UAE: Passengers Face Consequential Delays As Six Air India Flights From UAE Affected By Software Glitch

Flights in the Gulf region were minimally affected by the massive disruption experienced by Air India due to a server crash yesterday, an airline official said, adding that only six flights were delayed, with passengers being duly notified.

Thousands of passengers across the world were stranded after the Indian flag-bearer’s server crashed at around 5am local time, halting its global operations.

Though the services were restored after around five hours of delay, dozens of flights were affected with the breakdown not allowing passengers to check in.

According to Air India’s regional manager, Mohit Sain, most of the flights from the region had departed before the disruption happened.

Here in the UAE we have had a limited impact of the disruption because the server crashed after most of our flights had departed from Dubai and Sharjah, said Sain.

However, he added the global crash led to delays of six flights and passengers were alerted in time, and notified about the change in timings.

Among the affected flights were AI934 Dubai to Kochi, which was rescheduled to 5.35pm, experiencing a three-hour delay.

Another flight facing significant delay was AI938 Dubai to Calicut, which was rescheduled to 8.45pm.

The airline’s budget carrier Air India Express also faced disruptions, with two flights from Sharjah rescheduled, including IX536 to Thiruvananthapuram which was scheduled for a 1pm departure, running late by more than an hour and IX354 was rescheduled for a 4pm departure, delayed by one hour 20 minutes.

According to a statement by Air India, a glitch in its passenger services system developed by aviation IT solutions firm SITA hampered the airline’s check-in and other passenger services.

At least 35 flights were affected when the system was down between 5am and 10am, however, the cascading effect of the disruption delayed more than 150 flights both domestically and internationally.

Air India has had previous issues of system failures with the most recent being in June last year when its passenger check in software crashed due to unexpected network connectivity issues.

As of 3.05 pm, Saturday, April 27:

The national flag-carrier Air India had managed to restore its system following a check-in software glitch that caused massive delays across its domestic and international operations.

The carrier tweeted that the temporary glitch was restored at 8:45 am, but expected that passengers were to face consequential delays.

Between 3:30 to 4:30 am Saturday, passenger services system of Air India that is run by SITA was taken for maintenance and after that it remained down till 8:45 am, it has just come back.

System restored. During the day we will see consequential delays, Air India chairman Ashwani Lohani said.

Air India's flight operations were affected across India and abroad since early morning on Saturday due to knock-effect of the server shutdown. Air India earlier said the server breakdown affected its flights all over the world.

Air India chairman Ashwani Lohani, in an interview with the local channel NDTV, attributed the problem to shutdown of SITA software. SITA (Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques) is a multinational IT company providing telecommunication services to the air transport industry.

Thousands of Air India passengers were stranded at airports across the world Saturday, after a software glitch left those travelling with the state-run airline unable to check in, officials said.

More than 155 domestic and international flights were delayed for several hours because of a problem with the company's check-in software that brought operations to a halt causing further flight delays across the globe.

Our check-in software experienced a glitch following a routine software upgrade. It was resolved after six hours, Air India spokesman Praveen Bhatnagar said.

Bhatnagar said most of the delays were on its domestic circuit and they were doing everything possible to clear the backlog.

There were no flight cancellations and the airline expects operations to be back to normal by early evening, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, CMD Air India Ashwani Lohani said that the glitch has been rectified.

The airline issued a statement on Twitter, saying: Our server system SITA, which faced a temporary glitch, this morning was restored at 08.45hrs. Air India senior executives, including CMD, Directors, Station Heads rushed to airports to take control of situation and facilitate pax.

Earlier, one user, R Vasundara, posted a picture of a crowded Mumbai airport, labelling the whole incident a nightmare.

Another user with the handle Priyam expressed anger at the failure with operations, saying What to expect if that’s the condition of a national carrier.

Priyanka Gulati posted a video of a crowded airport, calling the process a waste of time.

After hours at the the Chandigarh airport and under threat of missing a connecting flight, Twitter user Mukhtiar Singh uses social media to ask authorities for answers.

He wrote: Hi authorities what’s happening. I am on the Chandigarh airport with family from 5:30 am waiting for flight to delhi and then From delhi to london. It’s a real shame authorities are not updating us what’s happening.

An Air India spokesperson issued a statement, explaining: The SITA [IT] server is down. Due to which flight operation is affected. Our technical teams are on work and soon system may be recovered. Inconvenience is deeply regretted.

