Page 2 - Air Passenger

Etihad Airways fined Rs 75,000 for delayed return of passenger's luggage

The passenger claimed her check-in baggage, containing Rs 30 lakh and 30 grams of gold, went missing during her Sweden-Delhi journey and was returned without the valuables

Air India launches $400 million upgrade to transform flying experience

Air India overhaul: The revamp comes as the airline ramps up its international operations amid stiff competition from global carriers

Air proximity incidents have reduced by 25% in 2 years, says DGCA

The DGCA said that the number of plane landings through "unstabilised approaches" per thousand such approaches has decreased by 23 per cent and met the target

SpiceJet passengers stranded at Dubai airport due to flight cancellations

Hundreds of SpiceJet passengers were stranded at the Dubai airport on Wednesday after some flights were cancelled due to to non-payment of dues by the airline to the Dubai airport authorities, according to a source. A SpiceJet spokesperson on Thursday said few flights from Dubai to India were cancelled due to operational reasons on Wednesday but did not elaborate. The source in the know said around 10 SpiceJet flights, which were to be operated to various Indian cities from Dubai, were cancelled due to non-payment of dues. Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Dubai airport as a result of this, the source said. "On July 31, 2024, a few flights from Dubai to India were cancelled due to operational reasons. "The airline took immediate steps to mitigate the impact by rebooking affected passengers on subsequent flights and providing hotel accommodations," the airline spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that all its scheduled flights from Dubai are now operating as planned. A

Digi Yatra policy should spell out rules on passenger info deletion: Report

The policy for Digi Yatra -- a digital platform to verify air travellers using biometric data -- needs to spell out all the rules related to deletion of passenger information from the database once the travel is complete, according to a study instituted by NITI Aayog. There have been privacy concerns in various quarters about Digi Yatra user data. Based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), Digi Yatra provides for contactless and seamless movement of passengers at various checkpoints at airports. As per the policy for Digi Yatra, facial biometrics are deleted from the local airport's database 24 hours after the departure of the passenger's flight. "However, the rules related to deletion of other information collected from the passengers, as well as any facial biometrics that are stored in other registries, must be clearly set out in the policy," the study said. Digi Yatra envisages an identity management ecosystem for Indian airports, which can enhance the capabilities of Indian

US sanctions Boeing for leaking information about 737 Max 9 probe to media

Boeing is being sanctioned by US investigators for sharing information about a federal investigation of a door plug blowout that left a gaping hole in a Boeing 737 Max 9. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday that Boeing blatantly violated the agency's investigative regulations as well as a signed agreement by providing non-public investigative information to the media and speculating about possible causes of the January 5 door plug blowout on a Boeing passenger jet in Portland, Oregon. During the incident, a panel that plugged a space left for an extra emergency door blew off an Alaska Airlines Max 9. Pilots were able to land safely, and there were no injuries. The NTSB said that on Tuesday during a media briefing, a Boeing executive provided non-public investigative information to the media about the Alaska Airlines incident that the agency had not verified or authorized for release. The NTSB said that Boeing portrayed the NTSB's investigation as a search

More Indian passengers prefer non-stop flights to indirect ones: OAG data

The data breaks the myth that Indians prefer to use west Asian carriers as hubs for flights to the US and Europe

Domestic air passenger traffic grows 5.1% to about 138.9 mn in May: ICRA

Domestic air passenger traffic grew 5.1 per cent year-on-year to an estimated 138.9 million in May and was significantly higher by around 14 per cent than pre-Covid levels, credit ratings agency Icra said on Thursday. Icra also said the outlook on the Indian aviation industry is stable amid the continued recovery in domestic and international air passenger traffic with a relatively stable cost environment and expectations of the trend continuing in FY2025. The airlines' capacity deployment in the previous month increased 6 per cent year-on-year and about 2 per cent higher than April 2024, it added. According to the agency, the domestic air passenger traffic for FY24 was around 154 million, with a year-on-year growth of around 13 per cent. It thus surpassed the pre-COVID levels of around 142 million in FY2020, the ratings agency said, adding that the international passenger traffic for Indian carriers stood at around 29.68 million last fiscal, registering a year-on-year growth of ..

Female flyers on IndiGo can now pick a seat next to other women for safety

Prior to its implementation, IndiGo Airlines conducted market research to ensure it adequately addressed the requirements of its female passengers

Air passenger traffic in India to touch 407-418 million in FY25: ICRA

Air passenger traffic in the country is projected to touch record levels in the range of 407-418 million in the current financial year and the revenues of select airport operators together are estimated to rise 15-17 per cent during the same period, rating agency Icra said on Thursday. Surpassing the pre-Covid level by 10 per cent, the traffic reached 376.4 million in the fiscal ended March 2024. In a report, Icra said the overall traffic is expected to see a healthy growth of around 8-11 per cent year-on-year to around 407-418 million in FY2025, supported by strong pick-up in both leisure and business travel, improving connectivity to newer destinations in the domestic segment and the continued uptick in international travel. Indian airport operators' revenue is anticipated to grow 15-17 per cent on an annual basis in the current fiscal ending March 2025, it added. Icra's sample set of airport operators include Airports Authority of India (AAI) as well as operators of Delhi, ...

