Air India unions reject 'abominable' compulsory leave without pay plan

National carrier has a debt of around Rs 70,000 cr and the government started the process to sell it to a private entity in January

The government should halt Air India’s “abominable” compulsory leave without pay (LWP) offer as it is not voluntary and is “illegal”, six employee unions of the airline wrote to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday. Air India, in an internal order on July 14, asked its departmental heads and regional directors to identify employees, based on various factors like efficiency, health and redundancy, who will be sent on LWP for up to five years.

Moreover, it said employees can voluntarily opt for the LWP scheme too.

“We are deeply ashamed to say that it seems that after praising our Air Indian Corona Warriors at grand functions, respectfully, the government has now turned a blind eye to this management’s ethnic cleansing of Air Indians at the lower levels, through compulsory LWP, redundancies and wage cuts,” the unions said in a joint letter to Puri.

“We once again request you to intervene and halt this abominable compulsory LWP scheme and grant us a meeting with yourself to discuss the way ahead for all of us together,” they said. The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, LWP and firings of employees in order to conserve cash flow.

Vande Bharat Mission: Over 700 Indians return home; more flights on Day 7

Air India along with its subsidiary Air India Express are operating a total of 64 flights to 12 countries to repatriate 14,800 Indians back in the first phase

Under the Vande Bharat Mission, Air India’s repatriation flight AI-1377, carrying 225 passengers from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia arrived at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport early on Wednesday. The evacuation operation is part of the country’s largest-ever initiative to bring back Indian nationals amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Similarly, an Air India repatriation flight carrying 169 medical students from Dhaka in Bangladesh reached Srinagar on Tuesday. “Indian Embassy in Bangladesh and Indian Govt helped us a lot. We are happy to be back. We are thankful to the Indian Government,” one of the medical students said.

Also Read:  Coronavirus update: Lockdown 4.0, Vande Bharat Mission and other stories

Ministry of Civil Aviation had said that a total of 6,037 Indians have been flown back to India in 31 inbound flights operated by Air India and Air India Express under Vande Bharat Mission in 5 days beginning from May 7. “Under this mission, Ministry of Civil Aviation is coordinating with Ministry of External Affairs and state Governments for bringing Indians back to their homeland,” the Ministry said.

Air India along with its subsidiary Air India Express are operating a total of 64 flights (42 by Air India and 24 by AI Express) to 12 countries including USA, UK Bangladesh, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Philippines, UAE and Malaysia to repatriate 14,800 Indians back in the first phase. The second phase of Vande Bharat Mission will be launched from May 16-22 during which 149 flights, including feeder flights, will be operated to bring back Indians from 31 countries, sources said…Read More

Israeli research team gets a step closer to developing a Covid-19 vaccine

Flights have been planned to Gulf, New York, London, Chicago, Dhaka, San Francisco and Singapore

India plans to airlift almost 15,000 stranded citizens across the world from 24 different countries starting from May 7. The exercise is being touted as one of the largest ever undertaken by any country. According to an internal plan prepared by the Ministry of External Affairs and reviewed by Business Standard, while priority is the Gulf region, where 70 percent of non-resident Indians live, India will also bring back stranded citizens from London, Singapore, San Francisco, New York, Washington, Kuala Lumpur, Chicago in the first week itself.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: After Delhi, Andhra Pradesh now hikes liquor price by 50%

The MEA clarified yesterday that this is a reaptriation exercise and not an evacuation, which means that passengers returning will have to bear the cost of their air ticket. According to the plan, the passengers coming from Gulf will arrive at Kochi and Kozhikode, citizens from UK and USA will be brought back to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi.

