RSS asks the government to not give clearance to the newly appointed Air India CEO

RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch Friday, February 25 said the government should not give clearance to the appointment of Ilker Ayci as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India "keeping in view national security".

SJM's co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said the government is "already sensitive" to the issue and has taken up the matter "very seriously".

"We feel that government should not give its permission (to Ayci's appointment) keeping in view national security. I think the government is already sensitive to the issue and has taken up the matter very seriously. I don't think the government will approve it," he told PTI.

SJM's co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said the government is "already sensitive" to the issue and has taken up the matter "very seriously".

When asked for the reasons why the SJM is opposed to the newly appointed CEO and MD, Mahajan reiterated that it's a matter of national security. "After all, decisions are taken about a person based on his relationships."

On February 14, Tata Sons announced the appointment of Ayci, former chairman of Turkish Airlines, as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India.

Announcing his appointment, it said in a statement that Ayci will assume his new responsibilities on or before April 1. The statement also added that Ayci's appointment to the new position is subject to the requisite regulatory approvals.

Since Ayci is a Turkish national, the MHA is expected to take help from the external intelligence agency, R&AW, for his background check.

The Ministry of Home Ministry (MHA) "scrupulously" carries out a thorough background check of all foreign nationals when they are appointed to the key positions of any Indian company.

ALSO READ - MHA to conduct a thorough background check on the newly appointed CEO of Air India

It will be the same process for the newly appointed CEO and MD of Air India as well, official sources have said. Since Ayci is a Turkish national, the MHA is expected to take help from the external intelligence agency, R&AW, for his background check.

Ayci was an advisor of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when the latter was mayor of Istanbul, from 1994 to 1998. He also served Turkish Airlines as its chairman from 2015 to 2022 and was credited with turning the airline around.

A trainer aircraft crashed in Telangana's Nalgonda on Saturday, February 26. The female trainee pilot, identified as 28-year-old G Mahima from Tamil Nadu, died in the crash. The details of other people on board are yet to be known. 

The aircraft - a Flytech Aviation Cessna 152 - had taken off from Macherla in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. It is believed that it hit an electric pole before crashing to the ground.

The aircraft came crashing down in the fields between Chelakurthi and Thungathurthy village limits. It was flying across the Andhra Pradesh-Telangana border and crashed in an agricultural field in Tungaturthi village of Nalgonda district in Telangana.

The aircraft belonged to a private aviation academy called Flytech Aviation Academy. The victim, G Mahima, was pursuing a commercial pilot course at the institute.

Farmers who were working in their fields at Tungaturthi village of Peddavoora Mandal noticed the aircraft crashing down in the fields and rushed to it. They tried to douse the fire and rescue the pilots on board. Further rescue operation is on.

Eyewitnesses said they saw the aircraft coming from Nagarajuna Sagar's side, crashed and exploded in the fields. "When we rushed to the spot, we saw bodies in them," they said. DGCA's accident investigation team has inspected the crash site and will submit its report on findings soon.

Qatar Airways has asked a UK court to reinstate an order for 50 Airbus A321neo passenger jets that the European planemaker revoked as part of a bitter dispute over the partial grounding of larger A350s, a court filing showed on Friday, February 25.

Failing that, the Gulf carrier is asking a UK judge to award the airline unquantified damages over the planemaker's decision to withdraw what it described as a "unique" plane as it prepares to receive the 220-seat A321neo from February 2023.

ALSO READ - UK court orders Airbus to halt the cancellation of Qatar Airways’ A321neo

The claim is the latest salvo in a months-old contractual and safety dispute that has brought relations between two of the industry's largest players to an all-time low.

Qatar Airways sued Airbus for more than USD 600 million as it prepares for an influx of visitors ahead of this year's FIFA World Cup.

The two sides are at loggerheads over erosion to the painted surface and gaps in lightning protection on A350 jets. In the new filing, Qatar Airways disclosed that a further A350 had been grounded on February 13.

So far, the airline has said Qatar authorities have grounded 21 of its 53 A350s over safety concerns, prompting the airline to sue Airbus for more than USD 600 million as it prepares for an influx of visitors ahead of this year's FIFA World Cup.

