and voluntary separation scheme (VSS) for its permanent ground staff ahead of its merger with Air India, which had announced similar plans for its non-flying permanent staff two weeks ago.
'If there is a big enough order, then we would bring the assembly line for the M88 engine and other critical equipment to India.'
On Friday, the Alaska Airlines plane's outer section, including a window, fell off mid-air.
Amid concerns over alleged poaching of pilots, Air India told Akasa Air that petitioning a competitor to collude in restricting the rights of staff to change an employer could potentially violate the competition law. Air India CEO and managing director Campbell Wilson wrote a letter to Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube against the backdrop of Akasa Air raising concerns about Air India Express hiring pilots from the airline. The letter, dated September 21, followed a letter by Dube to Tata Sons on September 11.
The ICC said the South African contingent had begun departing for home on Wednesday with "four players and five family members having boarded the flight".
About 1,500 employees of various departments took part in the rally.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu recounts a 'tense and scary' experience at Dubai International Airport after an explosion occurred nearby, amidst escalating tensions in the Gulf region.
India has closed its airspace to flights operated by Pakistani airlines in a retaliatory move following the Pahalgam terror attack. The ban will be in effect until May 23 and applies to all aircraft registered in Pakistan, as well as planes operated, owned or leased by Pakistani airlines and operators. This comes a week after Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian carriers. The move is part of various measures taken by the Indian government against Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
Indian badminton star PV Sindhu and her coach were stranded at Dubai International Airport following an explosion near their location, triggered by escalating tensions in the Gulf region.
Restricting air access to foreign carriers by not granting them more bilateral rights is akin to shooting yourself in the foot, as air transport is a wealth multiplier for India's economy, Emirates President Tim Clark said during a press conference held on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association.
Records stretching back to 1947 suggest a consistent strategy by Pakistan's military and intelligence apparatus, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), of using terrorism as a state policy against India.
The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has announced changes in flight routes for Karachi and Lahore, citing operational safety reasons. The move is speculated to be linked to anticipated military exercises by India.
The mega-merger of state-run carriers Air India and Indian received the final government nod on Thursday, with the Union Cabinet giving a go ahead to the proposal of the Group of Ministers in this regard.
Air India (AI)'s rise could be at the expense of three "super-connector" hubs - Doha in Qatar, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE - as the Indian passenger would any day prefer direct flights of their national airline that is providing excellent on-time service, Arved von zur Muehlen, chief commercial officer of Saudia Airlines, said on Thursday.
Indian airports' push to become global hubs will depend on reducing passenger leakage to rival airports abroad, scaling up direct long-haul connectivity, and offering transfer experiences that are faster, smoother, and more attractive than those of regional competitors, said panellists at the Business Standard Infrastructure Summit on Thursday.
In another development, aviation safety regulator DGCA in an order on Sunday late evening extended the time by Monday 6 pm for IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and Chief Operating Officer and Accountable Manager Isidro Porqueras to submit reply to its show cause notice over the ongoing disruptions in the airline's operations.
'All they need is proper leadership.'
With the Middle East tensions flaring up, Air India has temporarily suspended its Tel Aviv flights and airlines have charted alternative flight paths to avoid the Iranian airspace.
TN rallied to beat Air India while Indian Airlines got the better of BSF in the quarter-finals of the Nehru hockey tournament.
As the majority of Pakistani airspace has remained closed for Indian airlines since the Balakot strike on February 26, the decision to avoid affected Iranian airspace on Saturday is going to further disturb the routes of their international flights towards middle-eastern and European countries, and the US.
Tata Sons on Thursday announced the appointment of Campbell Wilson as chief executive officer and managing director of Air India. Wilson is the founding CEO of low-cost airline Scoot.
Though India's airlines are certainly bleeding, they haven't yet faced the ignominy of shutting down.
With the Iran war escalating sharply and crisis deepening in the global energy market, India on Monday unveiled a coordinated plan to support exporters and shippers caught in the fallout.
An IAF aircrash investigation typically concludes in two/three odd months. The reason for the crash is usually established in a week's time.
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.
Pilots' bodies at Tata Group-owned Air India have accused the airline management of making unilaterally "rapid" and "regressive" changes in the service conditions of pilots. In a letter to Air India Chief Human Resources Officer Suresh Dutt Tripathi on Tuesday, Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) and Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) also stated that "all unilateral violations of their rights and service agreements are creating industrial unrest and shattering employee confidence in the current management". The communication comes amid Air India reducing drastically the annual limit of privilege leave accumulation to 60 days from 300 days earlier, as per a source.
"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.
Air India on Thursday unveiled a new brand identity and aircraft livery as the airline moves ahead with its transformation plan since being taken over by Tata Group more than one-and-a-half years ago. The new look re-imagines the iconic Indian window shape, historically used by Air India, into a gold window frame that becomes central to the new brand design system. It symbolises a 'Window of Possibilities', according to a release.
Describing their situation akin to "bonded labour", two Air India pilot unions extended their support to Vistara pilots on Thursday, who have raised grievances regarding the duty roster and the revised salary structure. Amid the slew of flight cancellations and delays, Vistara chief executive officer Vinod Kannan acknowledged on Wednesday that pilot utilisation in the airline was high, and announced plans to scale back its flight schedule and overhaul the rostering system to provide pilots with more rest time.
Indigo airlines cancelled 13 flights from Hyderabad airport, causing chaos and frustration among passengers. The cancellations were attributed to technology and operational issues.
The unions claimed that wrong policy decisions of the previous government, poor practices, lack of accountability and general mismanagement by top administration and allowing private carriers to flourish at the cost of Air India were some of the factors for the current state-of-affairs
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