Category: Aviation

Travel is expected to peak this weekend for Emirates, as the airline expects yet another busy period with over 100,000 passengers passing through Terminal 3 this upcoming weekend ahead of the winter holiday break. The busiest time for departures will be on Friday 14th December with more than 30,000 passengers scheduled to travel. Peak travel will continue throughout the month with high passenger traffic peaking again on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd of December. With road works and infrastructure enhancements happening around the main airport highways and roads during this time, Emirates urges customers to build in extra time to ... Read more

After Japan, India has started granting visa on arrival to South Korean nationals. The move is expected to boost tourist arrivals and business visitors to India. The facility to South Korean citizens include double entry visit for a period not exceeding 60 days for business, tourism, conference and medical purposes for entry through six designated international airports – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Around 2 lakh Indian visas are issued to South Korean nationals every year, of which 80 per cent are tourists. On an average, 600 South Korean nationals arrive in Delhi daily. Visa-on-arrival facility was earlier ... Read more

Here’s some good news for Indian travellers to Myanmar as the country has decided to provide visa on arrival for Indian tourists. The information was announced by President Ram Nath Kovind as he began his five-day visit to the country. Myanmar has announced that the visa-on-arrival facility will be provided to those Indian tourists who are entering the country through their international airports, Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, and Mandalay. The President said that residents of India’s Northeast region have particularly welcomed and are beginning to reap the benefits of the Land-border Crossing Agreement signed on May 11, 2018. The landmark Land ... Read more

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline & Group today unveiled a specially commissioned art piece named ‘From the Heart of Zayed’. The art piece, designed and created by Elygraf, a Filipino artist based in Dubai, was commissioned by Emirates Group to pay homage and celebrate the legacy of the late HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the United Arab Emirates who continues to inspire present and future generations. The artwork will be on permanent display in the atrium at Emirates Group Headquarters and is part of ... Read more

Azul, the largest airline in Brazil by number of cities served offering 766 daily flights to 110 destinations, will launch a new non-stop service to Porto, Portugal starting June 3, 2019. The city will receive three weekly flights from Campinas, Azul’s main hub, which will have a total of 17 weekly frequencies to Portugal. Sale of tickets to Porto has already started and is available on all Azul distribution channels. The Portuguese city is the second destination in Europe to receive flights from Azul after Lisbon. The non-stop flight will be operated on an Airbus A330, with 272 seats. With the ... Read more

Qatar Airways has launched direct flights to Mombasa city. The flights will be operated with an Airbus A320, with 12 business class and 120 economy class seats, with a flight time of just over six hours. The inaugural flight, which features 12 Business Class seats and 120 seats in Economy Class and 150 visitors on board, touched Mombasa at 8:40 am. “The direct flight is not only an endorsement of the destination, but a vote of confidence on the Kenyan coast that has suffered in number of international arrivals. This is good news for the sector and together with the private sector, ... Read more

Kannur, widely referred as the cradle of Theyyam, magnificent ritual form of worship in North Kerala, is blessed with its new international airport. Union Minister Suresh Prabhu and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the Kannur international airport today making Kerala the only state in India to have four international airports. The new airport in Kannur is expected to give a fillip to the tourism sector in the region too. “This airport is in a way is a gateway to the future progress of Kerala. I congratulate Kerala Government and people of Kerala for making their dream to come to reality ... Read more

China Southern Airlines will commence new non-stop service from Los Angeles to Shenyang, China from December 18th, 2018. Shenyang is located in the northeast corner of China and is the fourth largest city in the country. China Southern Airlines customers will now have new options to explore Asia with a new service between Los Angeles and Shenyang, China. The new flight will run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The flight will depart from Los Angeles at 12.40 am and arrive at Shenyang at 5.10 am and will return from Shenyang at 1.20 am and arrive at Los Angeles at 9 pm. The ... Read more

Wide-body flight operations resumed at the Calicut International Airport in Kerala after a gap of three years, with Saudia Airlines from Jeddah landing at the airport. Airbus 330-300 of the Saudia Airlines landed in Karipur 11.10 am on Wednesday, 5th December 2018. The airport was partially closed on May 1, 2015, after the Airport Authority of India (AAI) banned operation of wide-bodied aircrafts including Boeing 777 and B747-400 and Airbus 330 for the runway re-carpeting, to ensure safety of passengers. A convoy of Kerala MPs have visited the Union Aviation Minister several times to seek permission for making the airport ... Read more

The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu has said that India has the potential to become global aviation hub for MRO (Maintenance Repair and Overhaul) in view of the growing aviation business, huge pool of engineering talent and low labour costs. He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating the first international flight from Vijayawada to Singapore and laying foundation stone for the Integrated Passenger Terminal Building at Vijayawada Airport, in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. The Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha, the Minister for Finance, Andhra Pradesh, Y Ramakrishnudu, the ... Read more

Emirates, Etihad, flydubai, Air Arabia and Al Fursan took to the skies in unison on December 2, 2018 to celebrate the UAE’s 47th National Day, as well as commemorate the legacy and values of HH Sheikh Zayed. The late founding father of the UAE dedicated his life and leadership to unify and shape a better collective future for the nation, and today’s formation flight is a soaring display of unity as all four carriers showcase the UAE’s aviation success story to the nation and world. The spectacular flypast – a world-first and a UAE civil aviation milestone – involved over ... Read more

Jayant Sinha, Union Minister for State for Aviation said that his ministry was considering introducing 15 helipads at 15 places in the country to promote heli-tourism in the country. The helipads are proposed in hilly areas to exploit the potential tourist destinations in the northern and north-eastern parts of the country where air traffic is not possible by flights. Sinha was speaking at an interaction at a national conclave in Belagavi in Karnataka recently. The minister credited the government for its move to enable inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the aviation sector with a cap of 49 per ... Read more

Cambodia and Nepal signed their first air service agreement (ASA), which allows 14 weekly flights between both countries, according to Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA). The agreement was made during Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s official three-day visit to Kathmandu, Nepal last week, during which he also attended the Asia-Pacific Summit. “Nepal has become the 45th country to have an ASA with Cambodia. Passengers travel to Nepal currently needs to make a connecting flight to Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore” said  Sinn Chanserey Vutha, SSCA spokesman. Vutha said the deal is an opening air service for airlines from both ... Read more

Government of Tanzania is planning to launch direct flight service thrice a week connecting India and Tanzania starting December 2018. “This will improve tourism, people-to-people connectivity and bilateral trade. I am here to strengthen the centuries old historical, cultural and linguistic relations between India and Tanzania,” said Mahmoud Kombo, Minister for Information, Culture & Tourism, Government of Zanzibar, Tanzania. “Gujaratis and Goans are the first settlers in the history of eastern Africa 1,000 years ago. The present day Indian community in Tanzania represents the 17th generation. The first newspaper in Zanzibar island of Tanzania was in Gujarati language. Today, 4,000 ... Read more

Etihad Airways has launched its first ever scheduled flights linking Abu Dhabi and Barcelona. The inaugural flight, EY49, departed Abu Dhabi this morning carrying a special delegation including dignitaries, media representatives, influencers and senior members of Etihad Airways’ management team. The UAE national airline is celebrating the occasion in style by hosting a special event held at the historic Capella dels Angels, a sixteenth-century Gothic building which is now part of the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), attended by leading figures from the local government, diplomats, media, corporate partners and travel trade. “We have been tremendously excited about the ... Read more