India's aviation industry is in choppy waters after one of the country's largest private carriers, Jet Airways, last week halted its operations indefinitely following refusal by lenders to pay it cash to run day-to-day operations.

The state-owned loss making Air India operates more than 450 fights a day across the globe, with a majority of them flying domestically.

Saturday's software malfunction is a repeat of a similar outage in June last year that caused flight delays globally.


Tourism Observer

SRI LANKA: SriLankan Airlines Traffic Went Down In 2018

SriLankan Airlines commenced operations between Colombo and Melbourne on 29 October 2017, with the latter airport giving the inaugural flight a water arch salute.

Data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka shows that during the first 12 months of operation, the oneworld member carried 157,342 passengers on the route. This service was also the last route that was introduced to the carrier’s network, with no new routes planned for 2019 so far either.

SriLankan Airlines is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of oneworld. It currently operates a fleet of 27 aircraft, made-up of seven A320s of which two are neos, seven A321s three neos, six A330-200s and seven A330-300s.

It’s home base is Colombo’s Bandaranaike Airport, where in 2018 the carrier occupied 50% of seat capacity. According to data obtained from Sri Lanka’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the airline flew just under 1.42 million passengers during Q3 2018, with this down 3.3% versus the 1.46 million that it flew within the same quarter of 2017.

Between November 2017 and October 2018, the carrier flew just under six million passengers according to Sri Lanka’s CAA.

SriLankan Airlines’ leading route from Colombo is Chennai, with the airline having transported over half a million passengers on the route between January and October last year, accounting for 10% of the carrier’s total passengers flown within the 10-month period analysed.

The airline currently serves the 647-kilometre route four times daily, using a mixture of its narrow- and wide-body fleet.

India is the airline’s largest market, with it serving 13 destinations in India on either a seasonal or year-round basis during the time frame analysed, with six Indian cities placing in the airline’s top 15 destinations for passengers carried.

Between January and October, 33% of the airline’s passengers flew on services to/from India.

After India, the airline’s second biggest market is the Middle East, with this region accounting for 24% or 1.16 million passengers of the the carrier’s customers between January and October last year.

Presently the airline serves nine destinations in the Middle East from Colombo, with Doha, Dubai, Riyadh and Kuwait City all making it into the airline’s top 15 destinations with regards to passengers carried.

One route which just missed out on a place in the top 15 is the airline’s newest destination Melbourne, a route that the airline launched on 29 October 2017.

Placing 16th in the airline’s top routes relating to passengers carried, the link to Australia transported 129,110 passengers within the first 10 months of last year, while during its first full 12 months of operation November 2017 – October 2018, the route carried 157,342 passengers.

The airline’s other routes to carry over 100,000 passengers within a 12-month time frame Nov 2017 – Oct 2018, were Jakarta, Guangzhou, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Thiruvananthapuram, Dhaka, Shanghai Pudong, Tokyo Narita, Bahrain and Beijing.

While SriLankan Airlines added its last new route in October 2017, it has since cut three routes from Colombo, namely to Hong Kong which ended 27 October 2018, Visakhapatnam 27 October and Kunming 28 February.

The loss of these routes means that in S19, the carrier is poised to offer a network of 38 destinations, with no new routes being planned or announced by the airline for this year.

Male was the leading destination for SriLankan Airlines’ connecting traffic between July 2017 and June 2018, with it accounting for 9.0% of one-way connecting passengers during this 12-month period, while Chennai was second, responsible for 7.6% of connecting traffic.

With these routes being the airline’s top routes for total passenger numbers from Colombo, and having multi-daily frequencies, it is not surprising to see them top the list of connecting destinations as well.

What is interesting to note is that, of the airline’s leading connections, all of them, bar Jeddah, are within a distance of 4,500 kilometres of Colombo.

Of the airline’s top 15 routes for total passenger numbers, only Male, Chennai, Kochi, Riyadh, Singapore, Tiruchirappalli, Kuwait City, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Kuala Lumpur, Doha and Dubai were included in the top 15 connecting routes, with Delhi, London Heathrow, Bengaluru and Mumbai not making the connections cut.

This suggests that the latter four destinations are more dominant for O&D traffic to/from Colombo then they are for connecting services via SriLankan’s hub.

During the past decade, SriLankan Airlines had a number of routes into Europe, however these we cut as a result of cost cutting measures for the airline as it re-focused its strategy in recent years.