The exercise will run into several weeks and will see state-owned carrier Air India, private airlines, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy joining hands to bring back the citizens. India’s evacuation of 1,70,000 civilians from Kuwait during the 1990 Gulf war has been the world’s largest evacuation exercise of civilians by air. India had then operated a little less than 500 flights, mostly by Air India, over two months. More than 25 years later, the feat also inspired the Akshay Kumar-starrer Bollywood flick ‘Airlift’…Read More

Coronavirus scare: Air India cuts flights, IndiGo’s crew under observation

The civil aviation regulator has issued instructions to disinfect aircraft and come up with safety precautions to prevent spread of the virus

Air India has cut flights to Italy, Japan and Korea while IndiGo has placed four of its crew members under home observation to check the spread of coronavirus. The civil aviation regulator has issued instructions to disinfect aircraft and come up with safety precautions to prevent spread of the virus. The national carrier’s decision to reduce frequencies comes as the government suspended visas of citizens of the three countries. Earlier, the government had issued an advisory to citizens to avoid non-essential travel to these countries. It expanded health screening at airports to cover passengers arriving from 12 countries.

The restrictions have resulted in a sharp drop in loads as customers are postponing or canceling their travel. Frequencies to Tokyo have been reduced from five to four per week and those to Milan, Seoul and Rome were cut to two per week from three or four flights. Similarly, Air India is planning to operate a smaller Airbus A320 type aircraft to Saudi Arabia instead of the Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 due to suspension of pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered that all aircraft arriving from Korea, Italy and Japan be disinfected upon arrival in India. Boarding of passengers on return flights will commence only after health screening on arrival, it said. The DGCA has also asked all the ground staff, cabin crew members, immigration and security staff to use personal protective equipment such as surgical masks, gloves and disposable shoe covers. “Adequate hand sanitising facilities should be made available at multiple locations for use by staff and passengers,” it said…

Coronavirus: Air India, IndiGo join global peers to suspend China flights

The airlines saw a large number of cancellations impacting loads.

Air India and IndiGo joined their global peers British Airways, Lion Air and Lufthansa in announcing temporary suspension of their China flights, as India clamped down on travel to stop the outbreak of coronavirus.

Air India said Mumbai-Delhi-Shanghai flight has been cancelled from January 31 to February 14, while IndiGo is suspending its Delhi-Chengdu and Bengaluru-Hong Kong flight from February 1-20. IndiGo, however, will continue to operate its Kolkata-Guangzhou flight. Air India has also decided to cut the frequency of its daily Delhi-Hong Kong flights to thrice per week from January 31 to February 14. Bookings on the routes slumped in the last few days as businesspeople postponed their tours. The airlines saw a large number of cancellations impacting loads.

Read: What is Coronavirus

In a statement, IndiGo said it has taken the decision after a careful assessment of the situation. “These are purely temporary and precautionary measures. We understand that the measures will cause inconvenience to our customers and we be refunding the full amount to impacted passengers.”

“For now we will continue to operate our Kolkata-Guangzhou flight which we are monitoring on a daily basis. As for our operating crew we are ensuring they return to India on inbound flights without any layover in China.”

Govt announces plan to sell entire stake in Air India, sets terms for sale

March 17 is deadline for submissions of initial expressions of interest; any bidder would have to agree to assume roughly $3.26 billion in debt.

The government said India said on Monday it plans to sell its entire stake in Air India, in a revised push to sell its national carrier after an initial attempt to sell a majority stake in the airline failed to draw a single bid in 2018. A document inviting expressions of interest in Air India, released on Monday, said the government would sell a 100 per cent stake in the carrier, which operates both domestic and international routes.

The document set March 17 as the deadline for submissions of initial expressions of interest and said any bidder would have to agree to assume roughly $3.26 billion in debt, along with other liabilities.

The government said that substantial ownership and effective control of Air India would have to remain vested with an Indian entity following the sale, limiting the scope of any foreign bidders interested in the asset. In 2018, India had tried to sell a 76% stake in Air India and offload about $5.1 billion of its debt, terms that potential buyers at the time viewed as too onerous. Air India, known for its Maharaja mascot, has some of India’s most lucrative international and domestic landing and parking slots that are key for airlines.

