PIA pilot refuses to fly after weather diversion, passengers stranded

Protest erupted at Dammam airport after a Pakistani pilot refused to fly further after an emergency landing, saying that his shift had ended. However, the pilot was just following rules to ensure flight safety.

Although the pilot’s action started a huge buzz online, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) clarified that pilots need proper rest after the end of their shifts before flying again.

The PIA flight PK-9754 was en route to Islamabad from Riyadh but had to make an emergency stop in Dammam due to bad weather, The Express Tribune reported.

At Dammam airport, the stranded passengers started a protest. They refused to get off the plane, and airport security had to intervene to bring the situation under control. A PIA spokesperson later said all passengers have been accommodated in hotels.

According to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority rules, a person whose duty time has been exceeded is not permitted to act as a crew member and must be provided a specified period of rest.

“A pilot should rest because it is necessary for flight safety. All passengers will reach Islamabad Airport at 11 PM. Until then all arrangements have been made in hotels,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by Gulf News.

In November 2021, Pakistan’s national carrier had announced that it was expanding its flight operations to Saudi Arabia. The PIA announced that flights will now depart from different cities of the country, including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Peshawar.

Around the world, airline companies take steps to counter pilot fatigue. In 2011, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) set rules to ensure a 10-hour minimum rest period before a flight duty period. The rule also mandates that a pilot must have an opportunity for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep within the 10-hour rest period.

The Delhi airport has successfully handled a total of 9.3 lakh metric tonnes of cargo between January and December 2021 – making it the highest volume of cargo handled by any airport in the country in the past year, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), its handler, said in a statement issued on Friday, January 21. 

“Out of 9.3 lakh MT cargo, handled by Delhi Airport, 3.3 lakh MT was domestic cargo and 6 lakh MT International cargo. The key product categories handled by Delhi airport included readymade garment (RMG), electronics goods, pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, automobile/machine parts,” the statement said. 

The airport saw an impressive cargo growth of about 27% when compared with cargo handled by Delhi airport in 2020, which was 7.3 lakh MT. It is the only airport in the country to handle over 10 lakh MT in 2019, which is about 30% of the India’s total air Cargo.

Delhi airport handled 9.3 lakh MT of cargo in 2021, highest in the country

While in 2021, the airport handled over 25,000 Cargo flight Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) whereas in 2019 this figure was around 9,900 ATMs.

“Last year, Delhi airport also saw an increase in connectivity to international destinations. In 2021, international connections from Delhi increased to 87 from 71 in 2019. Major international routes, which showed high recoveries, were majorly the UK, USA, UAE, Germany, France,” it said. 

Further, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has designated the airport as a major hub for the handling of Covid relief material. It handled over 150 Cargo Relief flights with around 2,000 MT of relief cargo. 

“In spite of major disruption caused by COVID in global supply chain last year, Delhi Airport registered a robust growth in cargo. It was possible due to airport’s strong international connectivity and various initiatives taken by DIAL in collaboration with its stakeholders to maintain smooth Cargo operations and driving recoveries to the pre-COVID levels."Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL)

The airport handled over 38 million PPEs/medical supplies including bodysuits, ventilators, oxygen concentrators, Temperature guns, gloves, etc, DIAL said. 

The airport company said that Delhi Airport also witnessed an increase in connectivity to international destinations. “In 2021, international connections from Delhi increased to 87 destinations from 71 in 2019. Major international routes in 2021, which showed high recoveries, were majorly the USA, Germany, France, the UK and UAE,” the company said.

The central government on January 21 has reduced the number of handbags per passenger to one to reduce congestion and security threats at the airport. As per the notification to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the rule is for all domestic flights in India.

The CISF has asked the airport operators and airlines to implement the order after it found that passengers flying with more than one cabin baggage are choking the security check-in counters at airports across the country.

"As per BCAS AVSEC Circular Nos. 06/2000 & Lt12000, no passenger should be permitted to carry more than one handbag other than those items already listed in the circular including a lady's bag. However, it has been seen that a passenger on an average carries 2-3 numbers of handbags to the screening point," it stated.

Circular by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)

“However, it has been seen that passengers on an average carry 02-03 Nos of handbags to the screening point. This has led to increased clearance time as well as delays, congestion in PESC points and inconvenience to passengers. It is, therefore, felt that enforcement of the aforesaid Circulars must be ensured by all stakeholders/airlines,” the order further read.

The airline may be made responsible and depute staff to guide pax, check and verify their handbag status etc, before allowing the passenger for Pre-embarkation security checks, it said.

"All airlines may be directed suitably to inform pax and to display 'one handbag rule' on their tickets/boarding passes very conspicuously," the order stated.

CISF tightens cabin baggage rules, only one allowed per passenger.

The order further stated that airport operators may be instructed to place hoarding/banner/board/standees displaying the contents of the 'One handbag Rule' near the check-in counters, vantage locations before SHA (Security Hold Area) at the airports so that passengers get sensitized and if required, have an option to switch their extra handbags to registered baggage.

The CISF, which guards all key airports across the country, has asked all airlines to inform passengers by putting this message on boarding passes/tickets. Airport operators have also been asked to inform passengers through hoardings.

Thailand will resume a quarantine-free visa program for vaccinated visitors starting in February, as the tourism-reliant nation shifts its focus to economic recovery following ease in new Covid-19 infections. 

International travellers from all countries can apply for visas under the so-called Test & Go entry program from February 1, the government said after a meeting of its main Covid task force on Thursday, January 20. Visitors will be required to undergo two Covid tests after arrival, one upon entry and another on the fifth day. 

