'I am pleased to announce the Governments of India and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire and to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site.'
Why not stream all the data in real time to multiple recipients? It would make the investigation of aviation incidents much easier and far more transparent, recommends Devangshu Datta.
Air India's ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed soon after take off from Ahmedabad airport on June 12 underwent comprehensive maintenance checks in June 2023 and was due for the next scheduled comprehensive checks in December this year, according to airline officials.
The Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) defends the crew of the crashed AI 171 flight, rejecting insinuations of pilot suicide and calling for a fair investigation.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday slammed Tata Group-owned Air India for allotting him a 'broken and sunk' seat, prompting his ministerial colleague K Rammohan Naidu to instruct the airline to take 'necessary action'.
An Air India A321 plane's auxiliary power unit caught fire after landing at the Delhi airport. All passengers and crew members are safe. The aircraft has been grounded for investigations.
Kingfisher Red topped the list of loss-makers with Rs 79,8.34 crore (Rs 7.98 billion).
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is engaged in confidential talks with Tata Sons for merging Vistara with Air India, the flagship carrier of the Republic of Singapore informed the stock exchange in the Southeast Asian nation on Thursday in a first acknowledgement of a possible integration of the two airlines. "In line with its multi-hub strategy, SIA is currently in confidential discussions with the Tatas to explore a potential transaction in relation to the securities of Vistara and Air India. "The discussions seek to deepen the existing partnership between SIA and Tatas and may include a potential integration of Vistara and Air India," SIA said in a notification to the Singapore stock exchange. SIA owns 49 per cent stake in Vistara and is among the four airlines run by Tata Group.
More than 300 flights have been cancelled and at least 25 airports, including Srinagar, have been temporarily shut for operations amid restrictions in the wake of the armed forces launching missile attacks on terror targets in Pakistan on Wednesday morning.
The only case where there could be a change in insurance payout is if Air India's management were found to be aware of the accident and the accident was deliberate.
The aviation regulator slapped fines amounting to Rs 2.75 crore on Indian airlines in 2023, marking a 39 per cent rise in financial penalties from Rs 1.97 crore in 2022. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it imposed fines on domestic carriers such as Air India, IndiGo, AirAsia India and SpiceJet for issues related to non-compliance in 2023. The regulator also carried out a record number of 5,745 surveillance activities in the year to ensure compliance by airlines, aerodrome operators, and aviation personnel among others.
'We have informed the government multiple times that the situation in the US and India are different.' 'Here, there will be a 500 MHz gap in the frequencies which will safely allow aviation without interference.'
Cooking oil is often discarded after being used for frying at home or in restaurants. However, a refinery of IndianOil has now won a certification to use the same oil to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the company chairman Arvinder Singh Sahney said.
India has warned Pakistan against its unprovoked firings along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir as the directors general of military operations of the two armies spoke on the hotline amid the escalating tensions over the Pahalgam terror attack.
The Pakistani military fired unprovoked shots across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir for a second consecutive night, triggering retaliatory action from Indian troops. This escalation follows heightened tension between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. Despite the exchange of fire, no casualties were reported. India has imposed a series of punitive measures in response to the attack, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and closing the Attari land-border crossing. Pakistan has responded in kind, closing its airspace to Indian airlines and suspending trade with India.
The aircraft, later, flew to Guwahati after an improvement in the weather conditions in Guwahati, said KC Meena, the director of the Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport at Agartala.
Addressing close to 700 employees and the leadership team across the Air India headquarters and Air India Training Academy in Gurugram, Chandrasekaran urged them to stay on course, terming the accident the most "heartbreaking" crisis of his career.
'AAIB preliminary report was more detailed than most people were expecting.'
Pakistani troops continued to violate the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) by resorting to unprovoked firing in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Kupwara districts, army officials said. This was the fourth consecutive night that Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing along the LoC and came amid heightened tension between New Delhi and Islamabad following last week's terror attack in Pahalgam. Indian troops responded swiftly and effectively.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson addresses the preliminary report on the Ahmedabad plane crash, stating no mechanical or maintenance issues were found with the aircraft. He urges against premature conclusions as the investigation continues.
