Page 6 - Air India

Air India and Express to operate 20 flights to and from West Asia today

All Air India flights to and from North America, Europe, Australia and other regions continue to operate per schedule

Pilots' association urges DGCA to halt flights to conflict zones over risks

ALPA asked the DGCA to issue binding directives regarding operations in conflict regions and initiate a thorough inquiry into the decision-making processes within Air India

Air India to run 22 flights to West Asia on March 27 amid high demand

All other Air India flights connecting to North America, Europe, Australia and other global regions will operate as scheduled

Tata Sons in profit over 10 years, even as unlisted companies in red

Tata Sons' cumulative net profit at ₹1.97 trn over the decade, unlisted firms' combined loss at ₹1.75 trn

Air India's London-bound A350 aircraft faces tech issue, returns to Delhi

Air India's A350 aircraft enroute to London Heathrow returned to the national capital due to a technical issue on Thursday afternoon after being airborne for nearly seven hours. The same A350-900 aircraft VT-JRF had faced a technical issue on March 15, following which the plane operating the flight from New York to Delhi was diverted to the Irish town of Shannon, sources said. An Air India spokesperson said its flight AI111, operating from Delhi to London on Thursday, made a precautionary air-return to the national capital following a suspected technical issue. "The aircraft landed safely and consistent with Air India's high safety standards, it is currently subject to extensive technical evaluations, which will require additional time to complete," the spokesperson said in a statement. According to the sources, noises were heard in the aircraft following which it was diverted. The spokesperson also regretted the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to the unforeseen situat

DGCA seeks corrective steps from Air India over Vancouver flight error

Aviation watchdog DGCA has asked Air India to take corrective measures after the airline deployed a wrong aircraft for operating a flight to Vancouver last week, a senior official said on Thursday. Action has also been taken against an airline official for the incident, the senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told PTI. A Vancouver-bound Air India Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft, after being airborne for over seven hours, returned to Delhi on March 19 after it was found that the plane was not approved for operating the flight. The approval is only for Boeing 777-300 ER to operate that flight. Following the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had sought a report from the airline. Air India has been asked to take corrective measures to ensure that such incidents do not happen again, and action has also been taken against an airline official, the DGCA official said. Specific details could not be ascertained. There was no immediate com

Soft landing for aviation insurance premiums amid benign loss trends

Aviation insurance rates have softened due to excess reinsurance capacity and lower global losses, though geopolitical risks continue to influence underwriting conditions

Check unnecessary expenses, Air India CEO tells staff amid West Asia war

The Air India Group has been significantly impacted by the Middle East conflict and the financial impact is "yet to be fully felt", according to Air India chief Campbell Wilson, who has also stressed the need for having a tighter-than-ever control of unnecessary expenditure. Loss-making Air India and Air India Express have been grappling with operational disruptions like other airlines since the start of the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran on February 28. "In the three weeks since the conflict started, we have had to cancel around 2,500 flights to the region. As of today, we can operate only around 30 per cent of our normal Middle East schedule because airports and/or airspace are closed, or are assessed to be beyond our safety threshold," Wilson said in a message to the staff on Friday. The airline's flights to the UK, Europe, and North America, are also taking longer flight paths due to airspace restrictions in the region, resulting in more fuel consumption. Wilson sa

Air India to introduce crew fitness policy; lapses may lead to pay loss

Air India is planning to introduce a health and fitness compliance policy for its cabin crew, under which those found underweight, overweight or obese could face derostering and loss of pay. The compliance assessment will be based on the cabin crew members' Body Mass Index (BMI) with a reading of 18-24.9 defined as 'normal' and accepted as 'desired range' by the airline. A BMI reading of less than 18 will be considered as 'underweight', though it may be acceptable subject to clearing of medical evaluation and functional assessment, according to the policy accessed by PTI. A BMI reading in the range of 25-29.9 will be defined as 'overweight' and will be considered acceptable, provided the cabin crew member clears the functional assessment. As per the policy, to be effective from May 1, a reading of 30 or above is 'obese' and not an acceptable range. A cabin crew member will be derostered if he or she is either 'underweight' or 'overweight' and will be required to clear the function

Air India flight returns to Delhi after deploying wrong plane for Canada

The Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 777-200LR are two long-haul variants of Boeing's 777 family with distinct capabilities in range and capacity