Air India will default on installments without govt help in gathering pledges: Lohani

Air India is losing Rs 150-200 crore every month in spite of 10 percent year-on-year increment in income

Air India needs to get by till it is sold, the carrier’s Chairman Ashwani Lohani wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday, in a crisp supplication to government for reserves. Lohani’s remark comes days after he featured the aircraft’s terrible budgetary wellbeing in a letter to the common flying service. In the course of recent months, Air India is looking for government assurance to raise a Rs 2,000-crore credit. Up until now, the legislature has not followed up on the solicitation. The carrier would default on installment commitments if capital isn’t raised, Lohani is said to have written in the letter.

Air India is losing Rs 150-200 crore every month regardless of 10 percent year-on-year increment in income. Liquidity circumstance remains incredibly tight and pay for the long stretch of November was dispensed on December 11. Common Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s ongoing comment that the legislature would close down the aircraft if neglects to discover a purchaser has additionally made trip specialists and merchants anxious.

“Air India needs to make due till it is sold. I wonder for what reason is it so hard for this thankfulness to soak in and furthermore that in this condition of disinvestment, expecting an extreme improvement verging on a turnaround is an unfeasible idea. That yield can be given sans input is a horribly unrealistic idea,” Lohani said in his post. Lohani’s remark is likewise observed as a reaction to analysis from resigned carrier officials on his powerlessness to turnaround the aircraft. Lohani didn’t offer further remarks. The common aeronautics service, as well, didn’t promptly respond on the issue…

Air India stake sale: Buyer to get only Rs 10,000 crore of airline debt

This is a third of Rs 33,992 crore debt that was to be passed on to the new owner during last year’s failed disinvestment process

The government is likely to transfer about Rs 20,000 crore of additional debt from Air India’s books in order to make it lucrative for buyers. The move will leave Air India with about Rs 10,000 crore of debt. This is a third of Rs 33,992 crore debt that was to be passed on to the new owner during last year’s failed disinvestment process. Potential bidders had expressed inability to take over the debt-laden airline.

As of March 31, Air India had a debt of Rs 58,351 crore.

While the Air India Alternative Special Mechanism (AIASM) headed by home minister Amit Shah is yet to take call on it, it has been proposed to the ministerial group that the move is necessary to make it attractive for buyers. Transaction advisor EY has pointed out high debt as one of the reason why investors didn’t show any interest to acquire the airline last year.

Further, the argument is that the yearly expenditure to run Air India is more expensive for the government than to pay annual interest on a debt of Rs 50,000 crore. The government has already invested Rs 30,000 crore under a bailout package extended by the previous UPA regime in 2012 for 10 years.

The government has already transferred Rs 29,500 crore of debt to the special purpose vehicle Air India Asset Holding Limited (AIAHL). In order to clear that debt, the SPV has already raised Rs 14,000 crore from bond market. It will further raise about Rs 8,000 crore through a government-guaranteed bond issue over the course of the week. The deal becomes more lucrative as most of the the debt is backed by assets like aircraft that Air India owns.

Amit Shah panel sets the ball rolling on sale of debt-laden Air India

Officials aware of the deliberations in a meeting of AISAM on Thursday said the agenda was to seek a formal political approval for the re-initiation of the privatisation process

A group of ministers, led by Home Minister Amit Shah, on Thursday set the ball rolling on disinvestment of state-owned Air India. This is the second attempt of the Modi government to sell Air India after a previous attempt failed to generate any interest.

Officials aware of the deliberations in a meeting of AISAM on Thursday said the agenda was to seek a formal political approval for the re-initiation of the privatisation process. “It was a very productive meeting. We are going to take all the decisions in a defined period of time. The Air India divestment process is underway,” Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.

“The issue of debt and the expression of interest (EoI) will be taken up in the next meeting of AISAM,” the official quoted earlier said. The Committee of Secretaries has proposed that the government fully quit the carrier as a 24 per cent holding of the government was one of the major reasons cited by transaction advisor EY on why bidders stayed away. The government has agreed to exit the airline completely by selling off 95 per cent stake in the carrier, retaining five per cent for ESOP of permanent employees.

