Police in Maharashtra's Nagpur have identified a 35-year-old man from Gondia in the state as the person behind a spate of hoax bomb threats that triggered panic, caused flight delays and led to increased security at airports and other establishments, an official said.
Protocols for the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC), convened in the event of a bomb threat call to an aircraft or airport, have been tweaked to better tackle the spate of the ongoing 'random' Internet-based threats being made to various Indian airlines, official sources said Tuesday.
Vistara will operate the last flight under its brand on November 11 and the full-service carrier's operations will be unified with Air India from November 12. The government has given its nod for the foreign direct investment by Singapore Airlines as part of the Air India-Vistara merger. Vistara is a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines.
The Indian Navy has ruled out deploying indigenously built light combat aircraft Tejas on its aircraft carriers, saying it is "not being able to meet the requirements".
An IndiGo aircraft grazed the wings of an Air India Express plane at the Kolkata airport on Wednesday, leaving the wings of both aircraft damaged, officials said.
India and France are negotiating the deal for buying 26 Rafale Marine jets which are going to be deployed on the INS Vikrant aircraft carrier and different bases.
Air India will be Indian cricket team's 'preferred airline' for travel from now on with the national carrier signing an MoU with the BCCI in this regard. The deal, which comes into effect from September 1, has been signed for a period of one year.
Describing the launch of India's indigenous aircraft carrier and Japan's biggest warship since World War II as a threat to China, a report in the state-run media on Tuesday alleged some countries are backing New Delhi to balance Beijing's power. The launch of India's INS Vikrant and Japan's helicopter carrier serve as a warning for China, said an article on the state-run Global Times' website.
Amid a spate of hoax bomb threats to multiple airlines, the IT ministry has asked social media platforms to observe due diligence obligations and promptly remove or disable access to misinformation within the strict timelines prescribed under IT rules.
On Saturday, the aircraft made its first landing on the deck of INS Vikramaditya which was also a major milestone. Both the landing and take off by the aircraft put India among a select group of nations having the capability to design such a jet which can operate from an aircraft carrier.
In a major boost to private airlines, especially IndiGo and SpiceJet, the civil aviation ministry has lifted the freeze on them to expand abroad.
The government has approved the construction of two indigenously designed nuclear attack submarines and is expected to ink contracts next month to procure 26 naval variant of Rafale jets and three Scorpene submarines, Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi said on Monday.
India is marching towards becoming the fourth country in the world to have space docking technology.
With both the Indian and Chinese governments agreeing to a full fifth freedom last month, the doors have opened for Indian carriers to tap the lucrative United States west coast market through the Middle Kingdom as well as tap China's growing tourism market. This will give Indian carriers the ballast to challenge established foreign carriers like Singapore Airlines and Cathay, which have picked most of the India-US traffic.
Competition Commission of India (CCI) has issued a show cause notice to the parties with respect to the proposed merger of Tata Group airlines Vistara and Air India, according to a source. The fair trade watchdog issues notice asking why an investigation should not be initiated only after forming a prima-facie opinion that the deal could adversely impact competition in the marketplace. Vistara and Air India are the two full-service carriers that are part of the Tata Group, and Singapore Airlines holds a 49 per cent stake in Vistara.
More than 80 domestic and international flights of various Indian airlines received bomb threats on Thursday, according to sources.
India's historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
India will be holding talks with the UAE and Oman on allowing new routes for Gulf carriers into the country, Ajay Prasad, secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said, on the sidelines of an aviation conference.
Indigo has zero competition on 61.2 per cent of its 838 domestic routes.
A threat about the presence of bombs on an Akasa Air flight at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar was received on social media, but it later turned out to be a hoax, an official of the airport said on Thursday.
In the past few days, more than 40 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes.
Most of India's oil supplies are expected to stay safe because of the country's good relations with both Russia and Iran. That would take care of over a third of India's supplies.
On Monday, the fifth Air India flight landed in Delhi from Bucharest with 249 Indian nationals while the sixth flight arrived from Budapest here with 240 Indian nationals, the officials said.
Low-cost carriers SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir have cut fares sharply, just a week after they abruptly raised these following a 20 to 25 per cent slump in sales.
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 international cargo operations of two major carriers - IndiGo and Air India Group (Air India and Vistara) - are experiencing opposite trajectories despite both the airlines significantly expanding their international flight offerings over the past year. During the fourth quarter of 2023-24, IndiGo's international non-passenger cargo business declined to 6,848 tonnes. This is an 18.2 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decrease, according to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
Air India will be commencing its scheduled operations -- two daily flights from the national capital -- to Dhaka on Wednesday.
Both parties will discuss the issues and there will be a meeting again on May 28, he said.
National Aviation Company, the name of the proposed merged entity of Air India and Indian Airlines, plans to launch a value carrier to take on the challenge from JetLite and Air Deccan.
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.
Private carrier Air India on Tuesday unveiled its new collection of uniforms, designed by Manish Malhotra, for its cabin and cockpit crew. The new uniforms will be introduced in a phased manner over the next few months, starting with the entry of service of Air India's first Airbus A350 aircraft, the company said in a statement. "Air India's crew uniforms are amongst the world's most storied in aviation history, and we firmly believe that Manish Malhotra's innovative ensemble will script an exciting new chapter for Air India's future narrative," said Campbell Wilson, chief executive officer and managing director at Air India.
The move follows the recent probe report by the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that highlighted safety concerns involving Boeing 737 aircraft equipped with Collins Aerospace SVO-730 Rudder Rollout Guidance Actuators.
Bangladesh's interim government on Wednesday said it is 'consulting all stakeholders' to decide the fate of President Mohammed Shahabuddin, as authorities beefed up security around his residence in the wake of protests demanding his removal over comments that raised questions on prime minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation.
By cutting international flights, Indian firms forefeit market share.
Get ready to be pampered when you fly abroad next time. Stung by the slowdown in the US, international carriers are going all out to woo travellers from countries such as India, which are still registering a double-digit growth in outbound traffic.
The presence of an engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in India could have prevented Go First airline from going "belly up", as sending engines abroad for servicing is not an efficient way to operate a carrier, Piyush Srivastava, senior economic advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said in a statement on Tuesday. On May 3, Go First suspended its flights and filed for insolvency, squarely blaming engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney (PW) for its cash crunch. The airline claimed that about half of its 54 aircraft were grounded on May 3 due to a delay in the supply of engines by the US-based company. PW has denied the charges.
Indian carriers transported 12.8 million domestic passengers in March 2023, a year-on-year growth of 21.41 per cent. India's largest carrier IndiGo shored up its domestic market share from 53.8 per cent in Q4 of FY22 to 55.7 per cent in Q4 of FY23, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data released on Monday.
Airlines to nearly double bilateral utilisation to 40% from April
More than 30 flights of various Indian airlines, including Vistara, Air India and IndiGo, received bomb threats on Saturday, according to sources.
