Hoax bomb threat on IndiGo flight

A bomb threat, which turned out to be a hoax, delayed an IndiGo flight at Kempegowda International Airport on Sunday, August 7 night. The passengers on board the Indigo flight from Jaipur to Bengaluru were finally allowed to leave their flight at 2 AM Monday, August 8.

IndiGo flight 6E 556 from Jaipur to Bengaluru carrying 175 passengers had an emergency on Sunday night before it could land at Kempegowda International Airport after an anonymous message citing a bomb on board the flight was found scrawled on a tissue paper in a toilet.

The threat note was found scrawled on tissue paper in a toilet.

The message that was written in Hindi on tissue paper was found by a cabin crew member in the rear toilet who said, "Land na karna, Is flight mai bomb hai" (Do not land, there is a bomb in this flight). The staff who spotted the bomb threat message alerted the cockpit crew who then contacted the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Air Traffic Control unit.

The Flight Captain contacted the security agencies at KIA and landed the flight after receiving clearance. The flight landed after 9:30 pm and it was taken to an isolated bay.

Hoax bomb threat on IndiGo flight

The Bomb Disposal and Detection squad, dog squad and CISF carried out massive checks. All the passengers were double checked and handwriting samples were collected from everyone. The baggage of all flyers were isolated and individual checks carried out.

The samples of suspected passengers have been sent to the Forensics Science Lab for examination. The possibility that someone else could have written it and the tissue merely left behind by a passenger inside the toilet was also being explored.

''As a precautionary measure, the aircraft was taken to a remote bay and the bomb threat process was initiated. A standby aircraft was arranged for the passengers to avoid further delay and inconvenience.''IndiGo said in a statement.

The threat was declared a hoax after the bomb squad, canine squad and personnel of the CISF probed and gave the clearance.

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The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), on Monday, August 8, said the Indian aviation sector is likely to employ 1 lakh people directly in the next two years.

According to figures stated by MoCA, the current direct employment number stands at 2,50,000 which includes pilots, cabin crew, engineers, technicians, airport staff, ground handling, cargo, retail, security, administrative and sales staff.

Indian aviation sector to employ 1 lakh people directly in the next 2 years

"Conservative estimates show that the current direct employment in the aviation and aeronautical manufacturing sector is around 2,50,000 employees. This is expected to increase to around 3,50,000 by 2024," Reported PTI citing the MoCA. The ministry said the ratio of indirect to direct jobs in aviation is around 4:8.

"To cater to the expected traffic growth, the fleet size of Indian carriers is expected to grow substantially which would require an additional… around 10,000 pilots during the next five years," it added.

During 2019, 2020 and 2021, at least 2,368, 400 and 296 pilots were recruited, the ministry stated in the report, adding that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued 862 Commercial Pilot Licenses in 2021, which is an all-time high.

During 2019, 2020 and 2021, at least 2,368, 400 and 296 pilots were recruited

Keeping the aim of building human capital, the MoCA has mentioned that there are a total of 35 Flying Training Organisations in India, which are approved by the DGCA.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the country's aviation sector is poised for phenomenal and healthy growth in terms of passengers, aircraft and airports, with the number of air travellers projected to touch 40 crores by 2027.

Scindia emphasised growth in the market, fleet and airports. He mentioned that India is going to add 15% capacity, which boils down to 100 or 110 aircraft per year and it is looking to at close to 1,200 aircraft by 2027.

India is going to add 15% capacity, which boils down to 100 or 110 aircraft per year and it is looking to at close to 1,200 aircraft by 2027.

At present, India has a total of 136 airports, out of which only 109 are operational. Out of the 109, 24 are customs airports and 75 are domestic. While the number of operational airports has gone up in the last decade, the passenger handling capacity has also increased significantly from 219.96 million in 2014 to 407.27 million in 2022.

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The report mentioned that capital expenditure in the civil aviation sector rose as well from INR 1,399.87 crore in 2014-15 to INR 5,418.73 crore in 2022-23. The domestic tariff has more than doubled, from nearly 61 million in FY 2013-14 to around 137 million in FY 2019-20.

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Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet reported 184, 98 and 77 incidents due to technical snags during the one year till June 30, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said on Monday, August 8.

Go First, Vistara and AirAsia India reported 50, 40 and 14 incidents due to technical snags in the aforementioned period, he said in his written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

While the government-run airline Alliance Air reported five incidents, Air India Express had 10 incidents in the one year, he stated. The Tata Group took control of Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express on January 27 after successfully winning the bid for the airline on October 8, 2021.

Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet reported 184, 98 and 77 incidents due to technical snags during the one year till June 3

Overall, a "total of 478 incidents of technical snags were reported in last one year between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022", Singh noted. An aircraft may experience technical snags due to malfunctioning components or equipment fitted on the aircraft, he said.

These technical snags are reported by the flight crew on receiving an aural or visual warning in the cockpit or when there is an indication of an inoperative or faulty system or while experiencing difficulty in handling or operating the aircraft, he noted.

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Currently, SpiceJet is operating not more than 50% of its flights as per the orders of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Go First, Vistara and AirAsia India reported 50, 40 and 14 incidents due to technical snags in the aforementioned period

The regulator had in July imposed the curb on the airline's flights for eight weeks as its planes were involved in at least eight incidents of technical malfunction in the June 19-July 5 periods.

The DGCA chief issued a statement regarding the back-to-back technical snags in aircraft last month. He said an aircraft may “continue to be used for air operation subject to compliance to rules and regulations".

An aircraft is a complex machine and has many components that may continue to be used for air operations provided it is compliant with airworthiness requirements as laid down by the DGCA. During the last two months, planes of other Indian carriers have also reported multiple incidents of technical malfunction.