The government has thoroughly analysed the failed sale process of last year and is making changes in the privatisation process accordingly, the official quoted above said. “EY highlighted that the government holding a 24 per cent stake had scared away many potential suitors. Hence, the decision to sell 95 per cent has been taken,” the official said…

Air India, subsidiaries to ban single-use plastic from Gandhi Jayanti

In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged people to shun single-use plastic and encouraged usage of jute and cloth bags to protect the environment

Air India on Thursday announced that the usage of single-use plastic on the flights of its subsidiaries — Air India Express and Alliance Air — will stop from October 2, on the day of Gandhi Jayanti.

In the second phase, the single-use plastic will be banned in all Air India flights, it said. In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged people to shun single-use plastic and encouraged usage of jute and cloth bags to protect the environment.

“Air India is going to ban single-use plastic from 2nd October. In first phase it will implement in all flights of Air India Express and Alliance Air flights. In 2nd phase, it will be implemented in Air India flights,” an Air India spokesperson said.

He said banana chips and sandwiches on Alliance Air India flights and Air India Express flights will be packed in butter paper pouches instead of plastic pouches from October 2. Cake slices uplifted in snack boxes will be replaced with muffins to avoid the present plastic wrapping, the spokesperson said. He said crew meal cutlery will be replaced with light weight steel cutlery and only sturdy paper cups would be used to serve tea and coffee.

For special meals that are ordered and paid for by passengers in advance, the crew of Alliance Air and Air India Express will only use “eco-friendly birch wood cutlery” from October 2, the spokesperson said.

Govt likely to set October deadline for cash-strapped Air India sale

The Centre is planning to liberalise the terms and conditions for the sale of Air India

The development to Air India privatization has taken off going full bore with the Union Budget reporting it as the focal point of divestment this year. The administration is focusing on October as the due date for reporting the arrangement.

Not leaving anything to risk after a bombed endeavor before, the legislature has shortlisted the potential bidders, with the Tata bunch on top for its enthusiasm for aeronautics. Sources aware of everything said the administration would start converses with organizations, including Tatas, in no time for stripping its stake in the national transporter.

Also like : Budget 2019: Air India sale on cards, govt hikes divestment target for FY20

The proposed exchange with potential purchasers will harmonize with the administration method of issuing offer records for articulation of intrigue at some point this month. “Since the money clergyman has submitted in the Budget, we will begin moving toward imminent bidders,” said a source near the advancement. While calling attention to that the Tatas will be moved toward first, he stated, “They have a history with flight and they realize how to run a carrier.”

“In perspective on the current macroeconomic parameters, the legislature would not just reinitiate the procedure of key disinvestment of Air India, yet would offer increasingly focal open area undertakings for key investment by the private segment,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in her Budget discourse on Friday. The administration will before long reconstitute the Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM), following which another offer record will be issued. The AISAM is accused of giving endorsements at each progression of the Air India divestment process, with just the sweeping endorsement given by the Union Cabinet.

PMLA case: NCP leader Praful Patel appears before ED for second day

The case emerges from a criminal complaint registered by the ED for alleged irregularities in fixing air slots for international airlines that purportedly led to losses for Air India

Previous common flying pastor and NCP pioneer Praful Patel showed up before the Enforcement Directorate for a moment day Tuesday for addressing regarding a tax evasion test identified with misfortunes endured via Air India as a feature of an asserted multi-crore avionics trick, authorities said.

Patel showed up before the office at its headquarter here in Khan Market around 10.00 am. On Monday likewise, he was examined by the office for concerning right hours. The researching officer of the case recorded Patel’s announcement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Monday and the previous Union bureau priest of the UPA government was comprehended to have “participated” with the office.

The Rajya Sabha MP was approached to show up again on Tuesday as the scrutinizing and recording of his announcement needs to proceed, authorities said. The case rises up out of a criminal objection enlisted by the ED for supposed abnormalities in fixing air spaces for universal aircrafts that purportedly prompted misfortunes for Air India, the national bearer. A case for buy of 111 flying machine for the national Air transporter during Praful Patel‘s residency is additionally under test.

