Fog-delays flights to and from Ranchi

Ranchi:  A dense fog has enveloped Delhi once again, causing various airlines to change their flight schedules along the Ranchi-Delhi routes on Tursday.

Among the airlines affected, Jet Airways has changed the schedule of its Kolkata-Ranchi morning flight.

SpiceJet deadlock continues

Chennai: Negotiations to bail out SpiceJet took a new turn when former promoter Ajay Singh, who has a revival plan, met the the cash-strapped airline’s brass on Monday, according to sources. S L Narayanan, the Sun Group’s chief financial officer, did not respond to calls and text messages. Singh declined to comment on his meeting.

HAL hands over overhauled Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft to IAF

Nasik: The first of the Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter planes, overhauled within the country, was today handed over to the Indian Air Force by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in Nasik, making India the only nation to re-do the Russian-made
aircraft.

The overhauling of the fighter, which is the backbone of the IAF, was done by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The company said the second aircraft is also ready for delivery.

Largest batch of Air Technical Officers join Naval air arm

Kochi: The largest batch of Air Technical Officers--43 officers, including two from the Indian Coast Guard, passed out today from the Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology and joined the aviation arm of the Navy and Coast Guard.

The Passing Out parade, held at Naval Base, was reviewed by Rear Admiral AK Jain, the Chief of Staff of Southern Naval Command while Commodore Sanjeev Dureja, Director NIAT conducted the parade, a naval press release said.

Fight temporarily grounded following engine failure

Kochi: The Qatar airways which took off on Friday morning had to be grounded temporarily after the pilot noticed a failure in the flight engine. The plane which got airborne at 4:30 am on Friday had to be brought back to the ground by about 5:30am. There were 250 passengers on board the flight.

SpiceJet regular on payments: BOC Aviation

New Delhi:  Bank of China Aviation PTE Ltd, which has leased three aircraft to SpiceJet, is not unduly worried about the current financial state of the airline, said Robert J Martin, its Managing Director and Chief Executive.

The aviator?

It is not the first time the Wright brothers have been accused of dishonesty. In 1906, an editorial in Paris Herald famously wondered if the brothers were "flyers or liars". To this day, some reject the American duo's 1903 flight for relying on a catapult and believe that a Brazilian aviator, Alberto Santos-Dumont, was the first to prove that a heavier-than-air machine could take off on its own. Another aviator, Gustave Whitehead, later argued he had tested powered machines as early as 1901. But assertions that an Indian by the name Shivkar Bapuji Talpade had invented the modern aircraft eight years before the Wright brothers, as recently brought into discussion by a controversial paper presented at the Indian Science Congress in Mumbai, seem rather off course.

SpiceJet to resume flights to Hubballi on January 16

Hubballi: SpiceJet will resume flying to Hubballi on January 16, according to sources. With the old runway at the airport repaired and strengthened, other private airlines are set to follow suit in the next couple of months, improving air connectivity to Hubballi.

SpiceJet, which had daily services to Bengaluru and Delhi via Mumbai from Hubballi, suspended its operations in August, 2014, as the works on airport development at a cost of Rs 140 crore had started then. Now, the old runway has been strengthened to facilitate operation of small planes with 70-80 seats.

SpiceJet says did not receive any credit from oil companies

Beleaguered airline SpiceJet Wednesday said it has received no credit from oil companies, even as it scotched speculation about having failed to submit any revival plan today. "... there was no revival plan due for submission today," SpiceJet's Chief Operating Officer Sanjiv Kapoor said late tonight in a statement. The airline also said in a statement that it "received no credit from oil companies". Besides, the company termed as "complete speculation" the reports that SpiceJet has already received Rs 17 crore from the investors to clear all its dues to the oil companies.

With Vistara, a Tata airline is reborn

Mumbai: On the afternoon of October 15, 1932, the Postmaster of Bombay and other dignitaries assembled in the city’s Juhu area to welcome a tiny Puss Moth aircraft carrying post from Karachi.

Piloted by J R D Tata, the flight had a historical significance — it was the first such mail service by an Indian company, and it laid the foundation of Air India.

Eight decades later, it will be another historic event when the Airbus A320 aircraft of Vistara, the full-service joint venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, takes off on its maiden flight — from Delhi to Mumbai — on Friday afternoon. This will mark Tatas’ re-entry in the airline business after over six decades. Though the Tatas own a 30 per cent stake in AirAsia India as well, they are far less involved in its operations.

Obama visit likely to see FAA revoking downgrade

US President Barack Obama may bring good news for the Indian aviation sector this Republic Day, as his visit coincides with the timing of a written report from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the audit conducted last month. Obama is the chief guest at the 66th Republic Day parade.

An internal note by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) says that the initial report on the audit conducted between December 8 and 12, 2014, will be sent by the FAA in over a month.

Air India starts ladder point checking for Kabul flights after hijacking alert by IB

New Delhi: Air India has started ladder-point checks of passengers and crew and their cabin luggage for its flights to and from Kabul, following a hijacking alert issued by the Intelligence Bureau.

"The ladder-point checking at the Delhi airport is done by CISF personnel and the local security in Kabul does the checking there," an Air India official said on condition of anonymity. "Post the checking at the ladder, we also check all luggage in the overhead bin and their owners are identified. No luggage, without any owner, is allowed to stay in the flight."

Terror message on Mumbai airport wall: 'ISIS will attack on Jan 10'

Mumbai: Security agencies were alerted on Wednesday after a hand written note scribbled on a wall inside the Mumbai airport threatened of an impending attack by the ISIS on January 10.
The note, found inside a toilet in the Level 2 of Terminal 2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, read “ATTECK BY ISIS DATE 10/01/15 (sic)”.

Security beefed up at Mumbai international airport after terror note found in men's loo

Security has been beefed up at the Mumbai International Airport after a threat message was found scribbled on a wall of men's toilet at the airport late on Tuesday.The hand written note threatened a terror attack by ISIS on January 10. It reads "ATTECK BY ISIS DATE 10/01/15 ".

UAVs pose threat to flights: Aviation experts

Chennai: Pilots are yet to report near misses between hobby drones and aircraft but aviation experts and air traffic controllers are worried that lack of law in regulating use of such tiny remote controlled flying objects will turn out to be a risk for flights. Foreshore Estate where a drone fell on a hotel is near the flight approach path to the airport.