PTI reports, the engine of a Gulf Air Airbus A321 aircraft with 124 passengers and nine crew caught fire a few minutes prior to its take-off today, disrupting flight operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at Mumbai, for about an hour.

"The engine of the Bahrain-bound Gulf Air flight GF 065 caught fire just when it was lined up for departure," a spokeperson for airport operator Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) said, adding that all the people on board the plane are safe.

The aircraft was scheduled to take-off at 19:21 (13:51 GMT)

Immediately, apron control and fire officials rushed to the runway and put out the fire, the spokesperson said.

As a result of the incident, two Air India flights scheduled to land had to make a"go-around" and circle in the skies for some time before the airport could resume full operations.

An Air India official said one of its Chennai-Mumbai flights was diverted to Pune in addition to a Delhi-Mumbai and Bangkok-Mumbai flight being forced to make a "go-around".

oneworld, the global airline alliance, claims to have become the first to launch a new internet booking tool to allow purchasing of multi-airline round-the-world air tickets.

The oneworld Explorer fare tool is available on the Oneworld website, making the airline alliance the first alliance to offer public fares for sale on the internet. All oneworld member airlines will also provide links to the booking tool on their separate websites.

Choosing from ten member airlines and 20 affiliates, customers and travel agents will be able to plan and book a round-the-world itinerary and pay for tickets online. Availability of flights and seats on dates selected will automatically be checked when customers click on destinations on an interactive map. The system then validates the chosen itinerary, making sure that it meets all the fare’s rules and conditions, before immediately issuing a price for the selected journey. Oneworld Explorer calculates its price based on the number of continents visited rather than the mileage flown. Itineraries can be up to 16 sectors, and when finalised, customers just have to pay online and print out the details whilst the e-tickets are sent to their email.

For more information visit here

BIAL, the promoter of Bengaluru International Airport, has been making steady progress in streamlining operations, and increasing functionality and usability at airport, especially in the non-passenger areas, but BIAL had a litany of woes yesterday, which made for a terrible Friday, and left me shaking my head, commiserating with BIAL.

First, the Karnataka High Court ruled that the airport is a public institution, which has other ramifications for BIAL.

On a petition filed by Flemingo Duty Free Shops Limited of Mumbai challenging BIAL not considering their expression of interest to set up duty-free shops at the international airport, a division Bench, headed by Justice V Gopala Gowda, held that BIAL is an entity which comes under Article 12 of the Constitution and is subject to writ jurisdiction, consequently quashed the contract awarded to duty-free shops at the airport.

BIAL had said that as it was purely a private company, its actions were not subject to writ jurisdiction.

The court, while nullifying the contract given by the airport to Nuance Group AG of Switzerland for setting up of these shops, asked BIAL to redo the process from the expression of interest stage and complete it within 45 days.

This is a repeat of the June ruling of the Mumbai High Court against MIAL, the operator of Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. In that case too, Flemingo was the petitioner.

No doubt, the Supreme Court, is the next stop for this saga.

Second, at around 4pm, passengers faced a harrowing day at the airport, when the servers handling the check-in for Jet Airways and Kingfisher crashed. These two airlines handle over 65% of the total traffic at Bangalore, and Friday 4pm is probably one of the highest periods in the week. Passenger queues immediately built-up, as did tempers and angst.

As per the Deccan Chronicle

"But after the servers crashed, the two airliners’ started issuing boarding passes manually. The manual ticketing was time-consuming. Passengers protested against the long delays. Additional staff were deputed to handle the ticketing and the situation was soon brought under control. But it took an hour to get the systems up and running," sources said.

Congrats to everyone in reacting to the situation and resolving it quickly.

As if this was not enough, more trouble came in the form of a repeat strike by the drivers of Meru Cabs, who had gone on strike earlier this week.

As per the Deccan Chronicle

In addition, passengers arriving at BIA found there were no cabs to take them into the city after drivers of Meru cab services called a snap stir and suspended services, for the second time this week. Many passengers were seen boarding the Volvo bus service to the city. The drivers, had been assured there would be a revision in the stipulated daily collection when they had a meeting with the management last week.

According to that arrangement, the company provides the drivers with cars while the drivers pay the company Rs 900 per day irrespective of their revenue. This rate was revised upwards to Rs 1,200 from December 1 which upset the drivers.

The meeting to resolve differences on Friday was inconclusive, a Meru cab driver said. "Not only has the company increased daily fees, it has added 250 cars to the existing fleet of 500 which has affected our business. This angered us and we called for strike. We will resume only after our demands are met," said Krishna Murthy, a driver.

When contacted. a Meru company spokesperson said all Meru services are temporarily suspended and services would resume soon. He declined to comment on the deadlock with the drivers. Meru is a major operator at the airport and has bagged more than 50 percent of the transport business.

I remind passengers, that there are two more taxi operators at the airport, and the wonderful BMTC Vayu Vajra Volvo bus service. There is no need to panic. Just click on the "BIA Bus and Taxi" link on the top menu for full details.

In 2009, Delta Air Lines will add its first-ever daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia* effective July 1; three-times weekly service between Los Angeles and Sao Paulo, Brazil* beginning May 21; and increased service between Los Angeles and New York-JFK starting March 2.