Praful Patel, 62, has additionally been named in an ongoing chargesheet documented by the government office under the steady gaze of a court, as an individual known to supposed avionics lobbyist Deepak Talwar. Talwar was captured by the ED at some point back. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)leader, who was incharge of the common aeronautics service somewhere in the range of 2004 and 2011, has not been referenced as a charged for the situation.

The ED has just scrutinized various individuals in the senior administration of the state-claimed aircraft and the aeronautics service. The ED had said in the chargesheet that “the examination so distant from the denounced and others uncover that Patel is a dear companion ofDeepak Talwar”. Patel had before told the media that “he will be glad to collaborate with the ED for their comprehension of the complexities of the flight area”.

Source : Business Standard

Aviation scam: Praful Patel appears before ED in connection with PMLA case

His statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and he is expected to face a series of questions

Previous common flight pastor and NCP pioneer Praful Patel Monday showed up before the ED regarding a tax evasion test identified with misfortunes endured via Air India as a component of an affirmed multi-crore avionics trick, authorities said. Patel showed up before the office around 10:30 am here, they said.His proclamation will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and he is relied upon to confront a progression of inquiries.

The case rises up out of a criminal grumbling enlisted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for supposed abnormalities in fixing air openings for global aircrafts that purportedly prompted misfortunes for Air India, the national aeronautics carrier. Praful Patel, 62, has additionally been named in an ongoing charge sheet recorded by the government office under the steady gaze of a court as an individual known to supposed avionics lobbyist Deepak Talwar, captured by the ED at some point back.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) pioneer, who was responsible for the common flying service somewhere in the range of 2004 and 2011, has not been referenced as a charged in the case. Sources had revealed to PTI that the ED had just scrutinized various individuals in the senior administration of the state-possessed aircraft and the aeronautics ministry. Patel, a Rajya Sabha MP, was relied upon to be tested about the announcements and disclosures made by Talwar, authorities said…

Vistara’s wings get Rs 4,000-cr lift in just one yr to boost overseas ops

Vistara promoters, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, have pumped Rs 4,000 crore into the airline in the last one year, according to a Livemint report

Vistara, the joint endeavor aircraft of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, is hoping to capitalize on a disturbance in the flying segment, with the biggest private carrier Jet Airways’ being grounded and Air India attempting to remain above water, by injecting cash into armada development.

Vistara advertisers, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, have siphoned Rs 4,000 crore into the aircraft over the most recent one year, as per a Livemint report, the biggest capital implantation Vistara has gotten in a year since it began flying in 2015. Prior, Vistara had said it had contracted around 500 ex-workers of Jet Airways including pilots, the lodge group, engineers and other staff.

Both Jet and Air India have emptied various flying divisions, opening up many spaces at air terminals and clearing path for different bearers to extend tasks quicker. The carrier is increase its quality in the household advertise, having included six planes, including four Boeing 737s, to its armada in April. These Boeing 737s were prior flown by Jet Airways and will have two class designs (12 business and 156 economy seats).

At present, the full-administration transporter interfaces 24 goals, works more than 850 flights seven days served by an armada of 22 Airbus A320 air ship. Leslie Thng, CEO of Vistara, stated, “Our attention on serving the local market has stayed steadfast even as we plan to turn into a worldwide carrier. These rented air ship will be sent to meet the abrupt drop in limit in the market and to help comfort of explorers.”

Thng said the choice to draft distinctive air ship type in Vistara armada is a deliberately assessed one, which is both monetarily and economically practical, and will inevitably help in growing the carrier crosswise over India. In March, Civil Aviation Secretary P S Kharola said Vistara has been offered consent to work universal flights.

