Page 6 - Flight

Passenger behaved in 'repulsive manner' onboard Mumbai-Delhi flight: AI

Air India on Tuesday said a passenger behaved in a repulsive manner onboard an Air India flight from Mumbai to the national capital on June 24 and was handed over to the security personnel after the plane landed at Delhi airport. A police complaint has been registered and the incident has also been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). According to police, a man has been held here for allegedly defecating and urinating on the floor of the flight. Ram Singh defecated, urinated, and spat in row nine of the aircraft. Upon observing the "misconduct", the cabin crew warned the passenger and secluded him from the others, as per the FIR. In recent times, there have been rising incidents of unruly behaviour of passengers onboard flights. "A passenger on our flight AI866 operating Mumbai-Delhi on June 24 behaved in a repulsive manner, causing discomfort to the co-passengers. In doing their best to manage the situation in the circumstance, the crew immediately seclud

Man talks about 'hijacking' over phone before flight take-off, arrested

A 23-year-old male passenger on board Vistara's Mumbai-Delhi flight was arrested after he was heard speaking over his phone about a "hijacking plan" shortly before the plane was to take off from the city airport, officials said on Friday. The incident occurred around 6.30 pm on Thursday at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, they said. After a crew member and others around him heard his conversation, the passenger, hailing from Haryana, was deplaned and handed over to the security personnel. A thorough check of the aircraft was conducted and the flight later took off for Delhi with the rest of the passengers following a clearance by the authorities. "The incident took place before the flight was to take off for Delhi around 7 pm. All the passengers were occupying their seats and the cabin crew members were engaged in their work," a police official said. "A member of the cabin crew and others heard the male passenger speak over his mobile phone. They heard him say

Passenger held after crew overhears him talking about hijacking over phone

The Mumbai police have arrested a male passenger after a crew member of a Delhi-bound flight from here heard him talking about 'hijacking' on phone, an official said on Friday. The incident occurred on Thursday night at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here, he said. "A crew member of the Vistara flight, which was to go to Delhi, overheard a male passenger talking about hijacking on his phone. The crew member immediately informed the authorities and the police were also alerted," the police official said. It has come to light that the accused is mentally unstable and has been undergoing medical treatment since 2021, he said. A first information report (FIR) under section 336 (rash or negligent act that endangers human life or the personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against the passenger, he said.

Tata group's Air India Express operates India's first all-women Haj flight

Tata Group's international budget arm Air India Express (AIXL) on Thursday operated India's first all-women Haj flight, the airline said in a statement. This special flight, carrying 145 women pilgrims, was entirely managed by an all-women crew in all critical flight operations roles, supporting the Haj Committee of India's groundbreaking initiative to have only women passengers on board, it said. The first all-women Haj flight, IX 3025, departed from Kozhikode to Jeddah at 18:45 IST on Thursday, arriving in Jeddah at 22:45 local time, according to the airline. Pilot Kanika Mehra and First Officer Garima Passi were accompanied by cabin crew members Bijitha M B, Sreelakshmi, Sushma Sharma, and Subhangi Biswas, Air India Express said. Besides, the ground operations as well as aircraft maintenance jobs for the flight were also performed by the women personnel, the airline said. The Haj Committee's empowering initiative for women aligns perfectly with Air India Express' core values of

S Korean arrested for opening emergency exit door, to face 10 yrs in prison

A man who opened an emergency exit door during a flight in South Korea was formally arrested Sunday and faces up to 10 years in prison on a charge of violating the aviation security law, officials said. During a preliminary questioning, the 33-year-old told investigators that he felt suffocated and tried to get off the plane quickly, according to police. Twelve people were slightly injured on Friday after he opened the door of the Asiana Airlines Airbus A321-200, causing air to blast inside the cabin. The plane was preparing to land in Daegu on an hour-long flight from the southern island of Jeju. On Sunday, a district court in Daegu approved a warrant to formally arrest the man. Police earlier sought the arrest warrant, citing the graveness of the crime and a possibility the man may flee, according to Daegu police. Daegu police said they have up to 20 days to investigate the man before determining whether to send him to prosecutors for a possible indictment. If convicted, he fac

7 passengers suffer sprain due to turbulence on AI's Delhi-Sydney flight

Seven passengers onboard an Air India flight from the national capital to Sydney on Wednesday suffered "minor sprain" due to severe turbulence, according to a senior DGCA official. The official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that no hospitalisation was required. Air India B787-800 aircraft VT-ANY operating flight AI-302 from Delhi-Sydney encountered severe turbulence. "During the flight seven passengers reported minor sprain. Cabin crew provided first aid with the assistance of a doctor and a nurse traveling as passengers, using an onboard first aid kit," the official said. Air India's airport manager at Sydney arranged medical assistance on arrival and only three passengers took the medical assistance, the official added. A statement from Air India on the incident is awaited.