The current seven daily flights between Los Angeles and New York-JFK will increase to eight in an effort to improve connections for New York and Northeast customers on long-haul international flights via Los Angeles. Additionally, Delta customers in the Southeastern U.S. will benefit from same-plane service between Atlanta and Sydney via LA.

Delta’s focus on Los Angeles is being supported by the recently announced expanded marketing agreement between Delta and Alaska Air Group that will make the two companies preferred partners on the West Coast.

Starting July 1, 2009, DL17 will depart Los Angeles at 2240 and arrive Sydney at 0640 two days later (after crossing the international date line).

Starting July 3, 2009, DL16 will depart Sydney at 0915 and Los Angeles at 0600 the same day (time saved by crossing the international date line).

The flight is expected to be 14 hours in one direction and 13 in the other.

The Sydney service will be operated on Delta's new Boeing 777-200LR in a two class configuration, fitted Delta's latest seating including fully flat-bed seating in business class in a herringbone layout.

Currently, the route is operated by Boeing 747-400's of Qantas and United in a 3 class configuration, but United is upgrading its aircraft, and Qantas is planning to introduce the Airbus A380 super jumbo with a 4th class, premium economy, on this route. More competition also coming in the form of Virgin Australia commencing operations with a Boeing 777-300ER in a three class configuration.

With this addition of capacity, fares are bound to head south (sorry for the pun), which while good news for the passengers, is not for the airlines. Will Delta or any of the other three airlines suffer the same fate as American and Continental and withdraw ? Only time will tell.

With the Sydney flight Delta will become only U.S. airline to fly to six continents, and is good news for the SkyTeam alliance, which is severely under-represented down-under. The Sydney service adds the crucial and missing Australia-North America link for the alliance.

Delta will operate Sao Paulo with a Boeing 767-300ER, in a two class configuration.

Starting May 21, 2009, DL233 will depart Los Angeles at 2100 Tue, Thu, Sun, and arrive Sao Paulo at 1320 the next day.

Starting May 22, 2009, DL234 will depart Sao Paulo at 2225 Mon, Wed, Fri, and arrive Los Angeles at 0730 the next day.

Thanks to a post by Jon Ostrower at FlightBlogger, I came across some breathtaking 360 degree panoramas of the Airbus A380. Thanks Jon.

The photographer, Giles Vidal, has produced several panoramic views from the delivery of the first A380 to Singapore Airlines, including tours of the cabin, to the A380 cockpit, and now a beautiful panoramic look inside the cabin of the Qantas Airbus A380.



I strongly urge you to visit the site. I do warn you however, the site is bandwidth hungry, and will mesmerize you and severely limit your ability to get any work accomplished.

As I indicated in my previous article, there are strong rumours of a "merger" or "tie-up" between Australian carrier Qantas and Malaysian Airlines (MAS). Given the regulatory stranglehold and national politics involved in Asia, a full merger is next to impossible.

Not only do I feel that this tie-up will happen, I strongly believe that it will result in positive results for all the players, not just the airlines.

The future for Qantas is Asia, but either due to a difference in business culture, or national ego, or economic and/or market positions, Qantas really has no serious potential partners in Asia, other than Malaysian. A tie-up with either Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific or Japan Airlines and can be written off due to culture or ego reasons. Garuda, Thai, Philippines, Eva, China Air, Air China, or any of the Taiwanese or Chinese airlines are too small or do not offer adequate economic benefits to Qantas.

Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce, had said that Qantas was looking to be the senior partner in any merger or similar relationship that the carrier entered into. The recent failure of the merger talks with British Airways highlights Joyce's desires.

Under the able stewardship of Idris Jala, Malaysian has staged a phenomenal comeback. After years of losses, government intervention and its resultant inefficiencies, Jala has moved MAS in to profitability, for the last 3 years. Even until the third quarter of 2008, despite the economic crises, he has delivered profits. Driven by its formidable low cost carrier (LCC) competitor AirAsia, and Jala, MAS has undertaken ruthless cost cutting and route rationalisation. Despite this, Jala recognises, MAS will never meet the cost base of AirAsia, and has moved the airline up the value chain, focusing on the higher end of the market, instead.

Financially, Qantas has been in good profit for many years, thanks to the "Kangaroo Run", and has a decent cash balance sitting ready, should a deal with MAS come about.


At the same time, liberalisation is spreading through the region, may be in fits and starts. On December 1, the 70 year old duopoly of Malaysian Airlines and Singapore Airlines on the lucrative Singapore-Kuala Lumpur sector was opened up, after 5 years of lobbying by the LCCs of both countries, but Malaysia predominantly. Capacity has trebled virtually instantly.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has much to offer. The airport was built and promoted by former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, as a competitor to Singapore's famous Changi Airport, a base for many international airlines, including Qantas.

Despite trying as hard as they could, KLIA could never match the economies of scale, and frequencies of Changi, which brought in increasing numbers of passengers. For many years, KLIA lagged, almost becoming a colossal white elephant. The poor situation at KLIA was further aggravated by its own government. For years, Malaysia resisted liberalisation of the KL-Singapore route. Apart from being one of Malaysian Airlines' most profitable routes, there was a constant fear of the undermining of KLIA as a hub, since Changi is easily the more preferred hub by both airlines and passengers.

