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The power bank of a passenger onboard a stationary IndiGo aircraft caught fire at the Chandigarh airport on Tuesday, and all passengers and the crew were evacuated, according to a source. In a statement, the airline said that when IndiGo flight 6E 108 from Hyderabad to Chandigarh was stationary after landing, an incident involving a customer's personal electronic equipment catching fire was reported. "In the interest of safety, an immediate evacuation was carried out, and all the relevant authorities were immediately informed. All customers have been safely moved to the terminal and are being attended to by the team to ensure their well-being," the statement said. The source said that soon after the aircraft landed, there was smoke coming from one of the overhead bins and all onboard were evacuated. The smoke was due to the power bank catching fire, the source said, adding that no one sustained major injuries. Details about the number of passengers could not be ascertained.
The civil aviation ministry has issued the standard operating procedure for operationalising the hub and spoke aviation model to ensure smooth domestic to international connectivity for passengers, and Air India is expected to start trials based on the model in June, according to sources. The Hub and Spoke (H&S) model will provide smooth connectivity for passengers travelling from spoke airports to international destinations through a hub or larger airport. One of the sources said Air India is expected to start trial H&S flights from Varanasi airport from June 1. Passengers will take a flight from Varanasi to Delhi and then another flight to London. The move is part of efforts to make India, one of the world's fastest domestic civil aviation markets, as a global aviation hub. Under the model, Domestic to International (D-I) and International to Domestic (I-D) operations will be facilitated in a smoother manner for passengers, including in terms of immigration processes and ...
India and New Zealand will sign a free trade agreement (FTA) on April 27 here, an official said on Thursday. The free trade pact aims to provide tariff-free access to the island nation's market for domestic exporters' goods and will bring in USD 20 billion in investment over the next 15 years. The two countries on December 22 last year announced the conclusion of negotiations for the trade deal which aims at doubling bilateral trade to USD 5 billion in the next five years. The official said that the pact will be signed on April 27 in Bharat Mandapam after a meeting of the India-New Zealand Business Forum. While India will get zero-duty market access on 100 per cent of its exports, the agreement will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 95 per cent of New Zealand's exports to India, including items ranging from wool, coal, wood, wine, to avocados and blueberries. However, New Delhi has made no duty concessions on imports of dairy products like milk, cream, whey, yoghurt, and cheese; onio
Regional airline Star Air on Monday announced it will launch services to Mundra with 38 direct weekly flights, linking the port city to six key cities across Western and Northern India, starting April 25. With over 17,000 additional seats now available each month, the move will boost air connectivity and economic growth in the region, Star Air said. The expansion sees Mundra directly linked to Mumbai, Hindon (Delhi-NCR), Goa (Mopa), and Surat, it said and added that in addition to the 38 direct weekly flights, the airline will also introduce 16 weekly one-stop connections, strengthening ties with Kolhapur and Bhuj and further supporting the region's workforce and entrepreneurs. With an additional 4,104 seats available weekly and 17,000 seats monthly, Star Air's expansion is set to drive new growth in business, trade, and tourism throughout Gujarat and beyond, it said. Star Air said it will deploy its Embraer E175 fleet featuring both business and economy class to operate services o
Airline regulator DGCA has temporarily relaxed pilot flight duty time limitation (FDTL) for long-haul flights, a senior official said on Tuesday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) move is aimed at ensuring pilot availability for smooth operations, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Asangba Chuba Ao, told reporters during a media briefing.