Category: Aviation

Indian missions in the UAE have announced a total ban on satellite phones while travelling to India. The Indian diplomatic missions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai issued an advisory to foreigners traveling to India, informing them about a ban on satellite phones to the country. The statement, published on all social media channels of the missions, said, “All foreigners who intend to go to India are therefore advised not to carry satellite phones to India.” Violators will face legal consequences. Providers of satellite phone services in the UAE have been advised to inform subscribers about the legal ban, reported Khaleej Times.

The domestic air traffic grew at a robust rate of 26 per cent in April with various airlines together carrying 11.5 million passengers, up from 9.1 million in the same month last year, as per government data. SpiceJet holds the top position once again in terms of seat utilisation per aircraft with 95.5 per cent seats being booked. It was followed by IndiGo (91.9 per cent), GoAir (89.5 per cent), Vistara (88.8 per cent), AirAsia (87.5 per cent), Jet Airways (85.6 per cent) and Air India (84 per cent). As far as punctuality was concerned, IndiGo holds the crown with ... Read more

Jet Airways has launched its first non-stop service between Mumbai and Manchester, which will operate for four days a week including Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Jet Airways’ flight 9W 130 will depart from Mumbai at 02.30 am (local time) and will arrive in Manchester’s Terminal 2 at 07.55 am (local time). The return flight, 9W 129 will depart from Manchester at 09.35 am (local time) and arrive in Mumbai’s Terminal 2 at 00.40 pm (local time). “We are extremely pleased to begin a new chapter in our decade-long relationship with the United Kingdom. The new service will bring Manchester into our ... Read more

Cox & Kings Global Services (CKGS), has opened a new Thai Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Chennai. The office at Wellington Estate Building, Portion 1A, 3rd Floor, No.53, Ethiraj Salai, Chennai will serve as the Hub VAC for CKGS’s South India Operations. The Centre will cater to all categories of visas such as tourist, transit, non-immigrant, business, work, crew and medical visa. The new centre in Chennai was inaugurated by Krongkanit Rakcharoen, the Consul-General, Royal Thai Consulate-General, Chennai in presence of the senior CKGS officials. “Thailand has emerged as one of the most favourite destinations for Indians with the number ... Read more

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has unveiled its “Giant Suitcase” initiative for the Holy Month of Ramadan. With more than 75 per cent of travellers admitting to over-packing clothes for their holidays, this programme will provide them with the opportunity to do-good through a simple donation programme. Etihad has placed a Giant Suitcase in their terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport, encouraging travellers to donate just one item they know they can do without to those less fortunate. Research shows the vast majority of leisure travellers over-pack for their holiday. Etihad staff will also contribute during giant ... Read more

Emirates has commenced its signature Ramadan service for customers during the holy month. Emirates’ Ramadan service consists of specially crafted iftar meals on board, relevant programming on its ice inflight entertainment system, and the distribution of dates and water on the ground for those breaking their fast. Emirates provides iftar boxes with a nutritional meal for customers breaking their fast on board. The boxes have been redesigned this year by local homeware specialists Silsal Design House. The designs are inspired by the Middle East, its people, places and culture. Silsal has also created bespoke Emirates Arabic Coffee Cups available at ... Read more

India’s booming tourism industry is aided by the transportation services in a great way. A meeting was held between Union Tourism Minister K.J. Alphons, Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayanta Sinha, along with the officials of both ministries for creating better air connectivity of tourist destinations in order to heighten the tourism sector. The Ministry of Civil Aviation agreed to take immediate action regarding better connectivity after discussion with the air operators. The ministry also decided to widen the UDAN scheme to all the undeserved destinations at the earliest. The decisions also ... Read more

Jet Airways said it will commence direct flight operations between Lucknow to Allahabad and further up to Patna from June 14. UP civil aviation minister Nand Gopal Nandi said that the air connectivity will part of the Centre’s flagship, Regional Connectivity Scheme. “More flights will operate under the regional connectivity scheme in the days to come. This will also encourage the business environment of the city. State and central governments are working together to facilitate air travel and to connect more cities for flight services,” Nandi said. Jet airways will operate a 72 seater ATR aircraft that will fly thrice a ... Read more