Thanks to the fast growing AirAsia, KLIA is now making a comeback, as a low cost hub, but we should keep in mind, the airport still has high end facilities as well. KLIA is also a spacious airport, and with its planned expansion, will offer considerable growth opportunities to any global scale airline.

This low cost positioning is important. While Qantas withdrew from KLIA, due to low yields, and preferring to build economies of scale at Singapore, it has two low cost subsidiaries JetStar and Singapore based JetStar Asia. Jetstar Asia already flies to KLIA, and Jetstar used to fly the Sydney-KL route, but has withdrawn temporarily during the economic slow down.

Jetstar Asia has only a narrow body fleet, but is already reaping benefits from the recent KL-Singapore route liberalisation. Jetstar has a fleet of six Airbus A330's, two of which fly Australia to Japan (service due to terminate in December 2008), and can easily use KLIA as a base to expand the Qantas brand in to India, south-east Asia, the middle east, Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, in response to the challenges of the ever busy AirAsia who is making KLIA as a low cost hub for Australians, with its upcoming UK service. Once Jetstar receives its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, hopefully in 2010, the KLIA base will blossom as an alternate "Kangaroo run" route.

A well established base in the backyard of arch-rival Singapore Airlines, while still maintaining its presence at Changi will suit the Qantas/Jetstar group just nicely, affording them and potential partner, Malaysian Airlines, more options, with Qantas still maintaining presence at Changi.

Unlike the talks with British Airways, in case of Malaysian Airlines, the Malaysian government are serious and any deal will have their blessing. So it will behoove Qantas to proceed. In the near future, Qantas and Malaysian can extend their Oneworld alliance membership further with code sharing and various joint strategies. In the medium term, to overcome the restrictive regulatory framework in South-East Asia, I expect that Qantas and Malaysian Airlines will have to enter in to some time of cross-holding and also for Qantas buy a significant minority share in Malaysian.

A deal, if consummated, with help re-define the south-east Asian skies, and benefit not just the airlines, but also KLIA.

After a gap of 12 years, the Indian Air Force has deployed Mig 29 fighters to Hindon air base near New Delhi. This is the first time since 1996 that the base has reactivated for fighter aircraft operations after it was closed due to increasing bird activity near the base. At that time, MiG 27 were stationed there.

In 2006, the Indian Air Force certified Hindon for twin engine aircraft, and hence the Mig 29's have been deployed.

The action comes in the wake of intelligence reports warning of possible 9/11 like terror strikes. The deployment is on a "temporary basis" to tackle threat from any "rogue" aircraft.

The capital falls under the Western Air Command. Protection of New Delhi's skies was looked after by air bases in Amabala and Bareilly.

Three aircraft from Adampur and Halwara MiG 29 air bases in Punjab are present at the base.

Bloomberg has an interesting analysis of the risks to British Airways after the failure of its merger talks with Qantas, and why BA must pursue its long dragging discussions with Iberia to success. Click here to read the article.

The Competition Commission (CC) has confirmed that, subject to final consultation, it will require BAA to sell both Gatwick and Stansted airports as well as Edinburgh airport. It also proposes to introduce measures to ensure that investment and levels of service at Heathrow, and possibly Gatwick and Stansted, meet more effectively the needs of airlines, passengers and other airport users. At Aberdeen airport, it is proposing measures to promote investment linked to rebates on charges.

The CC also intends to make recommendations to the Government on a more effective, and ultimately more flexible, system of airport regulation and also on aspects of government airports policy.

The CC will now consider responses to its provisional decision document published today at www.competition-commission.org.uk. It expects to publish its final report on BAA’s seven UK airports, and the appropriate remedies, in late February or early March 2009.

Read the full details here.

British Airways Plc and Qantas Airways Ltd are announcing that after detailed discussions about a potential merger, talks have ended.

Despite the potential longer term benefits to both British Airways and Qantas, the airlines have not been able to come to agreement over the key terms of a merger at this time.

British Airways and Qantas will continue to work together on their joint business between the UK and Australia and as part of the Oneworld alliance.

Next Generation Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) to use global positioning data to pinpoint aircraft positions, rather than Old Generation radar

Newark Liberty International Airport will become the nation’s first major hub to test a new satellite navigation technology to help reduce flight delays, under an agreement approved today by the Port Authority’s board of commissioners.

The technology, called Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS), will help reduce air-traffic control congestion at Newark Liberty by increasing navigational precision compared with traditional radar-based systems; i.e. planes using GBAS will be able to fly closer together and land more efficiently, without reducing safety.

Such a program will benefit Newark Liberty, which has been plagued for years by congestion and has consistently ranked near the bottom of the nation’s busiest airports in terms of on-time arrivals.

The Port Authority has authorized an estimated $2.5 million to cover the costs and oversee a contract with Honeywell to buy, install and maintain the GBAS system. Honeywell is the only FAA-certified provider of the system.

Continental will invest approximately $1.1 million to outfit 15 planes with GBAS equipment and train pilots to use the system. The FAA has committed as much as $2.5 million to assess the technology and expand its use.

