Indian Airlines

Govt sets Rs 1 cr fine for airline bomb hoaxes under revised security rules

Hoax bomb threats on airlines now attract fines up to Rs 1 crore under revised Aircraft Security Rules as the Centre aims to curb disruptions, and enhance safety

Akasa Air pilots flag training and safety practices, airline denies charges

The section of Akasa Air pilots wrote to Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu and highlighted alleged unfair practices, harassment and safety concerns.

Pilot aspirants should look at fascinating Indian market: IATA chief

Bullish on the aviation growth prospects in the "fascinating" Indian market, IATA chief Willie Walsh on Tuesday said somebody with an ambition to be a pilot should be looking at India, considering the large number of aircraft orders placed by the domestic airlines. The Director General of the global airlines' grouping, which has been flagging issues about high airport charges in India, also mentioned that Indian regulators seem to be more open to listening to the voices of airlines with respect to airport charges. "(We are seeing) some good economic regulations," Walsh said in response to a query from PTI related to airport charges. India is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets and airlines are expanding their operations, with Air India and IndiGo placing significant orders for aircraft, including wide body A350s. Noting that India is going to see significant growth in the domestic market, Walsh said that aircraft orders have been announced by the local carriers, wit

DGCA to streamline norms for Indian airlines' wet-leased plane operations

Aviation watchdog DGCA will soon come out with streamlined regulations for wet-leasing of planes by Indian airlines that will also entail enhanced oversight of the aircraft, amid airlines looking to operate more planes to meet rising travel demand. With persisting supply chain woes, there is a delay in aircraft deliveries and to meet the near-term needs, carriers are opting for planes on dry and wet leases. A senior official in the know told PTI that the efforts are on to streamline the regulations for wet-leasing of planes to assist in the growth of the aviation. "Realities of the engine problems cannot be wished away suddenly and on the other side, the possible routes are also increasing all the time," the official said. Many planes of IndiGo are on the ground due to Pratt & Whitney engine issues and the number of such aircraft is slowly coming down. Generally, wet-leasing of an aircraft involves the leasing of foreign aircraft, along with crew, maintenance and insurance. The ..

Why Indian airlines can't raise fares despite soaring passenger demand

Despite soaring passenger numbers, Indian airlines can't raise fares due to fierce competition, rising costs, and price sensitivity, leaving them struggling to stay profitable

Aircastle drops insolvency case against SpiceJet after $5.6 mn settlement

Earlier in November, the airline had announced the resolution of a $23.39 million dispute involving Aircastle (Ireland) Designated Activity Company and Wilmington Trust SP Services (Dublin) Ltd

Aviation milestone: Indian airlines carry over 500,000 passengers in a day

Indian skies set a new record with 505,000 domestic flyers in a day, driven by post-Diwali demand, festive travel, and a steady rise in passenger numbers over recent weeks

India's aircraft fleet set to increase by over 5 times in 20 yrs: Report

This growth will boost Indian airlines' share of the Asia-Pacific passenger fleet from the current 8 per cent to 18 per cent by 2043, according to a Cirium report

Indian airlines' shakeup intensifies competition, expands business seats

Vistara operates its final flight on Monday before its planned merger with Air India kicks in the following day

'No choice': Supreme Court orders liquidation of grounded Jet Airways

Says Jalan-Kalrock Consortium, successful bidder for the airline, failed to implement the resolution plan five years since its approval

Bomb threat received on Indian Airlines flight in Kathmandu: Nepal's CAA

According to CAAN officials, a search is underway in the Indian Airlines flight that was scheduled to take off for Delhi from Kathmandu

Air India's Delhi-Indore-Mumbai flight gets hoax bomb threat; FIR lodged

A message claiming a bomb had been placed on Air India's flight from Delhi to Mumbai via Indore was posted on a social media platform which later turned out to be a hoax, police said on Wednesday. The Indore police in Madhya Pradesh have registered a case in this connection against an unidentified person, they said. The "threatening message" that a pipe bomb was placed in Air India's flight AI 636 was posted on an X social media account at 5.08 pm on Tuesday, an Aerodrome police station officer said quoting a complaint by a local official of the airline. The flight, arriving from Delhi, had already left for Mumbai from Indore at 4.38 pm, he said. "The message about a pipe bomb being placed in the Air India flight was proved to be fake in our investigation," Deputy Commissioner of Police Vinod Kumar Meena told PTI. A case was registered against the unidentified person who posted the threatening message on social media under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 351 (4) (criminal intimida