Air passenger traffic in India to touch 407-418 million in FY25: ICRA

Air passenger traffic in the country is projected to touch record levels in the range of 407-418 million in the current financial year and the revenues of select airport operators together are estimated to rise 15-17 per cent during the same period, rating agency Icra said on Thursday. Surpassing the pre-Covid level by 10 per cent, the traffic reached 376.4 million in the fiscal ended March 2024. In a report, Icra said the overall traffic is expected to see a healthy growth of around 8-11 per cent year-on-year to around 407-418 million in FY2025, supported by strong pick-up in both leisure and business travel, improving connectivity to newer destinations in the domestic segment and the continued uptick in international travel. Indian airport operators' revenue is anticipated to grow 15-17 per cent on an annual basis in the current fiscal ending March 2025, it added. Icra's sample set of airport operators include Airports Authority of India (AAI) as well as operators of Delhi, ...

Kerala airports see protests against AI Express' last minute cancellations

Protests by irate passengers were witnessed at all airports in Kerala on Wednesday against the last minute cancellation of their Air India Express flights. Passengers, mostly travelling to the Gulf nations, claimed that they were informed about the flight cancellations after they completed their security check and were waiting to board the flight. While Air India Express has offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date, passengers are not happy with that. Many of them claimed that they could lose their jobs if they do not reach their place of work today, while some others' work visas are about to expire. One woman, who was to travel from Kannur to Sharjah with twin babies and her husband, said she has to rejoin work on May 9, but Air India Express was offering her a flight from Kochi only on May 10. "What would be the point in me travelling on May 10? If I do not reach there before May 9, my boss will say not to come and I will lose my job," she told ...

Passenger tries to smuggle anacondas in flight baggage in B'luru; gets held

Customs officials at Kempegowda International Airport here on Monday said that a passenger was arrested for his alleged attempt to smuggle yellow anacondas concealed in his check-in baggage. Posting on social media platform X, Bengaluru Customs said they intercepted an attempt to smuggle 10 yellow anacondas concealed in the check-in bag of a passenger arriving from Bangkok. "Passenger arrested and investigation is underway. Wildlife trafficking will not be tolerated," it added. It is illegal to trade in wildlife as per Indian laws, and the Customs Act, 1962 has many sections on combatting wildlife trafficking.

Passenger footfall at Mumbai airport rises 16% to 52.8 million in FY24

The airport saw 26 million passengers on arrivals and 26.7 million on departures in FY24

Air taxi fare for Delhi-Gurugram to be 1-1.5x of Uber: Archer Aviation

He mentioned that the aim is to keep the air taxi service "very affordable," and the lower labor costs (for pilots, maintenance) in India will assist in achieving this goal

Air India launches revamped customer loyalty programme with added features

Private carrier Air India on Wednesday launched a revamped loyalty programme with a simplified structure, offering more rewards and added benefits to its customers. In its first overhaul in more than a decade, the revamped loyalty programme -- Flying Returns -- moves away from the legacy model of miles-based collection of points to a fairer, more equitable spend-based approach, Air India said in a statement. Members of the programme will now be able to avail the benefits and collect points based on the new structure, starting Wednesday, it said without divulging the number of the existing members. Some of the features of the revamped programme include no expiry of points for active members, no blackout dates, same tier privileges, collection and redemption across Star Alliance partner airlines worldwide and new customer-friendly digital interface to provide a one-stop platform for transactions, among others, it said.

Domestic carriers set to operate 6% additional flights in summer

The largest domestic airline, IndiGo, is slated to operate 13,050 flights every week, a 13.8 per cent (Y-o-Y) rise from 11,465 flights in the previous year

IAF airlifts over 700 stranded passengers between Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh

The Indian Air Force (IAF) airlifted over 700 stranded passengers between the twin union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh on Saturday, an official said. While 514 passengers were airlifted from Jammu to Leh in two sorties of IL-76, 223 persons were flown from Srinagar to Leh in another sortie, the official said. With this, a total of 1,251 persons were airlifted between Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh this week. Earlier on Monday, 331 passengers were airlifted in separate sorties of AN-32, also known as Kargil courier, by the IAF between Jammu and Kashmir to Kargil. The Kargil courier was launched by the IAF on January 22 following closure of 434-km Srinagar-Leh national highway owing to heavy snowfall. The Kargil courier service operates three days a week between Jammu and Srinagar, and twice a week between Srinagar and Kargil to facilitate the stranded passengers. The passengers have expressed their gratitude to all authorities, particularly the IAF, for facilitating

FSSAI finds mismatch in licence by food operators serving airlines

FSSAI said flight kitchen operators would endorse the food service (caterer) business in the FSSAI licence

Airlines witness dip in use of freight-carrying capacity in January

Passenger load factor also sees decline after year-end jump