However, if it was to return to expansion in the long-haul market, OAG Traffic Analyser data indicates that strong destinations for the airline, regarding O&D traffic from Colombo, would be Paris CDG 70,000 one-way indirect passengers between July 2017 and June 2018, Frankfurt 58,100, Milan Malpensa 45,300, Rome Fiumicino 40,400 and Munich 35,900.


Tourism Observer

UAE: Air Arabia Offers Tickets At So Low Cost

Sharjah-based Air Arabia is offering flight tickets from Sharjah to Beirut for as low as Dh450.

The Indian residents can fly to From Sharjah to Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram for Dh530 and Dh560 respectively.

Other Air Arabia flights to destinations to India are as follows

- From Sharjah to Coimbatore for Dh1010

- To Kochi for Dh700

- To Amman in Jordan for Dh830

- To Alexandria in Egypt for Dh658

Just in case you are not planning to take a holiday or visit your family in any of these destinations, then flydubai has fabulous offers to be availed for other destinations.

The airline is offering irresistible ticket prices to fabulous holiday destinations such as Georgia, Italy and Durbovnik.

The ticket prices are as follows

- Dubai to Batuni in Georgia for Dh900

- To Catania in Italy for Dh1,500

- To Durbovnik in Croatia for Dh1,200


Tourism Observer

INDIA: Tourism Police To Recruit More Women To Strengthen Tourists Security

Kadakampally Surendran
The state government will recruit more women personnel into the tourism police force as part of strengthening the security of the tourists visiting the state.

Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran on Thursday said the Tourism and the Home Departments held a consultation and reached an understanding to provide more security cover to the tourists who visit destinations in the state in the wake of the tragic death of the Latvian tourist near Kovalam.

The formal consultation between the officers from the two departments made way for the decision to recruit more women into the tourism police force, among various other things.

Further, the tourism police personnel will be provided uniforms of a different colour to make them easily recognisable, he said.

The tourism police personnel will also be trained on how to interact with tourists and be trained in different languages.

A mobile app to help people easily get in contact with police personnel will be developed and launched soon, he said.

Tourists arriving at airports, railway stations and bus stations will be able to access police help with the aid of a revamped tourism brochure incorporating all the necessary information.

All tourist destinations will soon have new destination committees with representatives from the Home and Tourism Departments, local self-government institutions and the tourism industry.

These committees will meet on a regular basis and chart out plans to be implemented in the tourism sector of the respective destinations.

The minister also said tourism wardens, including men and women, will be appointed to aid the police after imparting formal training to them.

Further, all vendors and guides at tourist destinations will be given identity cards and uniforms so that people visiting these destinations will know they are government-recognised vendors and guides.

Vendors and guides will be selected only after proper police verification, the minister said.

Besides, all tourism destinations will have mandatory CCTV installed by the Tourism Department; private entrepreneurs, hotels and such institutions will also be directed to install cameras.

The department will also install signage boards across all destinations.

The shortcomings currently in the lighting systems will be addressed, he said.

The police would prepare a list of history sheeters and people susceptible to criminal tendencies will be kept away from tourist destinations.

Strict action will be enforced on all those who indulge in criminal activities and in the use of narcotic substances, the minister said.

All decisions pertaining to the safety of tourists will be implemented in next couple of months, the minister said.

State Police Chief Loknath Behera, Range IG Manoj Abraham, Tourism Secretary Rani George, Tourism Director P Balakiran, Tourism additional director (General) Jafar Malik, and other senior police and Tourism Department officers took part in the meeting.


Tourism Observer

INDONESIA: Youth Train To Work In Tourism Industry

Training programmes conducted from a rented storeroom has empowered youths of Pulau Mabul to seek employment in the tourism industry.

In addition to English, mathema­tics and computer skills, islanders aged between 16 and 25 pick up food service skills at the makeshift school initiated by Project TRY.

Its founder Raviraj Sawlani said the students went on to obtain jobs at resorts and other tourism-related businesses at the diving haven.

Even those working part-time are earning at least RM500, which makes a difference to their family as their current household income from traditional fishing is only RM300.

Some have become diving instructors, earning up to RM3,000 a month, Raviraj said during a seminar on Gender and Literacy Development here last Thursday.

He said the school, which marked Petaling Jaya-based Project TRY’s first foray into Sabah, has trained more than 100 youths from Mabul.

