The passengers alleged biasness against those holding Indian, Pakistani and other Southeast Asian nation passports.
Taking hoax bomb-threat messages and calls seriously, the government has started identifying those behind the menace and asked social media platforms like Meta and X to share data on such messages, sources said.
Singapore Airlines' deal with Tata Sons (Tata) will inject a further SGD 360 million ($267 million) into Air India. It will give SIA a 25.1 per cent stake in the enlarged Air India group following its takeover by Tata and merger with Vistara Airlines. The November 2022 deal between Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons to further inject $267 million into Air India is one of the key strategic initiatives for future growth mentioned in the quarterly financial report. This agreement is still subject to regulatory approval. SIA in the statement said, "The merged entity will be four to five times larger in scale compared to Vistara, with a strong presence in all key airline segments in India.
A Canadian court has sentenced a 24-year-old man to life after he pleaded guilty to the killing of a Sikh businessman, a suspect in the 1985 Air India bombing who was later acquitted, according to local media reports.
Though India's airlines are certainly bleeding, they haven't yet faced the ignominy of shutting down.
'Airlines are aware that during peak times like Diwali, demand will be high, so prices remain steep even for tickets purchased 90 days ahead.'
SpiceJet promoter and chairman Ajay Singh may offload more than 10 per cent stake in the struggling carrier as part of the latest funding round that is expected to close by the end of September, according to sources. The budget carrier -- which is grappling with multiple woes, including financial challenges, legal battles and grounding of aircraft -- is looking to raise money that will help it meet various obligations.
Some of the proposed policies have been welcomed by pilots and cabin crew, while others have sparked criticism.
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.
We live in hope that India and its airlines might finally grow up, notes Anuli Bhargava.
New airline Akasa Air on Thursday took delivery of the first 737 Max aircraft from Boeing in Seattle, USA, a statement said.
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.
Mahindra & Mahindra on Saturday said it has decided to rename its new electric vehicle brand as 'BE 6' but noted that it will continue to contest strongly in court with InterGlobe Aviation for the trademark 'BE 6e'. InterGlobe Aviation, which owns IndiGo airlines, has taken the automaker to court over the usage of 6E in its new EV brand.
The incident was reported on January 30, and it came to light after the United States-based traveller, identified as Meenakshi Sengupta, lodged a complaint against the flight attendant.
The sources in the know said around 7 flights each of IndiGo, Vistara and SpiceJet got the threats while 6 flights of Air India received the threats.
Flights from Delhi or Bengaluru, while they may still fly over Iran, depending on the route, have alternative paths that may take them through Central Asia or northern routes.
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.
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.
An Air India passenger has complained of finding a cockroach in an omelette served onboard the flight from the national capital to New York, with the airline saying the matter has been taken up with the catering service provider for further investigation.
Sources in the know said a homeless man barged into the room at the hotel where the female cabin crew was staying and assaulted her.
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.
All You Want To Know About The 1999 Hijack.
'The retail business was somewhat slow initially, but it has picked up over the past seven to eight days. Following Makar Sankranti, there is a renewed sense of positivity.'
Aviation watchdog DGCA on Thursday decided to place crisis-hit SpiceJet under enhanced surveillance that will entail increased spot checks and night surveillance to ensure safety of the airline's operations. Based on reports of cancellation of flights and financial stress being experienced by SpiceJet, DGCA said it conducted a special audit of the airline's engineering facilities on August 7 and 8 and certain deficiencies were found during the audit.
Markets regulator Sebi has kept in abeyance the processing of Go Airlines' draft papers for an initial public offer worth Rs 3,600 crore. Go Airlines (India) Ltd, which has announced rebranding itself as 'Go First', filed preliminary papers for an initial share sale worth Rs 3,600 crore in May. The proceeds will be mainly used to repay dues. The "issuance of observations (has been) kept in abeyance", according to Sebi's latest update on processing status of Go Airlines' draft offer documents. The information was updated on June 25. In Sebi parlance, issuance of observations implies its go-ahead for the IPO.
Asra Hussain Raza, a 26-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants, was among the 67 people killed in a tragic midair collision between an Army helicopter and a jetliner at Ronald Reagan National Airport in the US. The collision, the deadliest aviation disaster in the US since 2001, happened when American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with the Army helicopter as it approached the airport on Wednesday night. Raza, a consultant, graduated with honors from Indiana University and married her college sweetheart in August 2023.
Cash-strapped domestic carrier Spicejet plans to raise Rs 3,200 crore through QIP, warrants and capital infusion by the promoter, the airline said in a presentation on Friday. The funds will be utilised in taking back the grounded fleet in operations, liability settlement, new fleet induction and other general purposes, Spicejet in the presentations. "Spicejet plan to raise Rs 2,500 crore through QIP and Rs 736 crore through Previous Warrants and promoter infusion, the airline said in an investor presentation," it said in a corporate presentation to investors ahead of its proposed capital infusion.
A day after high drama over the 'kidnapping' of ex-Maharashtra minister Tanaji Sawant's son, traced on a Bangkok-bound chartered flight which was diverted to Pune, the Sawant junior claimed he kept his 'business trip' secret to avoid his family's wrath.
The proposal to issue new rules has come just six days after the DGCA said it has imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on IndiGo airline for denying boarding to a specially abled child at Ranchi airport on May 7.
NSG 'Sky Marshals' travel alone or in pairs on-board Indian airlines aircraft like normal passengers but they have a concealed weapon and some specialised gadgets to combat hijackers and rescue passengers in case such an incident takes place.
Airline flight attendants reveal the craziest requests they have received from passengers!
Aviation regulator DGCA on Monday directed crisis-hit Go First to immediately stop bookings and sale of tickets directly or indirectly till further orders, according to a source. Besides, the watchdog has issued a show cause notice to the budget carrier under the relevant provisions of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, for its failure to continue the operation of the service in a safe, efficient and reliable manner, the source said. Earlier, the airline had suspended the sale of tickets till May 15 and has cancelled flights till May 12.
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.
Security agencies went into a tizzy after three international flights originating from Mumbai received bomb threats on Monday with one of them, a New York-bound Air India aircraft, getting diverted to New Delhi as travel plans of some 500 passengers went for a toss.
Ten years after Kingfisher Airlines was grounded, its former employees continue to wait for their dues. On Monday, the Supreme Court awarded a four-month sentence to the grounded airline's flamboyant owner Vijay Mallya in a contempt case. The apex court also ordered him to deposit $40 million plus interest in four weeks to avoid attachment of his properties.
On Thursday, Virgin Atlantic, for instance, cancelled its morning flight between London and Delhi. And Air India rescheduled its London-Ahmedabad flight by several hours. With the Heathrow restrictions to remain in place till September 11, air traffic between India and London is likely to see slower growth over the next two months.
Earlier in the day, an IndiGo A320 passenger aircraft landed successfully at 1.32 pm at runway 08/26 of the under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport, paving the way for the Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL) to seek an aerodrome licence from the aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to start commercial flight services.
A police officer said the email was sent by two siblings enrolled in the school because they wanted the exams to be postponed.
The civil aviation ministry has mandated airlines and ground-handling companies to phase out airport equipment older than 12 years and switch to electric or fuel-efficient variants by May 2022. While companies have welcomed the ministry's green initiative, they said that the deadline for implementation is tight. This is especially in the wake of financial challenges faced by the aviation sector during the pandemic.
The threats via microblogging platform X came a day after three international flights originating from Mumbai received bomb threats, causing trouble to hundreds of passengers and airline crew.