Port Authority Aviation Director William DeCota said

"Satellite navigation has tremendous accuracy and integrity for civil navigation, creating far more efficiency than radar in processing planes and they do not have the obstruction issues that radio waves [used by radar] have,"

"Right now full implementation of satellite navigation in the U.S. and elsewhere to meet future demands and avoid gridlock in the sky is a number of years away and dependent on the expenditure of billions of dollars by the FAA for technologies that will serve as its backbone,"

GBAS, however, is ready to be tested now. The system utilizes a series of antennas and receivers set around the airport’s grounds and a VHF “datalink” to navigational satellites, which communicate together on aircraft position. Sensors are used to bolster the accuracy, availability and reliability of the satellite signals. The technology is particularly beneficial in low visibility landing conditions.

India is already underway, implementing a similar, but Satellite based, system called GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation), which is due for completion in May 2011.

Is this the shape of new Airbus A320 family aircraft to come ?

Jon Ostrower at FlightBlogger has the report with more pictures.

Click here to read it.

December 17th update.

Airbus press release.

Airbus has started flight-testing of Blended Winglet devices on an Airbus A320. The Blended Winglet technology, developed by Aviation Partners Inc. (API), has been specially adapted for these tests on the A320 Family.

The objective of these tests and the subsequent evaluation is to identify both the performance and economic benefits that these devices could offer for Airbus aircraft. In conjunction with follow-up analyses, they will provide data on the overall viability of the devices and help to determine whether API's technology could be considered for an integrated Airbus programme.

Furthermore, this evaluation is being carried out as part of our wider goal of extending the market-leading eco-efficient credentials of Airbus aircraft. Research flight testing of two different winglet designs was performed two years ago and valuable experience was gained. Since that time, Airbus has been working to absorb and build on these lessons.

Patrick Gavin, Airbus' Executive Vice President Engineering says, "We continue to work on further improving the eco-efficiency of all our aircraft. These early evaluation tests are a milestone that need to be achieved long before implementation. The A320 Family is the most efficient in its class, and we continuously study potential improvements to keep it unmatched for the years to come."

In this latest initiative, tests will be performed on the flight test A320, MSN1 - the same aircraft that hosted flight tests of previous winglet proposals. In this way, Airbus continues its work on evaluating wing-tip designs for the A320 Family and assessment of innovative ways of reducing the impact of the higher structural loads, without incurring major structural weight increases.

Airbus leads the way in wing-tip design with every current Airbus product, including the A320, fitted as standard with drag-reducing wing-tip devices.

Also check out the A380 panoramas of Qantas, Singapore Airlines and the A380 cockpit.

With terror threat on the aviation sector looming large, Government has decided to introduce checking of passengers at ladder-points in all functional airports across the country and enhance the strength of sky marshals on more flights.

These and other measures were reviewed at a meeting Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel had with airport operators, airlines and all concerned agencies.

"The ladder-point checking (of passengers) will be introduced at all airports progressively," Patel said, adding that security at all functional airports, big or small, was being "re-looked, reviewed and strengthened".

He said the strength of the sky marshals would be enhanced and the number of domestic flights, on which they would be deployed, increased.

Among other measures was to strengthen security system on the perimeter of airports and introduce biometric access to airports, he said. "I would urge all those concerned, including the passengers, to cooperate in strengthening the security measures. Everyone should cooperate." Asked whether security surcharge would be introduced to meet the additional costs, the Minister said this was not yet being considered. Security systems would be introduced at all airports "whatever it takes. We will put in place sophisticated equipments at the airports."

Airports in major metro cities have been on high security alert in the wake of intelligence inputs that terrorists may attack them. PTI

Singapore Airlines will begin a four-times-weekly service to Kuwait from 15 March 2009. Flying via Abu Dhabi, the service will operate on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, using Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

As a consequence of the introduction of this service, Singapore Airlines will now fly between Singapore and Abu Dhabi daily, up from the existing three times weekly service.

From 12 March 2009, Singapore Airlines will increase flights between Singapore and Cairo from three times a week to four. All these flights will operate via Dubai.

The addition of Kuwait to the Singapore Airlines network comes after the conclusion and signing of a broad Open Skies Agreement between Singapore and Kuwait last month. Kuwait will be Singapore Airlines’ 68th destination, across 36 countries.

The addition of these flights brings Singapore Airlines’ frequency between Dubai and Singapore to 21 times weekly, of which 17 flights operate beyond to Istanbul, Cairo, Moscow and Riyadh. Service between Singapore and Abu Dhabi will operate daily, with the existing three flights continuing on to Jeddah, and the four new flights going on to Kuwait.

For more details visit the Singapore Airlines website.

London's Heathrow airport has put up special illumination at it's Terminal 5 (T5). I hope you enjoy the video below.

For more information visit terminal5.ba.com

Oman Air will switch its Airbus A310 Muscat London flights from Gatwick to Heathrow from January 15, 2009.

The flight schedule will also change from January 15 once the flights switch to Heathrow.

Muscat departure at 12:55 arrival London Heathrow 17:40, London Heathrow departure 21:30 arrival Muscat 09:00+1 (the next day)

For more information visit www.omanair.aero.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways have announced a reduction in their fuel surcharges because of the falling price of oil.