Mandarin was also added to the curriculum because of the influx of tourists from China in the east coast island.

Many of the islanders drop out of school after completing Year Six at Pulau Mabul’s primary school as they have to take an hour-long boat ride to Semporna to attend secondary school, said Raviraj.

Judging from the youths’ performance after going through the four-month training, he said they were talented and hungry for success.

Project TRY would look into setting up an office in Kota Kinabalu and introduce similar training programmes in other areas in Sabah, Raviraj added.

Meanwhile, an Indian woman cut off a man’s penis after he allegedly tried to rape her at her house in the southern state of Kerala, police said on Saturday.

The 23-year-old law student was at her residence in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram late Friday when she says she was attacked by the 54-year-old man, who had claimed to her family to be a religious guru.

She used a knife in her defense and cut off his penis, district police chief G Sparjan Kumar said.

The man, Hari Swami, was rushed to the nearby government hospital in a serious state, he added.

The local media reported that Swami was in a stable condition after undergoing emergency medical procedures at the local hospital.

The woman claimed the man had been assaulting her for several years, according to Kumar, who said police had registered a case against Swami for sexual offences against a minor and rape.

Police said the girl’s parents, who live at the same house, were unaware of the assaults by Swami.

The woman told us that her parents blindly trusted this Swami, and he used to get frequent invites to perform special ceremonies and stay over at their house, where he assaulted her, Kumar said.

She is now under police protection and receiving trauma counselling.

There have been other recent incidents of sexual assault involving religious men in the southern Indian state.

Two nuns and a priest, accused of covering up the birth of a baby born to a teenage girl who was allegedly raped by another priest, were arrested in Kerala last month.

Last year, a priest was sentenced to 40 years in prison by a Kerala court for raping a 12-year-old girl in 2014.

UAE: Jet Airways Linesup A330 For Qatar And Delhi Flights

Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, will expand its connectivity between Qatar and India by introducing its wide-body A330-200 between Doha and Delhi to cater to the growing demand on this important sector. A330 operations to Mumbai are on since November, 2016.

The wide-body jetliner with a two-cabin configuration of 18 seats in Premiere and 236 in Economy began flying between Doha and Delhi yesterday. Aside from increasing capacity on the popular route, the spacious cabin will allow guests to travel in greater comfort.

Onboard the A330, guests will get a taste of Jet Airways’ award winning in-flight experience, enhanced cabin comfort, and, for Premiere guests, a chance to stretch out in comfort in the famed ‘Bed in the Clouds’.

Set in a unique herringbone layout, each of the 18 seats in the Premiere cabin electronically open out to a 180-degree flat bed with lumbar support and massage systems. Every Première seat is an aisle seat which offers guests privacy and comfort to work and rest.

The Jet Airways Economy cabin on board the Airbus A330 is fitted with ergonomically-designed seating for a comfortable and relaxing journey in a spacious cabin.

The fine-dining experience on board Jet Airways’ international services includes delectable Indian and international meal options along with a carefully selected list of fine wines and spirits.

Every seat on the A330 offers a wide choice of on-demand video and audio entertainment options including Bollywood and Hollywood films, television shows and a selection of music channels featuring a wide range of Indian and world music genres.

Shakir Kantawala, VP Gulf, Middle East & Africa, Jet Airways, said, “It is our constant endeavour to create a consistent, unmatched travel experience for our guests.

Deploying the A330 gives us an opportunity to combine on-board luxury with our signature Indian hospitality to create an exceptional value proposition for our guests.

Jet Airways is a preferred brand in the highly competitive Indo-Gulf market and offers unparalleled service and quality to guests. We are confident that introducing the A330 will help us establish ourselves as the airline of choice on the route.”

Deploying a wide bodied A330 will facilitate a higher number of guests from Doha to connect seamlessly onto Jet Airways’ extensive domestic network and beyond to international destinations from the airline’s hubs in Delhi and Mumbai.

The A330 service will depart Doha as flight 9W 553, at 23:00 hrs (local time) and arrive at Delhi at 05:15 hrs (IST). On the return leg, the flight 9W 554 will depart Delhi at 20:05 hrs (IST) and arrive at Doha at 21:30 hrs (LT).

Jet Airways currently operates daily flights from Doha to Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram.