Krishna district administration is all set to launch heli tourism in an effort to boost tourism sector of the region. The prime reason to initiate this venture is to put away visitors time during travelling. The region consists of major attractions like Kanaka Durga temple, Bhavani Island, Gandhi Hill and Manginapudi. Some private agencies have also been included in the project, with the attractive packages for heli tours starting from an attractive Rs 3,000. The number of tourists has considerably increased in the state after state-bifurcation. The district administration had already started works for converting major attractions into prime tourist ... Read more

Arunachal Pradesh is planning to invite bids for a fixed-wing flight service to Mechuka, with an advance landing ground (ALG) that is closest to the border with China. The state would be floating a tender for operating nine-seater flights between Mechuka and Guwahati or Dibrugarh (Assam) or both. The state had earlier invited tenders but had to re-tender as there was only one bidder. The 4,200 feet long landing strip at Mechuka’s ALG had reconstructed, expanded and made operational by April last year. In November 2016, the Indian Air Force (IAF), which controls this ALG, successfully landed a C-17 Globemaster, a large ... Read more

Budget carrier IndiGo will commence flight services to Hubli from Goa and Kochi from June 2018, using an ATR plane. The launch of these services to Hubli from 28 June, which will be the airline’s 52nd destination, is aimed at consolidating IndiGo’s position further in the southern India market. The Gurugram-headquartered low cost carrier will also operate additional flights between Hubli-Chennai, Hubli- Bengaluru and Hubli- Ahmedabad with Airbus A320, starting July 1. IndiGo currently operates 1,086 flights per day to to 50 destinations including eight international ones with a fleet of 160 planes, which includes regional jets ATR. The carrier has already ... Read more

Trujet has been awarded 20 new routes through the Udan scheme initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will take Trujet’s expansion to Western and Eastern States. The airline now connects 14 major destinations in South and West India with a connectivity between 3 tier cities and their nearest metropolitans. As per the new scheme, Trujet will connect Kandla, Porbandar, Keshod, Jaisalmer, Jalgaon and Nasik from Ahmedabad and Burnpur, Cooch Behar, Tezu, and Rupsi from Guwahati. “Trujet is now reaching a new level to serve passenger with a whole new approach. We have inducted the 5 th ATR 72-600 aircraft to ... Read more

The first Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) run by an all-woman team has started operations in Phagwara, Punjab. The seva kendra was inaugurated by Union Minister Vijay Sampla in the local head Post Office. Though the new Seva Kendra was 192nd POPSK in the country, it was the first one to be operated by an all-woman team. “It was part of the Centre’s initiative for women empowerment,” Sampla said. The Phagwara Kendra will be headed by department’s Verification Officer Madhuri Bhavi. The other two women staff members — Postal Assistants — will be from the Post Office Department. The printing and issuing ... Read more

BLS International has opened their new Spain Visa Application Centre (VACs) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The company operates 124 visa application centres in 49 countries for Spain Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación). The new Spain VAC was formally inaugurated in the presence of the Ambassador of Spain in Saudi Arabia along with senior officials from BLS International Services Ltd. “This new and revamped Visa Application Center is the result of our effort to adapt our service to visitors coming from Saudi Arabia and in particular to the 73,000 Saudi tourists that arrive to ... Read more

With an aim to address the safety and efficiency concerns that lack air navigational infrastructure in India, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has signed a Rs 945 crore deal  with Harris Corporation. The 15-year-contract was signed by A K Banerjee, ED (CNS-OM) and Rick Simonian, VP, Harris Corporation at the 6th US-India Aviation Summit, held at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Mumbai. As part of the deal, Harris Corporation will serve as the prime contractor and systems integrator for the programme, which is to be implemented over a period of two years. “India’s exponential air traffic growth is creating demand for ... Read more