SpiceJet suspends flight operations from Ahmedabad-Goa for a month

The bench led by NCLT President Ramalingam Sudhakar directed SpiceJet to attend the hearing on the given date

Air India Express commences four weekly direct flights on Goa-Dubai route

Air India Express, India's first international budget airline, on Monday said it has commenced operations from Goa International Airport, with four weekly direct flights on the Goa-Dubai route. The first flight IX 840 took off at 1:00 am on Monday with 148 passengers on board from Dabolim Airport. To mark the occasion, Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express and AirAsia India, said: "We are thrilled to start our maiden international services from Goa under the Air India Express banner, which is amongst India's most popular tourist destinations". Singh said that the airline takes pride in being the only airline that offers direct connectivity to Dubai from Goa. AirAsia India, which is set to merge with Air India Express, already operates 13 daily direct flights to/from Goa, connecting five domestic cities. "We hope to be a part of the tourism success story of the state and remain committed to offering the best of services to our customers," he added. Earlier in the evenin

Assam Govt signs MoU with Flybig to start flight in non-Udaan sector

In a bid to promote intra-state air connectivity, Assam government on Saturday signed a MoU with Big Charter Private Limited (Flybig) to facilitate air services in the non-Udaan sector. Flybig will operate flights between Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Guwahati and Guwahati-Silchar-Guwahati routes on a daily basis, an official of the company said. Assam Tourism Development Corporation managing director Kumar Padma Pani Bora and Flybig director Sanjay Natavarlal Mandavia signed the agreement in the presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. According to the terms of the MoU, the flight operations will be started in line with the Centre's Udan scheme with the state government operating the flights under viability gap funding. Speaking at the programme Sarma said the number of daily flight services will be enhanced and will add a new dimension to intra-state air connectivity. The services will give assured connectivity and price as it has been decided to keep a tab on the pricing with the

Domestic passenger traffic estimated to rise by 54% YoY in Feb: ICRA

Daily departures averaged 2,967, up from 2,044 in February 2022 and 2,900 in January 2023, but down from 3,137 in February 2020

Air Asia flight suffers bird-hit, makes emergency landing in Bhubaneswar

Reacting to the incident, Air Asia said that the flight has returned to Bhubaneshwar for detailed inspection after suffering a bird hit

Air India resumes Delhi-Copenhagen non-stop flight after three years

Passengers can now conveniently fly non-stop to Copenhagen, a popular tourism and business centre and an educational hub of Europe

Air India Express Kozhikode flight diverted due to 'suspected' tail strike

A Dammam-bound Air India Express flight from Kozhikode, was on Friday diverted to the international airport here, following a 'suspected' tail strike during take off. The Air India Express flight IX 385, carrying 168 passengers, landed safely at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport at 12.15 PM, following which airport authorities withdrew the full emergency which was declared earlier. Air India said the flight on Kozhikode-Dammam route was diverted to Thiruvananthapuram due to suspected tail strike while taking off from Calicut airport. The airlines made arrangements to send the passengers to Dammam by an alternate flight which is scheduled to take off from Thiruvananthapuram this evening itself. "The airline staff are attending to all the requirements of the passengers at Thiruvananthapuram," Air India said in a release. Meanwhile, Aviation regulator DGCA said it will probe the incident. The Adani Group, which manages the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, said they h

Saudi Arabia-bound Air India Express flight makes emergency landing at TVM

After it developed a snag in its hydraulic systems, the flight en route to Dammam, was given permission to land at the international airport here around 12.15 pm

