'I was stunned when he started crying and profusely apologising to me, begging me not to lodge a complaint against him because he is a family man and did not want his wife and child to be affected by this incident'
The US has ordered Tata-group owned Air India to pay a whopping $121.5 million as refunds and $1.4 million as penalties for extreme delays in providing refunds to passengers due to the cancellation or change in flights, mostly during the pandemic, officials said. Air India is among the six airlines that have agreed to cough up a total of over $600 million as refunds, the US Department of Transportation said on Monday. Air India's policy of "refund on request" is contrary to the Department of Transportation policy, which mandates air carriers to legally refund tickets in the case of cancellation or change in flight, officials said.
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.
Dense fog enveloped Delhi for a second consecutive morning, leading to disruptions in air and rail traffic. Visibility dropped to zero in several areas, causing delays for 81 trains and diversions for 15 flights. The Met office attributed the fog to calm surface winds, and predicted continued dense to very dense fog throughout the day. Meanwhile, the national capital's air quality remained in the 'very poor' category, with an AQI reading of 380 at 9 am.
India is proposing a new law that would impose a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of Rs 10 lakh on anyone found using a forged passport or visa to enter, stay, or exit the country. The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, also mandates reporting of foreign visitors by hotels, universities, and hospitals to track overstaying individuals. The bill aims to simplify laws, ease business, and strengthen national security while promoting economic growth and tourism.
The company has come up with an innovative, high-density configuration for new sideways seating on airplanes to cut airlines' costs by maximising the number of passengers on board.
A strong dust storm and gusty winds followed by rain hit Delhi-NCR on Friday evening, causing trees to be uprooted in several parts and leading to traffic congestion. Thunderstorms caused power disruptions in several parts of the city, primarily due to trees and branches falling on electricity cables. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert, recommending people stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel.
Besides, airport operators must take help of the local police and security agencies and levy fines on people not wearing face masks, the DGCA said in a circular.
Vistara on Thursday said it is resuming hot vegetarian meals for its domestic economy class passengers replacing the pre-packaged snacks that were being served since May last year due to the COVID-related guidelines. The airline also announced new sets of in-flight meals for all classes - economy, premium economy, and business - on its domestic network. Aviation regulator DGCA had permitted airlines in August last year to serve or sell pre-packed snacks, beverages, and meals on all domestic flights.
Cyclonic storm Fengal has commenced making landfall close to Puducherry and it may approximately take 4 hours for it to cross the coast completely, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said. The process of the cyclone's landfall commenced at about 5.30 pm on November 30. The IMD said the forward sector of spiral bands associated with the cyclone has entered into the land and is likely to move west-southwestwards and cross north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram close to Puducherry as a cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 70-80 kmph gusting to 90 kmph during next 3 to 4 hours.
India has recorded the second-highest increase in domestic airfares in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and West Asian regions, climbing by 43 per cent in the first half of 2024 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, second only to Vietnam (63 per cent). India ranks third in fare increases during the same period in international skies, behind the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia. The airfare study conducted by Airports Council International (ACI), which represents 617 airports in this region, was done in partnership with Flare Aviation Consulting.
Over 240 people on board a Singapore Airlines flight on Monday had a narrow escape as their jet caught fire while making an emergency landing at Changi Airport here after it turned back en route to Milan following an engine oil warning message but they were safely evacuated.
Eyewitnesses of the Nepalese passenger plane crash have said that they had a close shave as the Yeti Airlines plane, with 72 onboard, including five Indians, crashed near their settlement and a bomb-like blast was heard.
Indigo has zero competition on 61.2 per cent of its 838 domestic routes.
We live in hope that India and its airlines might finally grow up, notes Anuli Bhargava.
A Delhi-bound Air India flight had to abort its take-off and was later cancelled after it hit a luggage tractor trolley while taxiing for departure at the Pune airport, airline sources said on Friday.
'Tata Group is excited to work together to make Air India the airline of choice in terms of passenger comfort and service'. This is an audio message from Ratan Tata played onboard some Air India flights. Tata Group completed the takeover of the loss-making Air India on January 27.
The air carriers' liability and insurance draft bill has proposed a five-fold increase in compensation in case of death or injury, the report said.
The pilot of the aircraft informed the ATC about the threat after a 'Bomb in flight' message, written on a tissue paper, was found in the washroom of the plane, they said.
Asian and Middle Eastern airlines -- but no Indian names -- dominated the Top 10 slots at the World Airline Awards.
Out of the 14 flights, 13 were diverted to Jaipur and 1 to Dehradun, the official said and added that the diversions happened between 8.30 am and 3 pm.
If all 102 grounded planes could fly, there will theoretically be 400 more Delhi-Mumbai flights every day.
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.
Around 1,000 passenger complaints have been received against Air India during the last three months related to various issues, including refund of fares, overbooking of flights, and staff behaviour, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said on Monday. The Tata Group on January 27 took control of Air India after winning the bid for the airline on October 8 last year. "Ministry of Civil Aviation has been receiving grievances related to air transport, including Air India, on the various issues such as refund of fares, flight issues, staff behaviour, baggage issues, overbooking of flights, etc," Singh said in his written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.
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.
A doctor at heart, always! Great gesture by my colleague, PM Narendra Modi tweeted.
Amid a massive global outage that hit operations of airlines, banks and businesses across the globe, Microsoft on Friday said that it is aware of the issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform.
Strong passenger growth will help domestic airlines improve their top line and margins.
Though India's airlines are certainly bleeding, they haven't yet faced the ignominy of shutting down.
Vistara will be merged with Air India on Monday night, and from Tuesday onward, the Vistara flight code will change from 'UK' to 'AI2XXX'.
Private carrier Air India on Monday announced placing an order to purchase 100 more Airbus aircraft, comprising 10 wide-body A350 and 90 narrow-body A320 family aircraft including A321neo.
The Pakistan army's Bahawalpur Corps has always had a special significance for India as it keeps an eye on the Jaish e Mohammed, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
From highways connecting once-remote regions to aviation networks carrying millions, India's infrastructure story is one of transformation.
Domestic airlines are preparing to offer lower fares for passengers without check-in bags in a move to improve seat occupancy and market share. IndiGo chief executive officer Ronojoy Dutta indicated the airline's interest to offer zero bag fares in an interaction with Bloomberg. Regulatory caps on fares and capacity related to Covid-19 have prevented IndiGo from taking a decision and the airline is discussing the issue with the government, he said.
On May 1, SpiceJet's Mumbai-Durgapur flight encountered severe turbulence during its descent phase, injuring 14 passengers and three cabin crew members.
A senior police officer said based on the complaint of the victim given to the Air India, a case has been registered under the the Indian Penal Code and the Aircraft Rules.
The number of domestic air travelers in India grew 2.42 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in April, reaching 13.2 million, according to data by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday.
Passengers of a San Francisco-bound Air India flight faced a harrowing time due to an inordinate delay and some of them fainted as the aircraft's air-conditioning system was non-functional.
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.
The octogenarian was asked to wait due to heavy demand for wheelchair.