ALSO READ - Airbus cancels more A350 orders of Qatar Airways

Airbus has acknowledged quality problems but accused the airline of mislabelling them as safety woes to get compensation. European regulators have said the problems do not amount to an airworthiness issue on the jet, which is not grounded elsewhere.

Airbus had filed documents but declined to provide details ahead of their publication.

As the A350 row heated up, Airbus last month cancelled the order for A321neos, saying Qatar had breached a clause linking the two deals. Days later, Qatar placed a provisional order for at least 25 competing Boeing 737 MAX.

ALSO READ - Qatar Airways signs a deal for 737 Max and new 777X freighters with Boeing

Despite that, Friday, February 25's filing sang the praises of the Airbus model, saying it had no available equivalent in a section designed to support its request to have the deal reinstated.

Qatar also asked the division of London's High Court to order Airbus not to try to resell the A321neos, which are in high demand. Airbus is sold out until 2028 on that model and Qatar would otherwise face "severe disruption," it said.

Airbus has been ordered to preserve the status quo until a hearing due in April. 

Details of the airline's claim emerged as Airbus was expected to issue a counter-claim in the A350 dispute. A spokesperson confirmed Airbus had filed documents but declined to provide details ahead of their publication.

The planemaker has insisted in preliminary hearings that the A350 is safe to fly and suggested its interests could be damaged if it were forced to go ahead and build the A321neos while waiting for the outcome of a potentially long spat.

Even so, Airbus has been ordered to preserve the status quo until a hearing due in April. 

(With Inputs from Reuters)

Air India has allied with Vistara under which both airlines will accommodate each other's domestic and international flyers in case of flight disruption due to some reason. The pact is valid for 2 years.

This ‘interline considerations on irregular operations’ (IROP) agreement will let both Air India and Vistara offer alternative first available flights to lessen the inconvenience caused to the passengers.

"Carriage of passengers shall be on an 'as available' basis as determined by the airport manager of accepting airline," the agreement stated, as quoted by a report published in The Times of India.

Air India and Vistara to fly each other's passengers in case of flight disruptions

Passengers must note that the transferring airline’s baggage allowance as displayed on the original ticket will apply for the flyers accepted by the airline. 

Tata Group, which recently won the winning bid for Air India, has Vistara, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines Ltd. for full-service domestic and international flights. Including these 2, the group has 4 airlines and its major focus will be on synergy and operations of the scale of the airlines.

ALSO READ - Air India and AirAsia India sign an interline passenger transfer agreement

Before its pact with Vistara, Air India signed the same with AirAsia India (AAIPL) for domestic passengers (since it doesn’t operate international flights) two weeks back. Both the pacts are valid for two years.

Tata group will be operating 3 airlines under its umbrella

After Tata's takeover of Air India in January, Bhaskar Bhat, chairman of Tata SIA Airlines, which owns Vistara spoke on the merger of Vistara and Air India.

"Vistara will continue to focus on good customer experiences and to say anything beyond that will be speculation. To say anything beyond that will be speculation. Should Air India and Vistara merge is not an answer I can give. The merger is a strategic subject and best resolved between JV partners."Bhaskar Bhat, Chairman, Tata SIA Airlines (Vistara)

(With Inputs from The Times of India)

Russia has banned British airlines from landing at its airports or crossing its airspace, its state civil aviation regulator said on Friday, February 25.

The move follows London's ban on the flights of Russian flag carrier Aeroflot imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

ALSO READ - Russian Aeroflot barred from entering the UK and its airspace

"A restriction was introduced on the use of Russian airspace for flights of aircraft owned, leased or operated by an organisation linked to or registered in the UK," the Rosaviatsia aviation authority said in a statement. 

British Airways normally operates three flights per week each way between London and Moscow

The ban took effect from 11:00 AM Moscow time (0800 GMT), it said, and included flights transiting through Russian airspace. It said the decision was taken "as a response to unfriendly decisions of the UK aviation authorities". 

British Airways normally operates three flights per week each way between London and Moscow. Virgin Atlantic's cargo-only flights between London Heathrow and Shanghai, which normally operate four times a week, have also been suspended.

