The US Department of State highlighted a mission-defining challenge during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit in November amid the US government shutdown, detailing the security measures taken to ensure his protection.
The country's largest airline IndiGo, which faced massive operational disruptions earlier this month, saw its domestic market share slide to 63.6 per cent in November, according to official data. Air India Group, comprising Air India and Air India Express, and SpiceJet had their respective market shares in November rise to 26.7 per cent and 3.7 per cent, respectively.
'They collected our passports and boarding passes. The chaos continued. There was no coordination amongst the IndiGo staff and airport staff.'
IndiGo on Monday said it will refund all customer credit shells, which were created when flights were cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown earlier this year, by January 31, 2021. The airline in a statement said it has already processed close to Rs 1,000 crore of refunds, which is approximately 90 per cent of the total amount it owed to its customers.
India's archers endured a night of chaos when their return to the country from Dhaka after the Asian Championships was delayed by a day due to a cancelled flight.
Thousands of tourists have begun leaving Kashmir after a terror attack in Pahalgam killed 26 people, prompting authorities to arrange for their safe return. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed concern over the exodus, while the Civil Aviation Ministry has ordered airlines to ensure there are no fare hikes and to offer extra flights from Srinagar. While many tourists are leaving, some are choosing to stay, citing the presence of security forces and their feeling of safety.
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.
Against the backdrop of a significant number of flights getting delayed and cancelled and passengers facing tough times, the regulator has come out with a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Following a significant power outage, operations at the London Heathrow (LHR) have been suspended till 2359 hours (local time) on March 21 (05.30 am March 22, IST).
The flight was delayed post midnight because of a "technical glitch" and passengers remained seated inside all the while, an aggrieved traveller said in a video that has gone viral on social media.
The carrier had to cancel as many as 20 international flights on Sunday.
Indian airlines are resuming normal services to Kathmandu after the airport reopened following unrest in Nepal. Air India and IndiGo will operate additional flights to bring back stranded passengers.
'...rectification has to happen then and there, and that takes additional time.'
Videos circulating online showed Gaurav, 44, and Saurav, 40, being escorted by Thai police at Bangkok airport ahead of their departure for India.
'IndiGo will receive a sharp rap on the knuckles -- a punishment, a huge penalty. 'I look towards them creating a compensation fund.' 'I would like to think they would do that for all the passengers who are affected on every single day since cancellations began.'
India's duopoly in the domestic skies -- where IndiGo and Air India collectively control over 90 per cent of the market -- is highly skewed, leaving very little room for new players
Passengers may think they are just booking a ticket, but airlines' clever design tricks are quietly picking their pockets.
Earlier in the day, the ministry of external affairs "strongly advised" Indians to avoid travel to Iran until further notice, amid rising tensions and protests in the Islamic Republic.
High pilot utilisation, combined with a portion of pilots taking sick leave at the end of March has resulted in the cancellations during the last couple of days, chief executive officer (CEO) of Vistara, Vinod Kannan, said during a meeting with the pilots on Wednesday.
Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday said surveillance conducted at major airports revealed several defects in the aviation ecosystem, including multiple cases wherein the defects reappeared on aircraft and centre line marking faded on runway.
The ministry also said it remains committed to full transparency relating to the ongoing investigation and will follow all mandated protocols and norms in the larger interest of the highest standards of passenger Safety and convenience.
The Tata Group-owned airline, grappling with disruptions following the fatal plane crash on June 12 in Ahmedabad, said the objective of reducing flights on 18 international routes is to restore schedule stability and minimise last-minute inconvenience to passengers.
Thousands of Indian H-1B workers are stranded in India after sudden visa appointment cancellations at US consulates.
'This kind of a last minute order creates immense problems for airlines.'
The cost of any flight from Delhi and Mumbai could rise by up to Rs 3,000 soon unless the airport regulator is able to reverse a court order.
With the agitation by Air India pilots entering the fifth day on Saturday, the national carrier cancelled 16 flights from here and Mumbai even as senior pilots sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention to end the impasse.
Arsenal took a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League after a scoreless draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Air India's operations were severely affected on Tuesday with at least 16 flights, including five international services, being cancelled as over 16,000 staffers went on a flash strike across the country to protest delay in payment of salaries.
A thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rain battered Delhi overnight, disrupting flight operations, uprooting trees and electricity poles, and causing waterlogging in several areas while bringing relief from stifling heat. The sudden change in weather led to a sharp drop in mercury with the city recording a minimum temperature of 19.8 degrees Celsius, 6.9 notches below the normal. The India Meteorological Department said the city's primary weather station at Safdarjung recorded winds gusting up to 82 kmph and 81.2 mm of rain in six hours -- between 11.30 pm and 5.30 am.
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
The flight cancellations and delays of Vistara in the last few days were due to unfavourable weather, air traffic congestion and unforeseen aircraft maintenance, and cannot be solely attributed to pilot absenteeism, the airline said on Thursday. The airline's response comes after reports stated that some pilots had gone on sick leave to protest the new salary structure offered to them as part of Vistara's merger with Air India. "We confirm that we have had a few flight cancellations and unavoidable delays in the last few days.
Air India on Friday announced that several of its international flights were either diverted or sent back to their origin due to the emerging situation in Iran and the closure of its airspace.
A Delhi court on Wednesday refused to give any interim protection from arrest to Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the ill-fated Goa nightclub who fled to Thailand, as their partner was held in connection with the fire incident that killed 25 people last weekend.
The aircraft was taken to a separate bay (Bay No 95) for parking and passengers later safely disembarked. Currently, arrangements are being made to replace the windshield, they said.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) intensified its campaign in Lebanon with targeted airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut, hitting key weapons depots and terror infrastructure overnight, according to a report by Times of Israel.
The spot airfares on major routes, where Vistara cancelled flights on Tuesday, have surged by up to 38 per cent, according to data provided by Cleartrip. The spot airfares for Tuesday were compared with March 5. Vistara has cancelled 52 flights on routes such as Delhi-Indore, Delhi-Srinagar, Mumbai-Kochi, and Bengaluru-Udaipur as a certain section of pilots went on sick leave, reportedly protesting against the new salary structure that was introduced as part of the airline's merger with Air India.
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sought a report from Air India on reports that an aircraft that was to operate a scheduled flight has been deployed for flying out the Indian cricket team from Barbados, according to officials.
Several Indian states bordering Pakistan have implemented stringent security measures, including school closures, blackouts, and cancellation of leave for police and administrative personnel, in response to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. These measures were taken after India conducted airstrikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam massacre. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and West Bengal have all implemented these precautionary measures.
Currently, airlines are required to pay compensation of Rs 5,000-10,000 to a passenger, in addition to a ticket refund in case of flight cancellation. Soon, all that may change. However, compensation is payable if the airline does not give advance intimation to a passenger, which is at least 24 hours before departure.
The cancelled flights account for almost 10 per cent of the airline's operations