The reductions apply on tickets purchased beginning Thursday, and the airlines are not offering refunds to customers who booked flights earlier at the higher price.

British Airways is reducing the charge on World Traveler (economy) class flights of nine hours or longer from £96 ($147) to £66 ($101). For first class and business class passengers on those long-haul flights, the surcharge will be reduced by £30 to £85 ($130)

Surcharges on domestic and European flights are being cut by 25 percent, British Airways said.

Virgin also cut its surcharge on long-haul economy flights in line with British Airways £66, and other reductions were similar to BA's moves.

Kari Stolbow, Director-Indian Subcontinent, of Finnair informed that despite the economic crisis, the airline's plans for the Indian market for next year have not changed.

Finnair will increase its flights between Helsinki and New Delhi to a daily service and Mumbai to six days a week. Finnair will also replace their existing Boeing MD-11 aircraft on the India with Airbus A340.

Stolbow also said that Finnair will be looking at South Indian cities likes Bangalore and Chennai for later stage expansion, keeping in mind the market progress. Finnair has already indicated the bilateral agreement is impeding it.

Finnair is positioning itself as the fastest route between India and the United States other than a non-stop flight.

Budget carrier AirAsia is offering 100,000 free seats to/from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport, and Phuket in Thailand, to lure back foreign visitors after a siege of Bangkok's airports by anti-government protesters.

Seats in the "Mai Phen Rai Thailand" promotion are available for three days between Wednesday 17 December and Friday 19 December, and cover services from Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Jakarta, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam, as well as from Thailand itself.

One hundred thousand tickets on AirAsia will be issued and are valid between Jan. 6 and March 31, 2009, the discount airline said. Passengers have to pay any taxes and fees.

For full details of this offer click here, or visit the AirAsia website and choose country as Thailand.

"Thailand is a great place in the world to visit. I am optimistic," the airline's chief executive officer Tony Fernandes told reporters in Bangkok late Tuesday.

Protesters lifted an eight-day siege of Bangkok's international and domestic airports on December 3. The blockade left around 350,000 passengers stranded in the country and images of exhausted tourists sleeping on baggage check-in belts led to predictions that tourist numbers could fall by half next year.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said AirAsia's free seats campaign would help draw foreign visitors back to the country faster and boost the Thai economy next next year.

Thanks to a napping Air Traffic Control at Chandigarh airport, two aircraft, one from Jet Airways and another of Kingfisher Airlines, almost achieved a physical merger, one I am sure, their managements did not want, when they planned their recently formed alliance.

TNN reports that two planes of Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, with a total 139 passengers on board, were a mere 15 feet away from crashing in to each other at the Chandigarh airport on Tuesday, December 16, 2008.

Due to a delay of the Kingfisher flight IT 605, three aircraft were jostling on the apron which has only 2 parking bays.

The Air Traffic Control was caught napping, as it had given permission for the Jet Airways flight 9W 734 to taxi and take-off, without realising that the Kingfisher passengers were disembarking, close by.

By the time the Jet technical team realised something was amiss and alerted their pilots, forcing them to slam the emergency brakes, the planes were within 15 feet of crashing in to one another.

Amidst this confusion, an Air India flight from Mumbai to Chandigarh landed on schedule, adding to the congestion and chaos, since the airport has only two spots on the apron, requiring some delicate maneuvering on the part of all the players.

The Times of India reports that passengers were put to hardship at Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) and Bangalore city on Tuesday, as luxury cabs went on strike at the airport in protest against the suicide of a cab driver owing to alleged harassment by owners.

All the close to 400 cabs, of Meru Cab and Easy Cab, were off services to and from the airport, demanding that working conditions for the cab drivers be eased by owners. The drivers said they would continue their protest as long as the owners did not offer them a better alternative.

Owing to the strike, many travellers took other cabs to the city and even the famed Vayu Vajra Volvo buses, which have been a hit among passengers from day one.

Drivers of Meru and Easy Cab told The Times of India: "We will be on strike until the owners of the company improve things for us." While Easy Cab drivers were the first to protest, Meru cab drivers also joined them later and expressed solidarity by calling off their services.

The luxury cab drivers were protesting as Easy Cab driver, Prakash of Madhugiri, Tumkur district, consumed poison on November 30 and died on Friday following financial pressure and alleged harassment by owners. The drivers alleged that the company collected Rs 25,000 as advance before handing over the car, but failed to fulfil promises made on maintenance and repairs. The drivers also alleged that the owners sought very high daily rentals when the driver could not afford to pay them.

"When there is recession and not many are taking our cabs, how do we make money and from where do we pay the owners almost Rs 900 a day? It used to be Rs 600 only. When there is no business, it is not possible to pay. Naturally, when you have to pay daily, pressure builds. Let them relax the conditions," a driver said.

India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has achieved a major milestone when its prototype landed at Leh air base in the high-altitude Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Tejas (LCA) programme reached a major milestone when the prototype vehicle PV-3 landed at Leh on December 13 this year at 1326 hours," Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials said here today.

The event is seen as significant on many counts as Leh airfield is situated at an altitude of 10,600 feet and is one of the highest airfields in the world with a temperature variation ranging from plus 5 degrees Celsius to minus 20 degrees Celsius.