The move follows London's ban on the flights of Aeroflot in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday, February 24 announced an imminent ban on the ability of the Aeroflot airline to operate in the UK as he outlined a new tranche of sanctions against Russia following President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

The largest and most severe package of economic sanctions against Russia tabled in the House of Commons includes a full asset-freeze of Russian state-owned bank VTB and powers to allow the UK to exclude Russian banks from Britain's financial system.

As the Russian troops advance towards Ukraine from several directions, laying siege to the nation's capital-Kyiv, Ukrainians are hanging on to dear life for every bit of good news they can grab hold of.

Just when all hopes seem lost, comes a ray of hope, almost out of movie-the news of the 'Ghost of Kyiv"

BGR | Representative

Since Thursday, digital whispers of a lone airborne hero among the Ukrainian resistance, have been doing the rounds. Although his name and history are deeply shrouded in mystery, many are calling the pilot the "first European Ace since World War II".

With no real confirmation of its existence, who or what is the "Ghost of Kyiv?

The Ukrainian Mig-29 "Ghost of Kyiv"

The Ghost of Kyiv is an urban legend as the nickname given to an unconfirmed Mig-29 Fulcrum flying ace, who is credited with shooting down six Russian planes in the Kyiv Offensive on 24 February 2022.

MIG-29 fighter aircraft fly at a military airbase in Vasylkiv, Ukraine | REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

According to one social media post, the Ghost of Kyiv supposedly shot down four Russian fighter jets — two Su-35 Flankers, one Su-27 Flanker and one MiG-29 Fulcrum — as well as two ground-attack aircraft, so-called Su-25 Frogfoots.

Story of Ukrainian Ace pilot goes viral | Representative | New York Post

Furthermore, news started pouring in claiming the "Ghost" had brought down another four helicopters and a Russian Ilyushin II-76 that was carrying a landing force near Vasilkyv in the south of Kyiv.

In what can be termed as one of the most turbulent times in Ukrainian history, this "mystery pilot", is supposedly active in the air and defending the country's airspace, looking to expand the list of aerial kills on his fighter resume.

Is he/she for real? Or is it, as it always later turns out to be, just another social media hype?

The "Ghost of Kyiv"- fact or myth?

Ever since the news of the "Ghost" broke the internet, people have been going bonkers with many not believing it to be real.

Here's one of the first three tweets from the internet which mentioned the "Ghost of Kyiv'' for the very first time:

https://twitter.com/aldin_ww/status/1496819456194060290?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1496819456194060290%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftaskandpurpose.com%2Fanalysis%2Fghost-kyiv%2F

The multiple videos available online were re-tweeted innumerable times, only adding fuel to the "most modern urban Russian Invasion" folklore.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also appeared to chime in posting footage of a Mig-29 downing a Russian fighter, which ultimately proved to be a page out of a flight simulation software.

It is also to be noted that Former president Petro Poroshenko, had uploaded a picture of the heroic pilot who downed 6 aircraft from the Russian Government on Thursday, February 24- which further led to the speculation that the urban legend indeed might be true.

https://twitter.com/poroshenko/status/1497293195763408905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1497293195763408905%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marca.com%2Fen%2Flifestyle%2Fworld-news%2F2022%2F02%2F26%2F6219757d22601d2e038b45bf.html

Ghost of Kyiv | President Petro Poroshenko's Twitter account

It is uncommon for modern warfare dogfights to result in air-to-air kills. The most recent one was that of a shootdown of an ??Armenian SU-25 warplane by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet amid clashes between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces over breakaway territory Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2020.

Regardless, these "legendary" stories have come up at a time when the Ukrainians need the much-required hope and motivation to resist the Russian clampdown.

Although in all likelihood, this just might be a work of fiction, as people's imaginations run wild. Nevertheless, the "Ghost of Kyiv- heroic pilot of a Ukrainian MiG-29" becomes the first air combat ace- Military folklore over European soil since World War II. 

Did you know? A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator, credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.

Do you think the "Ghost of Kyiv" really exists? Or is it just another urban legend hype up by the media to play mind games with the enemy, which of course, plays a crucial factor with regards to escalating tensions?

Let us know.

SOURCE(s)

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