INDIA: Jet Airways Suspends Pilot Over Assault And Racisim

Jet Airways says it has suspended a foreign pilot from flying duty over allegations he assaulted a woman and hurled racist abuse at another passenger on a domestic flight.

The Mumbai-based airline confirmed the incident took place on April 3 on a Chandigarh-Mumbai flight, adding the pilot in question had been taken off the flying roster soon after and an apology had been extended to the victim.

“As regards the said incident, Jet Airways has noted guest feedback with concern and regrets the incident,” Jet Airways said in a statement on Wednesday.

The airline has, as per policy, initiated a full-fledged investigation, based on specific inputs from guests, concerned departments and agencies.

Cricketer Harbhajan Singh has weighed in on the scandal, although he clarified that he had not witnessed the incident first-hand.

“Not only was he racist, but physically assaulted a lady and abused a physically challenged man ... absolutely disgraceful and shame on @jetairways,” said India’s out-of-favour spinner on Twitter, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reprimand the airline and its pilot.

Strict action must b taken &such things should not be allowed or tolerated in r country.. #proudtobeindian let's get together and sort this
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 26, 2017

Scandals have dogged the airline industry in recent weeks, particularly in the United States after United Airlines drew global outrage for forcefully dragging a passenger off an overbooked flight.

Footage of the April 9 incident captured by fellow passengers went viral on social media and caused a public relations calamity for the carrier and airport officials.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and strategic partner Jet Airways, India’s full-service, premium international carrier, have signed a groundbreaking agreement with the Government of Maharashtra to promote tourism to the western Indian state.

The partnership will enable both airlines to capitalise on their strong links with Maharashtra and further propel domestic and international arrivals into the state capital Mumbai and beyond. It is the first time an Indian state has signed a tourism collaboration agreement with airlines.

The Honourable Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Devendra Fadnavis presided over the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in Mumbai today. The agreement was signed by Valsa Nair Singh, IAS, Principal Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Government of Maharashtra; Neerja Bhatia, Vice President, Etihad Airways Indian Subcontinent; and Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways. It followed months of discussions between the leadership of both airlines and the state government on exploring ways to collaborate in promoting tourism.

Under the agreement, the three entities will pool marketing resources to participate in travel-trade events in key international markets such as the UK and the UAE, jointly promote ‘Destination Maharashtra’ through advertising campaigns, and organise inbound familiarisation trips for media and travel agents.

Etihad Airways and Jet Airways are key contributors to India’s thriving travel and tourism sector carrying the biggest combined share of international traffic to and from India with one in five travellers choosing either carrier.

Collectively, they operate five flights a day between Abu Dhabi, the UAE carrier’s operational hub, and Maharashtra’s main international gateway of Mumbai with domestic connections across the country. In addition, Jet Airways flies daily between Maharashtra’s second largest city of Pune and Abu Dhabi.

Maharashtra, the third largest state in India, is one of India’s most popular tourist destinations. Mumbai ranks second after the Indian capital Delhi in terms of first port of entry for foreign tourist arrivals into India, and fifth in domestic tourist visits.

Commenting on the association, Shri Jaykumar Rawal, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra stated, "We are honoured to welcome this opportunity to strengthen our cooperation with Etihad Airways and Jet Airways.

This MoU is the beginning of a strategic partnership with two leading and most important international airlines to attract as many international tourists as possible. Together, we can create benefits for travellers and shareholders.

Our aim is to jointly put in place the best strategies and practices to increase Maharashtra’s marketing footprint and position it as the most preferred destination."

Smt. Valsa Nair Singh, IAS, Principal Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Government of Maharashtra added, "We’re delighted to further strengthen our relationship with Etihad Airways and Jet Airways.

This is a landmark agreement that will provide valuable support for Maharashtra Tourism’s global campaigns and marketing activities, as well as some of the industry’s most important trade and business events. This unique and important partnership between Maharashtra Tourism, Etihad Airways and Jet Airways will boost the state’s image exponentially."

James Hogan, Etihad Aviation Group President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Being part of one of the world’s largest economies, Maharashtra has plenty to offer to business and leisure travellers.

We are therefore delighted to expand our links to promote tourism to this vibrant state, which we have been serving with dedicated flights for 13 years."

"This agreement represents the first time a state government has ventured into such a tourism partnership with the airline industry, hence we appreciate the opportunity to work with our strategic Indian partner Jet Airways on this breakthrough agreement.