Be that as it may, the race to procure Jet’s piece of the overall industry won’t be simple as Spicejet and Indigo, as well, are going on an extension mode. Spicejet as of late said it has included around 23 planes over the most recent one month alone. The Gurugram-based spending transporter currently has 68 Boeing 737s, 30 Bombardier Q-400s and two B737 vessels.

Air India fiasco to Macquarie-NHAI pact: A tale of two privatisations

For privatisation to pick up momentum, it is essential to start with "less complex" assets

 

Charles Dickens' famous line "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" in his novel "A Tale of Two Cities" aptly describes the recent privatisation scenario in India.

While the bid from Macquarie to acquire a bundle of nine highways from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) exceeded NHAI's expectations by 50 percent, the Air India privatisation effort, in sharp contrast, failed to attract even a single bidder. Both experiences, with varying degrees of complexity, teach us valuable lessons.

Investors with capital to allocate are looking at assets in India -- one of the fastest-growing economies in the world -- with an eye on the growth in the coming decades. It is important to realise that investors, in general, are primarily looking for assets with similar qualities to what the bundle of highways offered, namely (1) Cash-flow profile clarity (2) Positive cash-flow asset (3) Consumption growth story to back the asset (4) Total management control.

It is essential first to understand the nature of investors who would be interested in a privatisation or asset monetisation in India. There are primarily four types of investors that we must look at (1) Indian corporations (2) Foreign institutional investors such as pension, sovereign and insurance funds (3) Private equity firms (4) Trade buyers.

Of these, the Indian corporates will have quite a few significant players with strategic interests in the privatisation, but by and large, given their stressed balance sheets, their involvement will be limited. If anything, cash-flow clarity will be an absolute essential for them to invest in privatisation.

Large pension, sovereign and insurance funds that have started to invest in Indian assets especially over the last few years would be interested in the asset monetisation process. Such funds look for infrastructure assets with positive cash-flow profiles. Because, in general, they have long-dated liabilities, they focus on assets that can utilise long-dated debt financing to yield stable positive cash-flows. Clarity around cash-flow profiles and positive cash-flow assets will generally be the investments such funds find attractive.

Read More : Air India  

Dealing in excessive cash no more safe in India: Arun Jaitley

Jaitley assured that the economic indicators are being assessed and appropriate action will be taken soon

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said corruption no longer exists in the Centre, while lauding its proactiveness in implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the crackdown on excessive cash transactions, benami property, shell companies and so on.

"Corruption in the central government has become a thing of the past. This is happening in states as well. The present government has taken quick decisions whether it is implementing the GST or targeting subsidies are concerned. As far as black money and benami transactions are concerned, it is no safer in India to deal in excessive cash," Jaitley said while addressing the 2nd India Investor Summit organised by JPMorgan here.

Urging timely filing of the GST, Jaitley stated that assesses should file their returns four to five days prior to the due date to avoid last minute glitches.

"India's confidence as a nation has increased tremendously in the last few years. So far, we have been able to contain the impact of inflation post-GST. There has been a positive move towards digitization, and remonetisation has been substantially completed. As far as bringing more items under GST is concerned, I think real estate is the easiest to bring in," he opined.

Jaitley assured that the economic indicators are being assessed and appropriate action will be taken soon....Read More

Want Rs 2,500 tickets under UDAN? Please book in advance on popular routes

Shimla-Delhi flights are sold out but others are available much below the capped limit of Rs 2,000

 

#LATEST| Five days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik”, or UDAN, scheme from Shimla airport, Tushar Patel tried to book tickets from Delhi to the hill station. To his surprise, he couldn’t find the subsidised Rs 2,500 fare. Instead, the cheapest fare in May was Rs 8,049 and on some days, it was as high as Rs 15,090.

Travellers lapped up the cheaper tickets soon after the scheme was launched. “On Delhi-Shimla route, all tickets reserved under UDAN scheme are sold out until June end. What’s available now are few seats that have market-linked rates,” says CS Subbiah, chief executive officer of Alliance Air, an Air India subsidiary.

