Category: Aviation

The Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) has suspended its operations till August 26 owing to heavy rains in the region. All the flights at the airport are being cancelled and has prompted airlines to make special arrangements for the passengers, including alternative flights to nearby airports. Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said that CIAL will not operate till August 26 due to rains and consequently, the Air Navigation Services wing of Airports Authority of India has issued NOTAM (notice to airmen). MoCA and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have also announced measures to address the issues that have ... Read more

Hyderabad-based Turbo Megha Airways Private Limited’s Trujet, said it is planning to double its fleet size and destinations served in India by end of this year. Truejet currently has five ATR-72 carriers in its fleet serving 14 destinations in the South. The airline will be adding six more ATRs into its fleet by this year-end, enabling it to start operations to 10 more destinations which were allotted to the company under the second UDAN bidding. Trujet was allotted five destinations under the first UDAN bidding and was the first carrier to connect all the five destinations allotted to it. These ... Read more

SpiceJet has launched ‘SpicEngage’, a complimentary in-flight entertainment system, in a bid to offer flyers seamless access to a fascinating range of entertainment content at no extra charge. SpiceJet is the first and only Indian low cost airline to launch this free service. “I am excited to announce the launch of our new in-flight entertainment system, SpicEngage, which will vastly improve the onboard experience of our flyers. Passengers can now use their own phones and tablets onboard SpiceJet to watch their favourite shows, play games, read and do much more,” said Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet. “SpicEngage, much ... Read more

Kochi international airport has suspended its operations for four days. It was informed by the airport authorities in a notification issued. The notification states, “Kochi airport operations temporarily suspended till 18th Saturday 2 PM since the inflow of water is still on a raising trend. We are working hard to drain out the storm water. All are requested to co-operate.” All the suspended services of Kochi will be operated from Thiruvananthapuram Airport. An Emergency control room has opened in the airport to assist the passengers. Control room contact numbers are – 0484 3053500, 2610094. Red  alert has been declared in the ... Read more

Kannur Airport Good days are ahead for Kerala aviation sector as the most awaited Kannur Airport will be functional by 1st October 2018. Besides, Calicut airport has got green signal from the DGCA to operate wide body aircrafts. Adding to the joy of the airborne passengers, permission to operate amphibious seaplanes also attained from the Ministry of Aviation. “Kannur airport would be made operational from October 1. This airport will host flights on many UDAN routes. Saudi Arabia Airlines have already promised to start international air operations from here,” said Suresh Prabhu, Union minister for civil aviation. “Indigo Airlines, Air ... Read more

Emirates has launched a new service for customers in Bangladesh, giving them the option of applying for short stay visas to at the airline’s ticket counters. Emirates’ Bangladeshi passengers can now easily submit their visa applications for short stay visas at Emirates’ ticket counter in Dhaka. The new visa application service is valid until August 31st for submission while the travel period is until December 10, 2018. The new visa service is complimented by a special offer for Bangladeshi passengers traveling to Dubai during the same time period. All-inclusive return fares for Economy class tickets start from USD 708 while for ... Read more

IndiGo has announced the launch of 24 new flights on its network. The airline has introduced four new routes and will operate its first flight between Ahmedabad and Bhubaneshwar, Ahmedabad and Varanasi, Hyderabad and Patna and Kolkata and Surat. All 24 new services will commence from September 2018. IndiGo will provide a second flight in Agartala-Guwahati, Hyderabad-Guwahati and Kolkata-Nagpur routes. It is also planning to run a fourth flight between Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar and a fifth flight between Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. IndiGo has also introduced a discount offer for domestic air passengers, with tickets costing as low as `981 between ... Read more

Wide body aircrafts can now operate from Calicut airport. The application from Saudi Airlines has been approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, allowing them to operate wide body aircrafts. 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 fully functional. Revamping works of the runways to facilitate operation of ... Read more

Emirates is planning to introduce two additional flights to its Toronto (YYZ) service, to complement its existing schedule. The additional Toronto flights will be introduced on August 18, 2018 and will operate on a Saturday departing Dubai as EK241 at 0330 hrs and arrive in Toronto at 0930 hrs. The return flight, EK242, leaves Toronto at 1425 hrs and arrives in Dubai at 1140 hrs the next day. On Sundays, EK241 will depart at 03.30 hrs and arrive in Toronto at 09.30 hrs. The return flight, EK242, will leave Toronto at 14:30 and arrives in Dubai at 11:25 the next ... Read more

If you have yet to book your tickets for your summer holidays, here is a chance to save some money. Dubai-based Emirates is offering discounted fares to various Asian cities. The offer is available for those who book the tickets on or before 12th August 2018. The passengers can travel until 31st October 2018 with the discounted prices. Currently Dubai to Mumbai economy ticket is priced AED. 460/- only. Dubai to Delhi is AED 500/-,  to Chennai AED 570/-, to Kochi – AED 500/-, to Thiruvananthapuram – AED 550/-, to Bengaluru – AED 560/- The rate may even be less, ... Read more

There are plans to double the yearly passenger handling capacity of the Navi Mumbai International Airport. It has been decided that the capacity will be enhanced to 20 million and has announced the plans to increase the final capacity by 50 per cent to 90 million. The initial plan was an enhancement of 10 million in the first phase and another 10 million in the second phase. At present, it is expected that the companies managing the airport will be able to complete the phases together. Currently, the annual capacity is pegged at 60 million passengers, however, we are looking ... Read more

Emirates is celebrating 15 years of successful operations to Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. Since its inaugural flight in 2003, Emirates has carried over two million passengers to and from Auckland, connecting New Zealand to the world, with 21 flights a week to Dubai, Bali and beyond. Emirates began its services to Auckland with daily flights via Sydney and Melbourne and, later, Brisbane. In 2009, the award-winning airline introduced its iconic A380 aircraft to the route, providing a revolutionary double-decker aircraft to transport passengers between Auckland, Sydney and Emirates’ cosmopolitan hub, Dubai. The operations were further enhanced few years later ... Read more

Air India said it will now offer boxes with packed items such as cookies or peanuts instead of samosas and sandwiches that were served on flights of less than an hour’s duration. The national carrier is reported to have got multiple complaints of the samosas and sandwiches being spoilt and the new move to offer packed dry fruits will stop such episodes. The official suggested that the boxes will be kept near the entrance of the aircraft and passengers would have to pick their pack as they enter. “They can eat it on the flight or take with them. We ... Read more

The Kannur International Airport in northern Kerala, which is scheduled to be opened in September 2018, is expected to be beneficial for the Karnataka tourism industry. Top tourism destinations of Karnataka, like Mysuru and Kodagu (Coorg) are likely to be benefited by the new airport as they are within easy reach from Kannur. The new airport is just 58 km from Virajpet, about 90 km from Madikeri and 158 km from Mysuru. The airport will serve as a channel for tourism development since Kodagu is closer to Kannur and thus improve connectivity between the two cities. Tour operators of Kodagu ... Read more

Jet Airways clarifies the recent news regarding financial issues in the airline company. As per a tweet in the name of Vinay Dube, CEO of Jet Airways, it denies the statement came in the media that Jet Airways is in a conjecture of a stake sale. The tweet says Jet Airways is well placed to be part of the growth of the Indian Aviation industry. The airline is going to add 225 fuel efficient aircrafts to the fleet over the next decade; 11 being inducted this fiscal year. “In line with the Company’s stated focus of creating a healthier and ... Read more