Our combined operation with Jet Airways between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai, complemented by Jet’s widespread domestic services, is further testament to the importance of Maharashtra on our route map."

Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways, said, "It is a moment of both pride and honour that the Government of Maharashtra has chosen to join hands with Jet Airways and our strategic partner Etihad Airways in this unique initiative of leveraging our collective resources and impact for strengthening travel and tourism to the state."

"Mumbai is Jet Airways’ home hub and the airline shares a warm and emotional bond with Mumbai and the state of Maharashtra.

We operate our highest number of flights from the city and have always positioned and promoted Mumbai as the gateway to the state and the country. Our mutual network represents a huge market that can be potentially accessed in support of this initiative."

Maharashtra is home to a diverse range of tourist attractions, from beaches, caves, forts, wildlife, tiger reserves, national parks and hill stations, to monuments, palaces, festivals, places of worship, and adventure sports. Mumbai, the international gateway to Maharashtra, is the country’s financial hub and home to numerous museums, architectural heritage and Bollywood, the world’s largest film industry in terms of movie production.

Since Jet Airways began operations from Mumbai in 1993, the airline has flown millions of guests to and from its main hub over the past 24 years.

Mumbai was also the first Indian city to be served by Etihad Airways with the launch of daily flights in September 2004. A second daily service was introduced in November 2013, followed two years later by a third daily frequency.

Etihad Airways has carried more than two million guests on the route over the past 13 years with key inbound markets including Abu Dhabi, London, New York, San Francisco and Chicago.

Etihad Airways’ Indian network to and from Abu Dhabi covers 11 cities that also includes Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram.

Jet Airways offers the additional Indian cities of Pune, Lucknow, Mangalore and Goa to Abu Dhabi, as well as numerous domestic connections.

During 2017, Jet Airways is scheduled to launch flights from Kannur and Chandigarh to Abu Dhabi, subject to appropriate regulatory approvals and completion of operational readiness at these airports.

Combined, both carriers operate over 250 flights each week between Abu Dhabi and 15 Indian cities.
About Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC)

Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the state, which generates substantial foreign exchange and has culminated in significant employment prospects. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) was established with the aim of promoting tourism in the state.

Since its foundation, MTDC has been at the forefront of development and maintenance of various tourist sites and at present owns and maintains resorts in these regions.

To aide tourists, MTDC has opened information centres at all popular destination, which provide travel information about various tourist spots in Maharashtra along with travel maps, Maharashtra tourism guides and travel books at affordable prices.

Maharashtra is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India offering a diverse range of experiences from pristine beaches, wildlife sanctuaries, hill stations, natural caves, waterfalls, to imposing forts, colourful festivals, ancient pilgrimage shrines, museums, and historical monuments. For further details, please visit: maharashtratourism.gov.in
About Etihad Aviation Group

Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) is a diversified global aviation and travel group comprising five business divisions – Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways Engineering, Etihad Airport Services, Hala Group and Airline Equity Partners.

The group has minority investments in seven airlines: airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Jet Airways, Virgin Australia, and Swiss-based Darwin Airline, trading as Etihad Regional.

From its Abu Dhabi base, Etihad Airways flies to, or has announced plans to serve, more than 110 passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas.

The airline has a fleet of over 120 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, with 204 aircraft on firm order, including 71 Boeing 787s, 25 Boeing 777Xs, 62 Airbus A350s and 10 Airbus A380s. For more information, please visit: etihad.com
About Jet Airways

Jet Airways is India’s premier international airline which operates flights to 65 destinations, including India and overseas. Jet Airways’ robust domestic India network spans the length and breadth of the country covering metro cities, state capitals and emerging destinations.

Beyond India, Jet Airways operates flights to key international destinations in South East Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Europe and North America. The Jet Airways Group currently operates a fleet of 112 aircraft, comprising Boeing 777-300 ERs, Airbus A330-200/300, Next Generation Boeing 737s and ATR 72-500/600s.

Jet Airways, together with airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Etihad Airways, Etihad Regional operated by Darwin Airline, and NIKI, participates in Etihad Airways Partners.

Etihad Airways is part of the Etihad Aviation Group, which also holds minority investments in each of these airlines. Visit jetairways.com

INDIA: IndiGo Launches Daily Non-stop Flights To Sharjah From India

IndiGo, India’s largest budget-carrier, plans to introduce two daily routes to Sharjah International Airport, which will become its sixth international destination. The airline announced the launch of daily non-stop Sharjah-Kozhikode (CCJ) flights from 20 March and daily non-stop Sharjah-Thiruvananthapuram (TRV) flights from 8 April.