“We can no longer close our borders as the economic costs will be too high,” Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said. “Reopening and managing the outbreak need to go hand in hand.”  

Thailand relaxes entry restrictions as Covid fear fades

Thailand has experimented with several visa, quarantine and tourism programs over the past two years to support a sector that contributed about one-fifth of GDP before the pandemic, with 40 million foreign tourists generating more than USD 60 billion in 2019.

The Southeast Asian nation suspended its quarantine-free program in late December after spikes in the omicron variant were detected among foreign arrivals and in several local communities. 

While Thailand did see a jump in new cases after the Christmas and New Year holidays, the numbers are far below the peak tallies during the delta wave and have yet to overwhelm the healthcare system. The halting of the entry scheme, in concert with more vaccinations and tightening of local restrictions, helped keep the situation manageable, officials said. 

While Thailand did see a jump in new cases after the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The decision to revive the quarantine-free travel program is in line with the government’s call to treat Covid-19 as endemic and efforts to revive an industry that employs millions of people. 

“The resumption of this program, which is expected to bring in more foreign tourists, can help strengthen the fragile economic recovery,” said Nattaporn Triratanasirikul, an economist at the research unit of Kasikornbank Pcl, which forecasts about 4 million arrivals from overseas this year. 

“The government needs to find a way for the economy to run on its own, so they can reduce fiscal support,” the economist said. “They can’t afford to borrow such a huge amount of money like before.”

The Test & Go program, which previously allowed vaccinated travellers from about 60 countries to skip quarantine, helped attract about 350,000 visitors in just two months before it was suspended. Narrower visa plans have involved so-called Sandbox systems, under which people could arrive and remain in specific destinations like Phuket and Koh Samui with limited restrictions.  

The government also currently allows entry to visitors who quarantine for seven to 10 days in approved hotels or join "sandbox" programs in areas such as the resort island of Phuket where they have freedom of movement during a seven-day quarantine period.

(With Inputs from Bloomberg)

Air India, which will be housed under Tata Sons' subsidiary Talace following the handover by the government at the end of this month, may have to pay a royalty to Tata Sons for using the Tata brand name, according to a report published by The Economic Times.

The final handover formalities of Air India from the government to the Tata group includes putting in place arrangements for the payment of brand royalty charges to Tata Sons as owners of the acquired airline entity.

(Image Courtesy - Business Insider India)

"A newly formed board committee for Air India is currently discussing the possibilities of using the Tata brand name for Air India, and if they do, Air India will have to pay the royalty."

Employees of Air India have to sign the Tata Code of Conduct once it comes into the Tata fold. The usage of the Tata branding is therefore inevitable," according to an official familiar with the matter. "Vistara and Air Asia haven't paid royalty to Tata Sons because they do not use the Tata branding," the official added.

Under the Tata Brand Equity and Business Promotion (TBEBP) scheme, group companies using the Tata brand have to pay 0.25% of annual revenue or five per cent of the profit before tax. The brand Air India, which will be untouched for five years, may include a tagline of a Tata Enterprise or Tata Airline.

"It does not matter if an entity using the Tata brand name is loss-making, the royalty payment is charged on the revenues generated, not on profits made", a Tata group official said.

The transfer of Air India to the Tata Group has been delayed to January 31 due to procedural delays in the finalisation of the company's balance sheet and some approvals from international regulators.

"This is a quirky and convoluted twist for sure. Out here there is a brand that belonged to the Tatas, went to the GoI. Returned to the Tatas this year. The brand identity remains Air India with a label of new ownership of the Tatas slapped back onto it. And then of course there is the issue of royalty the brand needs to pay!This is a fair practice across the globe, where the mother brand is used by a disparate set of companies for market advantage. Therefore if Air India is to pay in royalty to the mother brand TATA, its practice falls within bounds."Harish Bijoor, Business and Brand Strategy Specialist

An estimated eight brand logos would be transferable to the Tatas which they have to retain for five years.

The TBEBP is nearly a three-decade-old brand philosophy under which group companies under the Tata umbrella need to pay a fee for the use of the brand.

(With Inputs from The Economic Times)

An American Airlines flight headed to London returned to Miami less than an hour after taking off, after a passenger refused to follow the federal requirement to wear a face mask, according to the airline.

The airline called Miami police, and officers escorted a woman off the plane at Miami International Airport on Wednesday evening without incident. A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Police Department said American Airlines staff dealt administratively with the passenger.

The woman was put on American's internal no-fly list pending further investigation, an airline spokesman said. Airlines have frequently banned passengers for the duration of the pandemic if they refuse to follow mandatory mask requirements designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

American said there were 129 passengers and 14 crew members on the plane. Pilots turned the Boeing 777 around less than an hour into the transatlantic flight, according to tracking service FlightAware.

Airlines reported nearly 6,000 incidents involving unruly passengers last year and 151 in the first two weeks of this year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Most of them involved passengers who refused to wear masks.

Reports of unruly behaviour on planes surged to a record 5,981 last year, more than 71% tied to disputes over a federal mask mandate that went into effect early last year, though airlines had required them since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Some incidents included physical assault against crews. In October 2021, an American Airlines flight attendant was hospitalized after a passenger allegedly struck her in the face, forcing the cross-country flight to divert.

In January 2021, the FAA announced a "zero-tolerance" policy for unruly passenger behaviour that skips warnings or counselling and goes directly to penalties, which can include heavy fines and jail time.

It is unclear whether the passenger involved in the incident on AA flight 38 will face enforcement action from the FAA. The FAA has civil authority to propose fines up to USD 37,000 per violation for unruly passenger cases. The agency does not have the authority for criminal prosecution.