Flight

Air India Express commences four weekly direct flights on Goa-Dubai route

Air India Express, India's first international budget airline, on Monday said it has commenced operations from Goa International Airport, with four weekly direct flights on the Goa-Dubai route. The first flight IX 840 took off at 1:00 am on Monday with 148 passengers on board from Dabolim Airport. To mark the occasion, Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express and AirAsia India, said: "We are thrilled to start our maiden international services from Goa under the Air India Express banner, which is amongst India's most popular tourist destinations". Singh said that the airline takes pride in being the only airline that offers direct connectivity to Dubai from Goa. AirAsia India, which is set to merge with Air India Express, already operates 13 daily direct flights to/from Goa, connecting five domestic cities. "We hope to be a part of the tourism success story of the state and remain committed to offering the best of services to our customers," he added. Earlier in the evenin

Assam Govt signs MoU with Flybig to start flight in non-Udaan sector

In a bid to promote intra-state air connectivity, Assam government on Saturday signed a MoU with Big Charter Private Limited (Flybig) to facilitate air services in the non-Udaan sector. Flybig will operate flights between Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Guwahati and Guwahati-Silchar-Guwahati routes on a daily basis, an official of the company said. Assam Tourism Development Corporation managing director Kumar Padma Pani Bora and Flybig director Sanjay Natavarlal Mandavia signed the agreement in the presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. According to the terms of the MoU, the flight operations will be started in line with the Centre's Udan scheme with the state government operating the flights under viability gap funding. Speaking at the programme Sarma said the number of daily flight services will be enhanced and will add a new dimension to intra-state air connectivity. The services will give assured connectivity and price as it has been decided to keep a tab on the pricing with the

Domestic passenger traffic estimated to rise by 54% YoY in Feb: ICRA

Daily departures averaged 2,967, up from 2,044 in February 2022 and 2,900 in January 2023, but down from 3,137 in February 2020

Air Asia flight suffers bird-hit, makes emergency landing in Bhubaneswar

Reacting to the incident, Air Asia said that the flight has returned to Bhubaneshwar for detailed inspection after suffering a bird hit

Air India resumes Delhi-Copenhagen non-stop flight after three years

Passengers can now conveniently fly non-stop to Copenhagen, a popular tourism and business centre and an educational hub of Europe

Air India Express Kozhikode flight diverted due to 'suspected' tail strike

A Dammam-bound Air India Express flight from Kozhikode, was on Friday diverted to the international airport here, following a 'suspected' tail strike during take off. The Air India Express flight IX 385, carrying 168 passengers, landed safely at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport at 12.15 PM, following which airport authorities withdrew the full emergency which was declared earlier. Air India said the flight on Kozhikode-Dammam route was diverted to Thiruvananthapuram due to suspected tail strike while taking off from Calicut airport. The airlines made arrangements to send the passengers to Dammam by an alternate flight which is scheduled to take off from Thiruvananthapuram this evening itself. "The airline staff are attending to all the requirements of the passengers at Thiruvananthapuram," Air India said in a release. Meanwhile, Aviation regulator DGCA said it will probe the incident. The Adani Group, which manages the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, said they h

Saudi Arabia-bound Air India Express flight makes emergency landing at TVM

After it developed a snag in its hydraulic systems, the flight en route to Dammam, was given permission to land at the international airport here around 12.15 pm

AI to operate ferry flight to bring back passengers stranded in Stockholm

Air India on Thursday said it will operate a ferry flight to Stockholm to bring back passengers who were stranded after their flight from Newark was diverted to Sweden's capital on Wednesday. The Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft from Newark to Delhi was diverted to Stockholm on Wednesday morning due to an oil leak in one of the engines. An Air India spokesperson said the ferry flight will be operated with Boeing 777 plane that will fly out from Mumbai at around 2 pm and is expected to reach Stockholm at 11 pm (IST). The ferry flight will take off from Stockholm at around 1 am (IST) on Friday morning and reach Delhi at about 8 am (IST), the spokesperson said. The Newark-Delhi flight had 292 passengers, including 8 infants, 15 cabin crew members and 4 pilots. It had made an emergency landing at the Arlanda airport in Stockholm. The flight had landed safely. In a late evening statement on Wednesday, an Air India spokesperson said the airline was in discussion with the Swedish authorities t

Pawan Khera detained at airport after being deplaned, says Congress

Congress leader Pawan Khera was detained by police on Thursday after being deplaned from a flight to Raipur in connection with his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party said. Khera, against whom a case has been registered in Assam, was asked by the Delhi Police to deplane. Congress leaders sat on dharna at the tarmac in protest and did not allow him to be taken away without an arrest warrant. Senior Delhi Police officials later handed over a document from Assam Police seeking their help in the detention of Khera. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala accompanied Khera to a police station at the airport where there was a huge deployment of CISF. A case has been registered at Haflong police station in Assam against Khera under various sections of the IPC for his alleged remarks against the prime minister. Earlier several party leaders got off the plane after Khera was deboarded and staged a dharna on the tarmac. Khera was on his way to Raipur for the Congress .