Headquartered in Gurgaon (Gurugram), India, IndiGo is India’s largest passenger airline with a market share of 40.3 percent (December 2016).

IndiGo is ranked among the top ten best low-cost airlines in the world by leading consumer aviation website Skytrax and among the ten On-Time Performers in the Asia Pacific region by FlightStats, a leader in global flight information services.

The airline plans to to operate 857 daily flights connecting 43 destinations from March 2017.

Sharjah-based Air Arabia already operates flights between the emirate and 13 key Indian destinations.

Meanwhile, Air India Express added three new routes last year connecting Sharjah with Mumbai (SAHAR), Chandigarh (IXC) and Tiruchirapalli (TRZ) airports, bringing its total number of direct Sharjah services to seven.

The low-cost airline also operates direct flights to Sharjah from Kochi (COK), Kozhikode (CCJ), Thiruvananthapuram (TRV) and Varanasi (VNS).

Jet Airways now flies daily to Sharjah from Kozhikode, or Calicut (CCJ) and Kochi (COK), both in the south-west coast Indian state of Kerala.

The airline launched a daily service from Mangaluru in Karnataka state in 2016, but stopped flying the route at the end of the year due to operational reasons.

Sharjah International Airport handled 11 million passengers last year, a 10 percent increase over 2015. The airport’s growth has been driven by its strategic location, the success of Sharjah’s in-bound tourism industry and the expansion of Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia.

INDIA: Strong Demand In Domestic Air Travel, Airlines Offering Huge Discounts

From IndiGo to SpiceJet to Jet Airways, airlines are offering big discounts on advance booking of tickets. India's biggest carrier IndiGo is offering tickets from Rs. 799 (all-inclusive) on travel between December 14, 2016, and October 28, 2017. IndiGo's Rs. 799 offer on domestic routes, for example, is applicable on Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore-Chennai. Tickets on Bengaluru-Hyderabad route starts from Rs. 999 and Delhi-Jaipur at Rs. 1,041, among others.

Full service carrier Jet Airways under its "Year End Sale" is offering tickets starting as low as Rs. 899 (all-inclusive) on economy class travel on select domestic routes.

Jet Airways said under the offer travel must commence on or after December 14, 2016, and tickets must be purchased a minimum of 15 days prior departure.

Another domestic carrier SpiceJet in its "Spicy Annual Sale" is offering all-inclusive fares starting at as low as Rs. 737 for travel on select domestic sectors. SpiceJet's offer is applicable on travel between January 9 and October 28, 2017.

The offers from SpiceJet, IndiGo and Jet Airways end tonight.

The promotional offers by airlines have helped spur a strong demand in domestic air travel. Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January to October 2016 surged to 813.70 lakh, a growth of over 23 per cent over the same period last year.

UAE: Emirates Crash In Dubai

An Emirates plane has crash-landed at Dubai International Airport and caught fire.

All 300 people on board were able to escape from the burning aircraft, but a firefighter was killed tackling the blaze.

The Boeing 777 appeared to have landed on its belly, and images showed thick black smoke rising into the sky.

Emirates chairman Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum paid tribute to the firefighter who lost his life fighting the blaze.

The aircraft was flying to Dubai from the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Flights to and from the airport were suspended for several hours but have now resumed.

The Emirates chairman told a press conference that evacuation procedures were executed professionally and the cabin crew were the last to leave the plane.

Thirteen people had suffered minor injuries, he said.

"As we were landing there was smoke coming out in the cabin," said Sharon Maryam Sharji.

"People were screaming and we had a very hard landing. We left by going down the emergency slides and as we were leaving on the runway, we could see the whole plane catch fire."

Emirates said there were 282 passengers and 18 crew on board from 20 nationalities, most of them Indian, with 24 Britons and 11 people from the United Arab Emirates.

The captain and the first officer have over 7,000 hours of flying experience each, the airline said.

The pilots and crew were the last to abandon the aircraft, Al Maktoum said, praising the "maximum level of professionalism they have demonstrated."

Dubai airport, which was closed following the accident and all departures and arrivals halted, re-opened at 6:30 pm local time (14:30 GMT), according to Dubai Airports.