The objective of the current phase of flight trials at Leh was to expose the on-board systems to the extreme low temperatures while making an assessment of the aircraft performance in the rarefied atmospheric conditions, DRDO officials said.

Two Tejas prototypes PV-3 and LSP-2 were involved in this important environmental test. The LSP-2 prototype powered by the latest IN20 engine with Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) is in the Standard of Preparation (SOP) that would be cleared for induction into the IAF service soon.

As per reports received from the trial location, the current phase of flight trial was progressing well with aircraft and systems performing well, as expected. The aircraft were soaked overnight in cold weather, with temperature around minus 20 degrees Celsius and powered up next day for operation, officials said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is requiring that beginning January 12, 2009, eligible citizens or nationals from all Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries must obtain approval through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to traveling to the United States under the VWP.

Visit the ESTA website.

The citizens or nationals of the following countries are currently eligible to travel to the United States under the VWP: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Seven new countries were added November 17, 2008; the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, the Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia.

With ESTA, citizens from countries under the Visa Waiver Program will no longer be required to complete a written form providing basic person, travel and eligibility information while en-route to the US. Instead, these information will have to be provided online under ESTA, at least 72 hours before departure for the US.

Once approved, ESTA applications will be valid for up to two years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. Authorizations are valid for multiple entries into the US.

Accompanied and unaccompanied children, regardless of age, will also be required to obtain an independent ESTA authorization.

Travellers from countries under the Visa Waiver Program who fail to obtain ESTA authorization after the system comes into effect, may be denied boarding, experience delayed processing, or be denied admission at a US port of entry.

US authorities have started to accept voluntary applications through the ESTA website, at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

However, until ESTA is made mandatory in January 2009, all US-bound travellers from countries under the Visa Waiver Program will still be required to complete a written form for presentation at a US port of entry.

Singapore Airlines has issued a flight alert for its Christchurch Singapore services.

Apparently Christchurch airport is currently providing only limited supplies of jet fuel to airlines as a result of a fuel supply problem. This problem is affecting all airlines operating from Christchurch.

As a result, Singapore Airlines is unable to uplift sufficient fuel each day to allow for its Christchurch – Singapore flight to operate non-stop.

SQ298, departing from Christchurch will make a short refueling stop in Brisbane, en route to Singapore, from 19 to 24 December (both dates inclusive).

On these days, the arrival into Singapore of SQ298 will be about two hours later than originally scheduled.

The departure time from Christchurch remains at 1150 hrs - the new arrival time into Singapore is 1915 hrs. (All times are local).

Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), in a meeting held recently in New Delhi, has asked domestic airlines to pass on the benefits of reduced jet fuel prices to passengers by reducing fares.

According to a report in Economic Times (ET) today, MoCA has also instructed the airlines to review their security systems and verify the background of their employees in the light of the recent terror attacks in Mumbai. The meeting was attended by CEOs of various airlines and officials of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). “We took stock of the entire aviation sector in the meeting on various issues right from Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) to security and airlines’ preparedness to land on airports during unusual fog conditions,” M Madhavan Nambiar, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) told ET.

Nambiar further stated that the airlines cannot be forced to slash air fares as it’s a commercial decision of the air carriers. An official present in the meeting said that airlines had been categorically asked to reduce airfares to attract more passengers. “All of us should work together to increase passengers on the aircraft. Fares have to be competitive to fill up seats,” said the official.

According to estimates, there is still about 20 per cent excess capacity in the market that may put pressure on airline operators to slash fares. High airfares and slowdown in major economies has hit the domestic aviation sector. Domestic air traffic declined by 22 per cent to 3.04 million in November this year. Air traffic growth is expected to be negative for this year with the sector witnessing double-digit fall in passengers for the last several months.

The Maytas-led consortium has taken a decision to put on hold its two Greenfield airport projects at Shimoga and Gulbarga in Karnataka due to the global recession. For now the projects are stalled and the partners will take the decision on it by end-2009, according to a report in Projects Today.

In 2007, Maytas-led consortium - comprising Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC), Maytas and Vienna International Airport through its arm VIE India Project Development and Holding LLC- bagged an order to develop and operate both the airports.

Each of the airports was to be developed at an investment cost of Rs 100 crore and the consortium took up the projects on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis. In the current situation, the developers are finding it difficult to achieve financial closure for the projects.

Air India (AI) passengers at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), Mumbai and other airports across the country will witness delay in baggage clearance and other inconveniences in the coming months as AI employees’ union will conduct a series of demonstrations and strikes to protest against the new ground handling policy of the government. According to a report in today’s Daily News & Analysis (DNA), the union is agitating against ground handling contracts being awarded to foreign companies and National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) being forced to form a Joint Venture if the former wants to continue with ground services.

AI passengers will have to face inconvenience today as the airline employees will walk out of the terminal to protest against the new Ground Handling Policy (GHP). The Civil Aviation Joint Action Front (CAJAF), formed by Air Corporation Employees’ Union (ACEU) and Aviation Industry Employees’ Guild (AIEG), staged a demonstration outside the CSIA in Santacruz, Mumbai from 12.30 to 1 pm today. “This will affect baggage, cargo handling and catering services,” said an ACEU member. The CAJAF, consisting of 8,000 employees from Mumbai and 12,000 across India, are protesting against NACIL being forced to form a JV with SATS (a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines) for ground-handling under the new GHP that comes into force from January 2009.