This is quite a contrast to the other three routes that are operational at present. If you were to take a round trip between Mumbai and Nanded, the fares are Rs 4,000 – below the cap of Rs 2,500 one way. But if you are flying between Hyderabad and Kadapa or Nanded and Hyderabad, you can get a return ticket even for around Rs 2,000.

Shimla stands out among all other operational routes because of the holiday season. “The city is one of the most popular holiday destinations in India, hitherto inaccessible to many tourists due to lack of convenient air connectivity. It is also a state capital. There is a huge unmet demand,” says Amber Dubey, partner and India head of aerospace and defence at global consultancy KPMG.

The number of seats available on the route are much lower, too, because the airport is at a high altitude. "From Delhi to Shimla, the 42-seater aircraft can only carry 35 passengers. Out of these, 24 are reserved for UDAN. But from Shimla to Delhi, the aircraft can carry only 15 passengers and all these seats are sold at Rs 2,500 or lower. While an individual can still pay a higher fare to go from Delhi to Shimla, there are no seats available for the return trip until July," explains Subbiah.| read more

Not just Air India: Airline association bans unapologetic Sena MP Gaikwad

Air India lodged a complaint with the police against the MP for 'assaulting' its duty manage

 

An association of airlines has today decided that Ravindra Gaikwad, a Shiv Sena MP who assaulted a staff member of Air India, will not be allowed on flights, say sources, according to a report published by NDTV.

Air India has already blacklisted the MP. Tho move has been also supported by budget carrier IndiGo which said it will support any move which bars unruly passengers from flying, a day after Air India said it was mulling preparing a no-fly list.

"We will support a no-fly list," IndiGo President and Whole Time Director Aditya Ghosh told PTI.

Ravindra Gaikwad was flying on an Air India flight from Pune to Delhi and hit airline's duty manager Shivkumar with his slippers several times when the latter urged him to deplane at the Indira Gandhi airport.|  Watch: You can watch the video here

Gaikwad, carrying a business class ticket, insisted on taking the airline's early morning flight AI-852 from Pune to Delhi, which is an all-economy class. This led to an argument with the airline employees in Pune and an assault on the manager by the MP when the aircraft landed in Delhi.

"I dare the Delhi police to arrest me...I will not apologize, he (Air India manager) must come to me and apologize," Gaikwad told reporters on Friday, claiming that "a 60-year-old man must know how to behave" and suggesting that his party will stand by him. 

Air India lodged a complaint with the police against the Shiv Sena MP for "assaulting" its duty manager at Delhi airport, an airline spokesperson said (read full story)

Govt mull steps to check unruly passengers as Sena MP assaults AI staffer

The MP turned violent, broke the duty manager's spectacles, tore his shirt and hit him with slippers

The government is working on an institutional mechanism to check "undesirable flight behaviour" while Air India is mulling preparing a no-fly list for unruly passengers.

This follows an incident at the IGI airport n which a Shiv Sena MP allegedly assaulted a 60-year-old airline staffer.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said such regrettable incidents should never happen again.

"We are also working on creating institutional mechanisms to check undesirable flight behaviour or unruly passengers," Raju said in a series of tweets.

Following the incident, the national carrier is also looking to have a no-fly list.

"Air India is examining creation of no-fly list of unruly passengers on the lines of other carriers," a senior airline official said.

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who was flying on an Air India flight from Pune to Delhi, hit the airline's duty manager Sukumar with his slipper several times when the latter urged him to deplane after the lawmaker refused to do so once the plane landed at the Delhi airport.

"The MP turned violent, broke the duty manager's spectacles, tore his shirt and hit him with slippers several times," an airline source said.

Gaikwad, carrying a business class ticket, insisted on taking the airline's early morning flight AI-852 from Pune to Delhi, which is an all-economy class. This led to an argument with the airline employees in Pune and an assault on the manager by the MP when the aircraft landed in Delhi.

In recent times, there have been reported incidents of unruly behaviour by the fliers onboard various airlines.(Click here..)