The escaping passengers were then taken to a corner of the tarmac where some were being treated for their injuries.

The aircraft is sitting on the ground without its landing gear, but it is not clear why the wheels are not down.

The crew were making a normal, rather than an emergency approach, when air traffic controllers told them to abandon the landing and start climbing again, for unknown reasons.

Whatever the cause, it is a testament to the crew that they got everyone off the plane.

Flight EK521, direct from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai, is popular with hundreds of thousands of Kerala residents who work in the Gulf countries.

Emirates is the Middle East's biggest airline, and has an excellent safety record.

It ranked seventh in a survey of the world's safest airlines by AirlineRatings.com, an independent plane safety website.

Dubai International Airport is a major transport hub, one of the world's busiest for international passengers, operating with only two runways.

INDIA: Hahaha, Pliot Refuses To Fly Plane If Favorite Female Co Pilot Is Not By His Side

110 passengers had to wait in a grounded Air India aircraft for nearly two-and-a-half hours after its commander refused to take off without his favourite female co-pilot.

Air India has a notorious record for delayed flights and leaving passengers stranded within the aircraft.

An official aviation report in 2015 had revealed that Air India tops the list of Indian airlines with the maximum cancelled and delayed flights.

The passengers were travelling on the Air India flight from Chennai to Male via Thiruvananthapuram. The ensuing delay resulted in the flight departing at 9.13 a.m. instead of the scheduled time of 7 a.m.

According to reports, the Air India commander in question had resigned last week and was serving his notice period. On Tuesday, he asked for the woman officer to fly with him on the same flight. However, when the request was denied by the airlines, the official threatened to report sick.

When he appeared for duty on Wednesday, he refused to fly until he was accompanied by the female co-pilot in question. In the end, the airlines was forced to arrange for the co-pilot.

In 2016 alone, flights have been delayed after a fight broke out between two flight attendants, because the plane did not have a pilot ready, or because the pilots were diverted to another flight carrying politicians and judges.

Last month, passengers on a two-hour flight from Delhi to Kolkata were stranded for close to 13 hours due to a technical snag.

INDIA: IndiGo Begins 3rd Daily Non-stop Flight Between Dubai And Delhi

Indian airline IndiGo has added its third daily non-stop flight between Dubai and Delhi starting on Wednesday, according to a statement.

The airline operates over 20 daily flights in and out of Dubai from Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram.

With its fleet of 101 new Airbus A320 aircraft, IndiGo offers 679 daily flights connecting 39 destinations. The airline has flown over 124 million passengers to date.

INDIA: Air India Pilot Refuses To Allow Kerala Governor Catch Flight

An Air India pilot refused to allow Kerala governor P Sathasivam to board a Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram flight on Tuesday after he allegedly turned up late.

The governor’s office said he reached the airport at least 10 minutes before the flight was scheduled to depart at 10.40 pm from Kochi airport but the pilot bluntly told Sathasivam that he couldn’t be accommodated on the plane as passenger boarding was already over.

Officials accompanying the governor tried to intervene but the pilot didn’t budge, forcing Sathasivam to spend night at the state guest house in Kochi. He took a morning flight and reached Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. The governor’s office said it has lodged a complaint with Air India and Aviation Ministry. AI officials are yet to respond to the incident.

The AI 408 flight was scheduled to take off at 9.15 pm but was delayed till 10.45 pm. As per the changed schedule, the governor reached the airport 10 minutes before the departure. However, airport authorities later said the flight took off even before the governor reached the airport.

Earlier this year, Union minister Kiren Rijiju was embroiled in a controversy after allegations that a family was ordered off a domestic flight so that he and his staff could have a seat. The flight was also reportedly delayed.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was also criticised for allegedly delaying a flight carrying 250 passengers because a member of his staff mixed up travel documents.

MALAYSIA: Malindo Air arrives in Amritsar

Malindo Air on 25 October began its seventh route to India from its Kuala Lumpur (KUL) base. Amritsar (ATQ) will be served thrice-weekly using the airline’s 737-900s.

The 4,276-kilometre route becomes the airline’s longest and the LCC will not face any direct competition. Amritsar joins Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapally and Visakhapatnam which are the other Indian cities already served by the carrier.

In all Malindo Air now serves 19 destinations non-stop from Kuala Lumpur. Located in northern India, Amritsar’s airport handled just over one million passengers in the last year, around one quarter of which were travelling on international flights.