Congress claims Khera deplaned from Raipur flight, stages dharna on tarmac

The Congress on Thursday claimed its leader Pawan Khera was deplaned from a flight to Raipur, where he was going to attend the party's plenary session. Several party leaders got off the plane after Khera was deboarded and staged a dharna on the tarmac. As drama escalated at terminal one of the domestic airport here, flight staff told Congress leaders there was confusion with Khera's bags. They said police was on its way and would explain the reason to him. Several Congress leaders raised slogans against the government while on the tarmac. "We are all on the @IndiGo6E flight 6E 204 to Raipur and all of a sudden my colleague @Pawankhera has been asked to deplane," Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, who was also on the flight, said on Twitter. "What sort of high handedness is this? Is there any rule of law? On what grounds is this being done and under whose order?" she said. The flight was delayed.

DGCA proposes steps for mental health of crew, air traffic controllers

To ensure mental wellbeing of flight crew and air traffic controllers, civil aviation watchdog DGCA has proposed various measures, including mental health assessment during the medical assessments and peer support programme. A circular will be issued to airlines and Airports Authority of India (AAI) to put in place the necessary provisions to implement the recommendations, a senior DGCA official said on Wednesday. Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) come under AAI. Amid concerns about the mental health of flight crew and ATCOs, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had set up an expert panel. The panel identified three major domains where measures can be taken. They are "mental health assessment during the medical assessments, Peer Support Programme (PSP), and pre-employment psychological assessment," the DGCA said in a release. The expert panel comprised experienced DGCA officers, air safety, clinical aerospace medicine and mental health experts (psychologists). The aim w

AI Express Mumbai-Dubai flight gets delayed by 13 hrs due to technical snag

As many as 170 passengers of an Air India Express flight to Dubai had a tough time at the airport here as the flight was delayed by 13 hours due to a technical snag. The flight, which was scheduled to take off for Dubai at 3 pm on Thursday, finally left at 4 am on Friday. In a statement, Tata Group-owned Air India Express said it provided assistance to some 50 passengers, who had special requirements, including the lounge facility. However, the remaining 120 passengers were kept at the airport terminal building, an airline source said. A total of 170 passengers were booked for the flight. Significantly, Tata Group operates at least four luxury hotels in the city with one in the domestic airport terminal premises itself. "Air India Express flight IX 247 on Mumbai-Dubai route on February 9, 2023 had a progressive delay due to a technical snag, which was beyond the control of the airline," the airline said. "We made all possible efforts to minimise the difficulties of our guests, di

Air India: Accused spreading falsities with intent of further harassment

The Complainant through her Lawyer Ankur Mehindro stated that it has been brought to our knowledge that certain scurrilous and defamatory allegations have been made on behalf of the accused

Nothing suspicious found on Moscow-Goa flight: Jamnagar Airport director

According to the airport director, the flight will depart from Jamnagar to Goa between 10.30 am and 11 am

Unruly Air India passenger handed over to London police in Sep: Reports

The drunk passenger allegedly attempted to touch an eight-year-old girl inappropriately, according to a complaint by the girl's mother and 20-year-old brother travelling with her on the flight

Man urinates on woman passenger onboard Air India flight, DGCA seeks report

Air India has lodged a police complaint regarding the incident that took place on November 26 when the flight was on its way from John F Kennedy international airport in New York to Delhi

Phuket-bound IndiGo flight returns to Delhi due to technical glitch

All passengers were deboarded and shifted to the terminal building, while an alternate aircraft was arranged for the next operation

Akasa Air launches Agartala-Bengaluru flight via Guwahati on Oct 21

Akasa Air, India's newest airline, on Friday launched its daily flight services in the Agartala-Bengaluru route, via Guwahati

Air India aims 30% international mkt share in 5 years: CEO Campbell Wilson

Air India chief Campbell Wilson on Tuesday said the airline aims to have 30 per cent share in both domestic and international markets in the next five years. Currently, the loss-making carrier, which was taken over by Tata group in January, has put in place the revival plan 'Vihaan.AI'. Air India aims to have 30 per cent share in domestic and international markets in the next five years, Wilson, who is the MD and CEO, told reporters here. Currently, the airline has a domestic market share of 10 per cent and an international market share of 12 per cent. Vihaan.AI' is a comprehensive transformation plan with a detailed road map for the next five years. The airline will be inducting 5 wide-body Boeing and 25 Airbus narrow-body planes over the next 15 months. The aircraft being leased are 21 Airbus A320 neos, 4 Airbus A321 neos and 5 Boeing B777-200LRs. Air India's narrow-body fleet stands at 70 aircraft. Out of them, 54 are in service and the remaining 16 aircraft will progressively

Bangalore-bound Akasa Air flight returns to Mumbai after bird strike

A Bangalore-bound Akasa Air flight from here returned to the city airport due to a burning smell in the cabin, which later turned out to be due to a bird strike, a DGCA official said on Saturday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is looking into the incident, the official said. The number of passengers on board the flight could not be immediately known. "The aircraft VT-YAE, operating Akasa Air flight AKJ1103 from Mumbai for Bangalore was involved in air turnback due to the burning smell felt in the cabin. The smell increased as the thrust was increased, said the official. The airline's response to the incident was awaited. The DGCA official said, however, no other abnormality including in engine parameters was observed. "After landing during the inspection, bird remains were found on engine number 1 of the aircraft," he said and added that, "the burning smell was due to bird strike," he stated. Akasa Air started its operations on August 7 this year.