The passengers alleged biasness against those holding Indian, Pakistani and other Southeast Asian nation passports.
Indian airlines have also been advised separately to give relief, an official said.
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.
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.
Amid mounting safety concerns and the cancellation of at least 66 flights that were to be operated with Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, DGCA officials held a detailed review meeting with top Air India and Air India Express executives.
So far this week, more than 90 flights have received bomb threats and most of them have turned out to be hoaxes.
Air India and Air India Express on Tuesday progressively resumed their services to the Middle East, with flights to Dubai and Muscat, respectively, as countries in the region reopened their airspaces.
'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.'
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."
Key stimuli of the government's relief package will be a tax break on jet fuel, waiver of parking and landing charges at airports for the next six months and deferment of payment to oil companies by three months.
Airlines sought a limited period concession of the standing rule of slot allocation, which mandates that firms must operate at least 80 per cent of their allocated slots.
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.
India has revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals effective April 27, advised Indian nationals in Pakistan to return home, and suspended visa services to Pakistani nationals. The move comes in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people and alleged cross-border links to the attack. This escalation follows India's previous actions against Pakistan, including expelling Pakistani military attaches, suspending the Indus Water Treaty, and shutting down the Attari land-transit post.
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.
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had advised airlines on Saturday night to open bookings only after the government takes a decision on resumption of passenger flights.
The Maldives government has set a target of attracting 300,000 Indian tourists in 2025, aiming to regain its position as a top destination for Indian travelers. The country's tourism sector has been impacted by strained relations between Male and New Delhi, which led to a decline in Indian tourist arrivals in 2024. To revive the Indian tourist market, the Maldives is planning a major campaign, including a brand ambassador, cricket summer camps, and expanded flight routes from more Indian cities.
The claims will include three kinds of liabilities: Damage to the aircraft; loss of lives who were aboard the aircraft; including the crew members; and third-party liability because of loss of lives where the aircraft crashed; and cargo liability.
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.
The civil aviation ministry is soon going to move the Union Cabinet on the proposal to allow private domestic carriers, now operating to SAARC countries, to fly to ASEAN nations.
An Air India aircraft with 242 passengers on board heading to London crashed in the Meghaninagar area near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon, the police said.
In 14 days, more than 350 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received hoax bomb threats. Most of the threats were issued through social media.
The phone conversation came amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan over the April 22 terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
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.
With airlines reporting multiple technical malfunction incidents, aviation regulator DGCA on Monday said it conducted spot checks and found that there is an insufficient number of engineering personnel certifying planes of various carriers before their departure. Before each departure, an aircraft is checked and certified by an aircraft maintenance engineer (AME). The DGCA has now issued guidelines for airlines on the deployment of AME personnel and directed them to comply by July 28.
In the previous decade, the government, with Praful Patel as the civil aviation minister, saw the introduction of an irrational 5/20 policy.
The agencies have also found some common lines and words used in these fake threats like "bombs", "blood will spread everywhere", "explosive devices", "this is not a joke" and "you will all die" and "bomb rakhwa dia hai" (Hindi for bomb has been placed) among others.
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.
The Tata-owned airlines said that 169 Indians, 53 British, 1 Canadian and 7 Portuguese were on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
The Industry Ministry is in favour of allowing foreign airlines to invest in domestic carriers, saying it would help the cash-crunch industry to raise equity, an issue that does not find support among many Indian airlines.
The renaming of the trophy is an ode to two living legends England pacer James Anderson and Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar.
The primary drivers: Geopolitical disruptions inflating fuel and operational costs, and a surge in travel demand.
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.
The price of jet fuel (ATF) was sharply increased by 7.5 per cent on Tuesday, while the cost of LPG used in commercial establishments was reduced by Rs 58.50 per cylinder, reflecting shifts in international benchmark rates. After three rounds of price cuts, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was increased by Rs 6,271.5 per kilolitre, or 7.5 per cent, to Rs 89,344.05 per kl in the national capital - home to one of the busiest airports in the country, according to state-owned fuel retailers.
China hopes both sides will remain restrained, move toward each other, and work together to de-escalate the situation.
He added, "You can never trust Pakistan as long as the Pakistani deep state, Pakistani ISI, Pakistani military's objective is to destabilise Bharat."
Tourists hesitant to visit America due to frequent policy changes there.
The pilot fraternity is rallying behind the crew and the captain as they believe that if any action was needed against them, it would have been taken on November 27 or immediately after the incident.
Red Square and VDNKh easily rank among the most striking places I've visited -- both for their historical significance and architectural splendour.
My admiration for Russian culture, vision and ambition grew with every step as I clocked the miles, Nitin Sathe tells us after a visit to Moscow and St Petersburg.
C P Rizwan led the UAE to its first win in a T20 World Cup match, played 42 ODIs and 18 T20Is before he retired this week. 'I end my international career with a heavy heart, but I feel proud of what I have achieved,' Rizwan tells K R Nayar.
The letter was sent as an early warning of what was then widely being perceived as a plunder of national resources.