A-I Delhi-Vancouver flight returns after 7 hours over operational issue

After being airborne for over seven hours, an Air India plane from Delhi to Vancouver returned to the national capital on Thursday evening due to an operational issue. Without providing specific details, Air India, in a statement on Friday, said the aircraft landed safely at the Delhi airport. The flight was operated with Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft VT-AEI and was airborne for over seven hours. The plane turned back to Delhi when it was in the Chinese airspace, according to information available on the flight tracking website Flightradar24.com. "Air India flight AI185, operating from Delhi to Vancouver on 19 March, returned to Delhi due to an operational issue and in line with established standard operating procedures. The aircraft landed safely, and all passengers and crew had disembarked," the airline said in a statement. A source said that there might have been an administrative issue in terms of the aircraft deployed, which led to the decision to return to Delhi. Further detail

Air India's New York-Mumbai flight diverted to Saudi after fire indication

A Mumbai-bound Air India aircraft was diverted to Medina, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday afternoon following an aft cargo fire indication in the cockpit that turned out to be false. After inspection, the plane was cleared for operations and took off for Mumbai, an official said. "Air India flight AI116, operating from New York (JFK) to Mumbai, was diverted to Medina, Saudi Arabia, following an aft cargo fire indication in the cockpit," the airline said in a statement. The Boeing 777 made a priority landing at Medina. "The aircraft landed safely without incident. Subsequent inspection of the aircraft after landing confirmed that the indication was false," the statement said.

Extended duty limits could threaten flight safety: Pilots' union to DGCA

Federation of Indian Pilots warns that DGCA's temporary relaxation in flight duty limits for Air India long haul flights could heighten fatigue risks and compromise safety

Delhi-bound Air India plane diverted to Ireland due to technical snag

An Air India A350 aircraft from New York to Delhi was diverted to Shannon in Ireland due to a suspected technical snag on Monday morning. There were around 300 people onboard the plane which was airborne for nearly six hours before getting diverted to Shannon, according to sources. "Flight AI102 operating from New York (JFK) to Delhi on March 15 made a precautionary diversion to Shannon, Ireland, following a suspected technical issue," an Air India spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson said the aircraft landed safely at Shannon Airport at 0430 hours local time, and all passengers and crew were safe. "The aircraft is currently undergoing detailed technical inspections as per established safety protocols," the spokesperson added. Information available with flight tracking website Flightradar24.com showed the plane was airborne for nearly six hours before getting diverted.

Air India, AI Express to operate 48 flights to and from West Asia today

These flights are being operated with the requisite permissions from the relevant Indian and local regulatory authorities

DGCA gives flight duty time relaxations to Air India amid West Asia war

Aviation safety watchdog DGCA has provided temporary relaxations in flight duty norms for Air India's long-haul flights as the airline is taking longer routes due to the airspace curbs amid the Middle East conflict, sources said on Sunday. With Iranian and Iraqi airspace restrictions, Air India is taking the Egypt route for European and North American flights, which means longer flying hours. Against this backdrop, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has given certain relaxations in pilot Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms till April 30, the sources told PTI. There were no comments from Air India and DGCA on the FDTL norm relaxations. Providing the relaxations for the long-haul flights operated with two pilots, the sources said, adding that DGCA has extended the Flight Time (FT) by 1.30 hours to 11.30 hours and the Flight Duty Period (FDP) by 1.45 hours to 11.45 hours. Sources say that Air India has been violating the relaxation by planning its Jeddah flight, .

Air India finds misuse of its leisure travel policy, initiates actions

Air India has detected large-scale discrepancies in the utilisation of its leisure travel policy, involving more than 4,000 employees and has initiated corrective actions, including imposing penalties on the erring staff, according to sources. Loss-making Air India was acquired by the Tata Group in January 2022, and the airline, which has faced multiple headwinds in recent times, is also in the midst of implementing an ambitious transformation plan. The airline has more than 24,000 employees. The sources in the know told PTI that the large-scale discrepancies in the use of Air India's Employee Leisure Travel (ELT) policy were detected after a detailed internal investigation. The ELT policy allows a specified number of free air tickets for individual employees and their nominees, including spouse and parents. These are subject to certain conditions. Many employees were found to have misused the policy by showing those not related to them as relatives to avail the benefits. Some were

IndiGo revises schedules, Air India cancels flight to Dubai amid Iran war

Air India stated that following instructions from the UAE airport authorities, both Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express have curtailed several scheduled flights on March 15

Akasa Air to add fuel surcharge on tickets as jet fuel costs soar

The low-cost carrier joins Air India and IndiGo in passing on rising jet fuel costs to passengers, citing geopolitical tensions in West Asia and surging aviation turbine fuel prices

Air India, AI Express to operate 80 flights to and from West Asia on Mar 14

Air India Express will also operate its scheduled services to Muscat, including one round-trip each from Delhi, Kochi, Kozhikode and Mumbai