AI to operate ferry flight to bring back passengers stranded in Stockholm

Air India on Thursday said it will operate a ferry flight to Stockholm to bring back passengers who were stranded after their flight from Newark was diverted to Sweden's capital on Wednesday. The Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft from Newark to Delhi was diverted to Stockholm on Wednesday morning due to an oil leak in one of the engines. An Air India spokesperson said the ferry flight will be operated with Boeing 777 plane that will fly out from Mumbai at around 2 pm and is expected to reach Stockholm at 11 pm (IST). The ferry flight will take off from Stockholm at around 1 am (IST) on Friday morning and reach Delhi at about 8 am (IST), the spokesperson said. The Newark-Delhi flight had 292 passengers, including 8 infants, 15 cabin crew members and 4 pilots. It had made an emergency landing at the Arlanda airport in Stockholm. The flight had landed safely. In a late evening statement on Wednesday, an Air India spokesperson said the airline was in discussion with the Swedish authorities t

Pawan Khera detained at airport after being deplaned, says Congress

Congress leader Pawan Khera was detained by police on Thursday after being deplaned from a flight to Raipur in connection with his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party said. Khera, against whom a case has been registered in Assam, was asked by the Delhi Police to deplane. Congress leaders sat on dharna at the tarmac in protest and did not allow him to be taken away without an arrest warrant. Senior Delhi Police officials later handed over a document from Assam Police seeking their help in the detention of Khera. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala accompanied Khera to a police station at the airport where there was a huge deployment of CISF. A case has been registered at Haflong police station in Assam against Khera under various sections of the IPC for his alleged remarks against the prime minister. Earlier several party leaders got off the plane after Khera was deboarded and staged a dharna on the tarmac. Khera was on his way to Raipur for the Congress .

Congress claims Khera deplaned from Raipur flight, stages dharna on tarmac

The Congress on Thursday claimed its leader Pawan Khera was deplaned from a flight to Raipur, where he was going to attend the party's plenary session. Several party leaders got off the plane after Khera was deboarded and staged a dharna on the tarmac. As drama escalated at terminal one of the domestic airport here, flight staff told Congress leaders there was confusion with Khera's bags. They said police was on its way and would explain the reason to him. Several Congress leaders raised slogans against the government while on the tarmac. "We are all on the @IndiGo6E flight 6E 204 to Raipur and all of a sudden my colleague @Pawankhera has been asked to deplane," Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, who was also on the flight, said on Twitter. "What sort of high handedness is this? Is there any rule of law? On what grounds is this being done and under whose order?" she said. The flight was delayed.

DGCA proposes steps for mental health of crew, air traffic controllers

To ensure mental wellbeing of flight crew and air traffic controllers, civil aviation watchdog DGCA has proposed various measures, including mental health assessment during the medical assessments and peer support programme. A circular will be issued to airlines and Airports Authority of India (AAI) to put in place the necessary provisions to implement the recommendations, a senior DGCA official said on Wednesday. Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) come under AAI. Amid concerns about the mental health of flight crew and ATCOs, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had set up an expert panel. The panel identified three major domains where measures can be taken. They are "mental health assessment during the medical assessments, Peer Support Programme (PSP), and pre-employment psychological assessment," the DGCA said in a release. The expert panel comprised experienced DGCA officers, air safety, clinical aerospace medicine and mental health experts (psychologists). The aim w

AI Express Mumbai-Dubai flight gets delayed by 13 hrs due to technical snag

As many as 170 passengers of an Air India Express flight to Dubai had a tough time at the airport here as the flight was delayed by 13 hours due to a technical snag. The flight, which was scheduled to take off for Dubai at 3 pm on Thursday, finally left at 4 am on Friday. In a statement, Tata Group-owned Air India Express said it provided assistance to some 50 passengers, who had special requirements, including the lounge facility. However, the remaining 120 passengers were kept at the airport terminal building, an airline source said. A total of 170 passengers were booked for the flight. Significantly, Tata Group operates at least four luxury hotels in the city with one in the domestic airport terminal premises itself. "Air India Express flight IX 247 on Mumbai-Dubai route on February 9, 2023 had a progressive delay due to a technical snag, which was beyond the control of the airline," the airline said. "We made all possible efforts to minimise the difficulties of our guests, di

Air India: Accused spreading falsities with intent of further harassment

The Complainant through her Lawyer Ankur Mehindro stated that it has been brought to our knowledge that certain scurrilous and defamatory allegations have been made on behalf of the accused