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.
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.
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.
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.
The guidelines come in the wake of back-to-back two urination incidents on Air India flights last year.
Some of the proposed policies have been welcomed by pilots and cabin crew, while others have sparked criticism.
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.
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.
'We have not even used 0.1% of the available resources.'
'Airlines are aware that during peak times like Diwali, demand will be high, so prices remain steep even for tickets purchased 90 days ahead.'
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.
Fuelled by rising passenger traffic and reviving local economies, the global airline industry is projected to record a net profit of $9.8 billion this year, IATA Director General Willie Walsh said on Monday and also made a strong pitch for having global standards for a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) book and claim system to help reduce carbon emissions. While addressing the Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) here, Walsh also flagged concerns about supply chain issues that are raising costs as well as limiting the ability of airlines to deploy aircraft. He also pointed out that decarbonising aviation is a serious issue and governments must not be allowed to use it to shore up exchequer finances.
Irfan Pathan, who was travelling to Dubai from Mumbai with his family, was clearly upset with the staff at the Vistara check-in counter at the Mumbai airport.
The country's largest airline IndiGo and Air India have asked passengers to reach Delhi airport at least 3.5 hours prior to domestic departures.
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.
If all 102 grounded planes could fly, there will theoretically be 400 more Delhi-Mumbai flights every day.
'If the airlines are not given a clear deadline to change the altimeters by the DGCA, why should they do it voluntarily?' 'It means that the aircraft will be grounded for a while and lose money.'
A passenger on a New York-New Delhi American Airlines flight allegedly urinated on a fellow male passenger in a drunken state, sources said on Sunday.
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.
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.
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 Yeti Airlines aircraft took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10.33 am on Sunday and crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport in Pokhara, minutes before landing, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
A police officer said the email was sent by two siblings enrolled in the school because they wanted the exams to be postponed.
'You don't need massive industry or huge energy resources.' 'You could start with just 3 or 4 people in a coffee shop and invent the world.'
All You Want To Know About The 1999 Hijack.
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 an advisory, DGCA said there are provisions under the civil aviation requirement for action to be taken by the airline to deal with unruly passengers.
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.
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.
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.
From CEOs to RBI governors, cricket's rich imagery and strategy resonate deeply with leadership, uncertainty, and decision-making across industries and global diplomacy, points out Suveen Sinha.
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.
The attack aimed to overthrow the democratically elected American government in order to replace it with a dictatorship fuelled by Nazi ideology, the Department of Justice said.
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.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has suspended two employees of the air traffic controller department for "carelessness", according to CAAN spokesperson Jagannath Niroula.
Indian Hotels reported strong consolidated revenue growth of 29 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in the third quarter of the current financial year (Q3FY25), led by revenue per available room, or RevPAR, growth of 15 per cent. The average room rate, or ARR, was up 13 per cent and occupancy improved 120 basis points (bps) Y-o-Y on a standalone business. Like-for-like revenue growth was 15 per cent Y-o-Y, while TajSats (airline catering) grew by 18 per cent Y-o-Y.
A Russian tennis player was refused boarding by a Polish airlines and then denied a ticket by German airlines Lufthansa.
US skating mourns athletes lost in plane crash
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.
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.
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