Till now, NACIL (merged company of AI and Indian) carried out ground handling for themselves and other international airlines. “NACIL earns Rs 1,000 crore from ground handling of other airlines and carries out ground handling worth Rs 1,500 crore for AI and Indian, which is free. If we form a Joint Venture with SATS, we will have to give them 50 per cent of these earnings,” informed George Abraham, General Secretary, AIEG.

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Delta Air Lines plans to commence nonstop flights between Detroit Metro Airport and Rome Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport from June 4, 2009 (subject to government approvals), using Delta's subsidiary Northwest.

This service will be in addition to Delta’s existing nonstop daily service between Rome and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and twice daily nonstop from New York’s John F. Kennedy-JFK International Airport.

Northwest will operate the service in cooperation with Northwest’s joint venture partner, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, using an Airbus A330-300 aircraft with a two class configuration. 34 seats in business class and 264 seats in economy.

The plane is equipped with World Business Class lie-flat seats featuring a privacy canopy, 60 inches of space between seats, and personal laptop computer power, and an on-demand in-flight entertainment with a wide selection of movies, games and on-board shopping in both classes.

NW50 departs Detroit at 19:45 and arrives Rome 11:00 the next day.
NW49 departs Rome at 13:00 and arrive Detroit 17:50 the same day.
(All times local)

To celebrate the new flight between Detroit and Rome, Delta is offering a one-way special fare of $699 from Detroit to Rome (based on a round-trip purchase) for travel through July 3, 2009. For full details and restrictions of this special offer visit the Delta website.

Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd's. (BAPL) first private airport in Bardhaman district in West Bengal is likely to be operational by end of 2011. According to a report in Projects Today, the project, which is a part of the USD 2.5 billion (approximately Rs 12,500 crore) Durgapur Aerotropolis, has got an approval from the West Bengal government and has also overcome the objections raised by Coal India Ltd. (CIL). Besides the airport, the project also includes an industrial park, logistics hub, IT Park and a township. BAPL is the promoter of the Aerotropolis in association with Singapore's Changi International Airport. An agreement was signed in February this year for technical services and as operator of the proposed airport.

BAPL is likely to complete the acquisition of 2,362.84 acre for phase I by June 2009. The state government will be completing the land notification shortly. The phase I of the project involves an investment outlay of Rs 2,200 crore. The company has achieved financial closure for Rs 600 crore comprising part of phase I - the airport and land acquisition cost.

The remote location of Bengaluru International Airport adds to the responsibility of the airport promoters BIAL, to ensure proper and adequate facilities for the people who work at the airport. I have always maintained that it is imperative to take care of the people who take care of us. Their comfort ensures efficiency and alertness. Two vital aspects in any operation, more so in an airport.

This report by Express News is most concerning.

They have been guarding the airports round-the-clock for a week now after a red-alert was sounded that there could be possible air-borne attacks and hijacking of aircraft.

But, for the 40-odd Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) commandos posted at various locations at the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), the world-class airport is nothing short of a parched fortress.

The commandos who are part of the Quick Reaction Team (QRT) which was formed after the Mumbai attacks and the sounding of the red-alert, on 12-hour duty, alleged that they have not been provided with basic facilities at the airport.

“We are treated badly whenever we head to the water container to quench our thirst. We are shooed away by the airport officials. They ask us to fetch water from elsewhere,” a CISF commando told Express.

The commandos who have been posted at the parking bays and outside the terminal area among other locations, said that facilities at the HAL airport were better when they were posted there.

“At HAL airport, it was the AAI which was at the helm of affairs. But here the private promoters are not bothered about the CISF,” added a commando who moved to the BIA upon the closure of the HAL airport.Besides, CISF commandos say that they have to confine themselves to vehicles for accommodation.

I feel that the Express reporters should have requested for a response from BIAL, to understand their situation, reasons, and given a more balanced story. Assuming this story is true, I am horrified. Denying drinking water is not the done thing, EVER.

A potentially explosive report in today's Deccan Chronicle

The state government has illegally helped the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to develop commercial real estate on some 200 acres of forest land. BIAL is developing a star hotel, restaurants and office space on this land — all in violation of the Union government’s rules, regulations and Acts. Documents available with the Deccan Chronicle reveal that the State government, which acquired 1,394 acres from the Forest department on a perpetual lease after taking approval from the Union ministry of environment and forests, has sub-leased the land to Bial. Bial is now aggravating the violation by developing real estate on 200 acres of this land for purely private profit, in violation of provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.

The state government, which was advised by the Ramanathan Committee to set up the airport at Devanahalli in the mid-90s, sought permission from the Union ministry to acquire the forest land for the infrastructure project. The Union ministry accorded the permission, but with a string of riders in its letter dated August 27, 2002, prominent among which is the condition that the status of the forest land should never be altered.