Air India is planning to lease six B777 aircraft for the first time in at least 10 years, officials aware of the matter said and added this was being done largely as poor interiors were delaying flights to North America.

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An official said flights to the US and Canada, specifically to Vancouver, have been delayed due to faulty seats recently. The airline recently made news for its plans of bringing back grounded widebodies and increasing flights to Vancouver.

Air India plans to lease B777s for long-haul flights to North America

Demand for direct flights to the US and Canada has skyrocketed in recent times, with the COVID pandemic becoming less severe. The leased aircraft will increase the frequency of Air India's existing North American flights and possibly add more destinations.

ALSO READ - Air India to increase its flight frequency between New Delhi and Vancouver

“Taking into account the impact on the airline operations, it has been decided that the airline will lease six B777 to operate its ultra-long-haul flights [lasting over 16 hours),” an airline official said, requesting anonymity. “The [existing] aircraft have no other issues.”

The leased aircraft will increase the frequency of Air India's existing North American flights and possibly add more destinations.

According to Flightradar24, which provides real-time information about aircraft globally, Air India’s Delhi-Vancouver flight was repeatedly delayed including by 11 hours on July 10.

The aircraft will be leased for two years and be used for flight operations within three months. “The aircraft is set to arrive by October and will be operated in addition to the current aircraft...” the official said.

A second official cited the current demand and added the airline plans to either increase the frequency of flights or add destinations. “The six leased aircraft will not replace the previous ones but will be additions to the fleet.”

Air India has a fleet of 141 narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

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The airline separately plans to buy around 50 Airbus A350-900 and 100 A321neo aircraft and induct them by the middle of next year. Last month, the airline asked its pilots to prepare for training on the A350-900 aircraft.

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The news of leasing additional 777s for long-haul flights comes even as the airline prepares to sell all three of its Boeing 777-200LR airplanes, which are less fuel efficient than the -300ER variant. Air India has a fleet of 141 narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

(With Inputs from Hindustan Times)

Japan Airlines (JAL) said it has increased the flight frequency between Bengaluru and Tokyo from twice to thrice a week. It is the only non-stop air service carrier service connecting the two cities.

JAL operates the route with a Boeing 787-8 aircraft equipped with 30 business class and 156 economy class award-winning seats. With flight schedules leaving Bengaluru after midnight, customers can easily reach Japan the next morning for the full day’s activity.

In addition, it provides ample time for passengers to connect to the 11 destinations where JAL flies directly from Tokyo Narita Airport in North America.

Japan Airlines' increment of the Tokyo-Bengaluru route strongly indicates its commitment to expanding its presence in India. 

To celebrate the progress in the direct flight from Bengaluru to Tokyo (Narita), JAL and Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) organised a lamp-lighting ceremony at the check-in counter for flight JL754 and a gate ceremony before departure on Friday.

"We are very excited to make this progress in serving the community better in Bengaluru with more convenient flights to Japan, and hence also providing greater options to connect to North America. We will continue striving to ensure utmost safety and comfort for our guests travelling between India and Japan, and in doing so, contribute to the robust flow of social and economic values between the two countries."Shinya Naruse, Vice-President & Regional Manager (India), Japan Airlines

JAL, which is a SKYTRAX 5-Star Airline, has also been awarded the highest levels of certifications such as the 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating and the Diamond Certification for Health Safety by APEX (Airline Passenger Experience Association) in recognition of its COVID-19 safety measures. JAL is also one of the only seven airlines to receive APEX’s inaugural World Class 2022 certification.

The Japanese flag carrier operates the only non-stop flight between the two cities.

India’s aviation market is one of the fastest growing markets in the world, because of this international airlines try to find new Indian cities to fly to. While Japan airlines are expanding on its Bengaluru-Tokyo route, it still serves only two destinations in India.

With a commitment to expand its presence in India, it could be looking to land in new cities in the future. Although, it faces tough competition from none other than All Nippon Airways (ANA), which also serves the same two Indian destinations as JAL, but has a higher frequency on these routes, making it challenging for JAL to expand in this route network.

Tata-owned Air India will bring back its 10 grounded wide-body aircraft to service by early 2023. The carrier announced on Sunday, August 7 that its wide-body fleet currently stands at 43 aircraft, of which 33 are operational.

The addition of wide-body planes will help Air India expand its fleet on long-haul international routes like India-US and India-Canada as aircraft have a bigger fuel tank.

In a view to expanding its network, Air India has planned to induct wide-body aircraft into its fleet.

Air India further added that it will also run daily flights between Delhi in India and Vancouver in Canada from August 31 onwards. Currently, it operates the Delhi-Vancouver service three times per week.  

ALSO READ - Air India to increase its flight frequency between New Delhi and Vancouver

This enhancement in frequency on the Delhi-Vancouver route caters to growing traffic between India and Canada and has been enabled by the return to service of the wide-body Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft.

The increase of frequency on the Delhi-Vancouver route marks the first step in restoring Air India’s fleet and international network.

 The increase in frequency between the Delhi-Vancouver route is the first step towards restoring Air India's fleet and network.

Following its acquisition by the Tata Group in January this year, Boeing has been working closely with Air India to restore aircraft that had been grounded for prolonged periods due to the Covid-19 pandemic and other reasons.

"The progressive restoration of these aircraft has already allowed Air India to increase schedule resilience and will allow further frequency and network increases over the coming months."Airline said in a statement.

In the last week of July, Wilson had asked the airline's integrated operations control centre (IOCC), which is the "nerve centre" of any carrier, to report directly to him and give recommendations on how to improve the on-time performance.