Tensions between India and Pakistan are escalating following last week's dastardly terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives.
Executives from India's leading airlines are conducting internal meetings to devise alternative routes for their international flights that currently pass through Pakistani airspace.
An Air India flight from Delhi to Tel Aviv was diverted to Abu Dhabi on Sunday after a missile attack near the Tel Aviv airport. The airline has suspended Tel Aviv flights till May 6. The attack happened less than an hour before the Air India flight was to land at Tel Aviv. The flight landed normally in Abu Dhabi and will soon return to Delhi. Air India's operations to and from Tel Aviv will remain suspended with immediate effect till May 6.
A timeline of events related to the investigation of the Air India Boeing 787 crash in Ahmedabad, including investigation initiation, black box recovery, and safety measures taken.
The Boeing 787-8 aircraft -- VT-ANB -- was 11.5 years old and had flown for more than 41,000 hours, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Indian trains remain the greatest connecters linking hearts to the last mile.
The airline plans to scale up its operations at NMIA significantly, from 36 air traffic movements (ATMs) daily on the opening day to 79 daily departures (158 ATMs), including 14 international departures by November this year.
Incumbent Ajay Singh was on Thursday re-elected President of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) for a third consecutive term after his comprehensive victory over Jaslal Pradhan in the long-overdue polls.
The exchange of fire occurred even though the directors general of military operations of India and Pakistan spoke over the hotline on Tuesday amid rising tensions between the two countries over the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
This marked the sixth consecutive night of ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC, amidst heightened tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad following a recent terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22.
Main imports from the neighbouring country during April-January 2024-25 included fruits and nuts (USD 0.08 million), certain oil seeds and medicinal plants (USD 0.26 million), and organic chemicals.
The United States on Thursday said it supports India's right to defend itself and its fight against terrorism as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dialled Defence Minister Rajnath Singh amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack.
As tensions escalated between India and Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, Iran reached out to both countries, urging de-escalation. Saudi Arabia also expressed concern, with its foreign minister engaging in phone conversations with his Indian and Pakistani counterparts. Iran's foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, emphasized the importance of bilateral relations, stating Tehran's willingness to "forge greater understanding" at this critical time. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, spoke with both India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar. Amidst heightened tensions, India has taken a series of punitive measures against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and downgrading diplomatic ties. Pakistan responded by shutting its airspace to Indian airliners and suspending all trade. Both countries exchanged warnings, with Pakistan emphasizing its commitment to "respond firmly to any aggression."
'If anything happened out of the normal, there would be instantaneous ECAM, EICAS warnings, the master caution or master warnings going off.' 'It would be like a Christmas tree in the cockpit if things start going wrong.'
'Who tried engine relight?' 'If the first officer was the one flying at takeoff, the captain may have taken control immediately post-thrust loss.' 'But the AAIB report doesn't clarify any of this.'
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft that went down soon after take-off was operating the flight 'AI 171' from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick.
Coordination between defence and civilian authorities has freed up airspace for commercial airlines in India, resulting in routes becoming shorter and costs coming down, apart from mitigating pollution. "Due to various restrictions of the military, only about 58 per cent of the Indian airspace was being utilised. It is close to 70 per cent now," said an official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Officials of the AAI said to date 119 routes had been shortened. Sources said since December 2020 the cumulative savings of airlines had been close to Rs 200 crore while there was a reduction in emission of around 45,000 tonnes of carbon.
Call centres, once the engine room of India's BPO exports, are evolving too. Depending on the complexity, 30 to 50 per cent of voice and chat volumes are now handled by conversational AI.
Airlines waive cancellation and rescheduling fees and boost flight capacity from Srinagar.
'Look at the number of flights the aircraft has done. Look at the number of airlines which are using it.'