Aircraft grounding crisis has peaked, says IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers

"We've turned the corner," Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday

'Abetting crime': Centre slams X after over 140 flights get bomb threats

Joint Secretary Sanket S Bhondve demanded clarification from X on what measures it is taking to curb the spread of such rumours

Air India, SIA expand codeshare agreement; add 40 int'l, 11 Indian cities

Air India and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have agreed to expand their codeshare agreement, adding 11 Indian cities and another 40 international destinations to their network. This marks the first extensive expansion of codeshare arrangements between the airlines since 2010, offering customers enhanced travel options between Singapore and India, as well as beyond. A codeshare pact allows two airlines to offer their customers services on each other's flights. From October 27 this year, Air India and SIA will codeshare on each other's flights between Singapore and the Indian cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, increasing their total weekly scheduled codeshare services between the countries to 56 from 14. SIA will codeshare on Air India's domestic flights between Delhi and Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Lucknow, and Varanasi, between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Goa, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Thiruvananthapuram, as well as between Kolkata and Guwahati. Air In

US, Europe airlines approach Air India for developing their Gen AI chatbots

Major US and European airlines have approached Air India for developing generative AI chatbots similar to that of the Indian carrier's AI.g, which currently handles around 97 per cent of customer queries it receives without the help of contact centre agents. Besides, the Tata Group-owned Air India has filed for its first patent which is for the upcoming feature 'one click booking' of tickets on its website and mobile app. Air India's Chief Digital & Technology Officer Satya Ramaswamy on Tuesday said a lot of innovations are being done so that AI.g stands apart. "We are sharing the knowledge (about the chatbot) also but nobody has been able to come up with something like this yet," he said. At a select media briefing, Ramaswamy also said some US and European airlines have contacted Air India for help on building generative AI chatbots. "It is about thought leadership... we will help them with development," he said. Without naming the airlines that have approached it, he mentioned

All security protocols followed when flights receive bomb threats: Airlines

Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is continuously in touch with the Ministry of Home Affairs on the situation of bomb threats to flights

Bomb threats hit Indian flights hard: The real cost of these hoax calls

These false bomb threats have caused significant financial losses for airlines, estimated in crores

Vistara's Delhi-London flight diverted to Frankfurt after bomb threat

A London-bound Vistara flight from Delhi was diverted to Frankfurt on Friday following a bomb threat. In a statement early Saturday morning, an airline spokesperson said the flight landed safely at the Frankfurt airport and mandatory checks are being conducted. The flight will continue to its destination once cleared by the security agencies. "Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London on October 18, 2024 received a security threat on social media. In line with the protocol, all relevant authorities were immediately informed and as a precautionary measure, the pilots decided to divert the flight to Frankfurt," the spokesperson said. According to an official in the know, the flight had received a bomb threat. Meanwhile, Akasa Air said its flight QP 1366 scheduled to fly from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Friday received a security alert shortly before departure. "Hence as per safety and security procedures, all passengers had to be deplaned as the local authorities followed necess

Bomb threats: Delhi Police writes to social sites to get offenders' details

Intensifying its probe on the hoax bomb threats received by several domestic and international flights, Delhi Police on Thursday wrote to social media platforms seeking details of the accounts that posted threatening messages. Delhi Police on Wednesday registered an FIR in connection with the bomb threat to Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight carrying 180 people and also launched a probe in seven other similar cases reported at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport this month. A senior police officer said a dedicated team has been formed to probe bomb threat cases. A team of cyber cell of Delhi police, Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO) has also been roped in for the probe. On Wednesday, police approached the social media platforms to suspend the handles that posted threatening messages and remove the posts. "It is suspected that the handler used VPN (Virtual private network) or dark web browser to set up the accounts on X and then posted the messages from more ...