On December 17, 2002, the state Forest department transferred 1,394.2 acres to the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation (KSIIDC), which became the lessee. The forest area around Yarthiganahalli, Bettekote, Gangamuthanahalli bearing survey numbers 7, 8, 46, 55P, 23, 35, 88 and 12 were handed over to the KSIIDC, which was the nodal agency for the airport.

Following this, there was a lull in airport development activities for the next two years as the Bial and the State government got into a slugfest with each other over a mutually acceptable concession agreement. Then, in a move to honour its commitment to hand over 4,000-plus acres to Bial, the state altered the government order without taking the requisite permission from the Union ministry using the expedient of inserting text into the original order.

The state government simply issued a corrigendum on March 4, 2004, which reads: “In the sixth line of the order portion, after the word ‘KSIIDC’ and before the word ‘subject’ the following words shall be inserted — and to sub-lease the same by KSIIDC to Bangalore International Airport Limited.” The insertion was made to transfer the land from the KSIIDC to the Bial. The original land transfer order specifically mentions that the forest land will be in the custody of the KSIIDC.

The sub-lease was made in violation of the conditions set by the Union ministry, which had clearly stated in its 2002 approval order that in case of deviations or alterations a fresh reference had to be made to the ministry and clearance obtained. What followed the corrigendum was worse. The KSIIDC entered into a sub-lease agreement with the Bial on August 12, 2004 which allowed the private body to use the forest land for airport, airport-related activities and non-aeronautical activities as well.

By doing this, the state government, which first acquired the land on perpetual lease thereby becoming the lessee, now had sub-leased the land to Bial and become the lessor and allowed real estate development on forest land in violation of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003, which state that the use of forest land may be allowed for roads, bridges, running high-tension lines and such other infrastructure-related projects only. Even certain other infrastructure projects such as putting up power plants, ports and bus stations on forest land could be taken up only after obtaining permission from the Union ministries which they would give after studying the impact on the environment of such projects.

Even if the Bial were to be given a clean chit in this whole episode, since the consortium is simply going ahead with a masterplan that has the government’s stamp of approval on it, the fact remains that a five-star hotel and commercial office space are being constructed on forest land. Bial has also borrowed money against airport land, which includes the 1,394 acres of forest land in question, from the lead bank financing the project.

What should be the remedial steps taken ? Taking back the land is out of the question. It will hurt the airport operator BIAL beyond repair. At the same time protection of forests is vital. What will be the potential ramifications of this report on the Joint House Committee investigations, or the banking consortium ? As usual, comments are invited.

Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose airport has been shut down by heavy fog which has reduced visibility to less than 100 meters.

No flight has been able to land for the last 12 hours, and there have been no departures since this morning.

Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices have been slashed by over 11 per cent by state-run oil companies.

This is the seventh straight reduction since September as price surged to an all time high of Rs 71,028.26 a kilolitre (in Delhi) in August.

ATF in Delhi has been cut by Rs 4,208.37 to Rs 32,691.28 a kilolitre effective midnight tonight, said an official of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). In Mumbai, the home to nation`s busiest airport, ATF will cost Rs 33,719.46 a kilolitre from tomorrow against Rs 38,103.19 a kilolitre at present.

From its all time high in August 2008, fuel prices have now reduced by 54 per cent.

Surely the airlines should also reduce their fuel surcharges by the same 54 per cent, i.e. from a high of Rs. 3,350 to Rs. 1,541.

The disagreement between Kingfisher Airlines and GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) has become murky.

Yesterday, Daily News and Analysis (DNA) newspaper reported

"In a major setback to Kingfisher Airlines, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has de-registered three of its aircraft on account of rental payment default. These aircraft will be grounded and not permitted to fly on commercial routes.

The airline had reportedly been erratic in paying its lease rental to GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) for four A-320s. Kingfisher Airlines, however, denied a default and obtained a stay order from the Karnataka High Court to prevent repossession of the four aircraft by the firm in September this year.

Senior DGCA officials confirmed that three aircraft have been struck off the records on Thursday. “Three aircraft have been de-registered and one more is likely to meet the same fate next week,” said a senior civil ministry official on condition of anonymity.

The airlines has over a dozen A-320s flying on domestic routes. With a fleet of 50 aircraft, grounding four of them won’t impact the airlines much. But for Vijay Mallya, the DGCA’s action is no less than a bitter pill. De-registration of the aircraft means the airline will have to ground them with immediate effect. An airline spokesperson said: “This issue is sub judice and it will be inappropriate if I comment on the matter.”

This move comes as a big relief for the GECAS. The company is one of the world’s top aircraft lessors. Rattled by the payment defaults, it registered a complaint with the DGCA, asking for permission to repossess four aircraft leased to the airline. The company spokesperson, however, refused to divulge information: “GE treats its business discussions with high confidentiality and is unable to disclose any details.”

Today, as per Dow Jones newswire, Kingfisher Chairman Dr. Vijay Mallya, claims that Kingfisher has returned the Airbus A320 aircraft GECAS, and does not owe any money to GECAS, who is in-fact, withholding surplus Kingfisher funds.

While this makes interesting reading, I am left wondering, where have the business plans, of the super-successful business tycoon, Dr. Vijay Mallya, gone wrong.

Just last week the Business Standard reported that low cost carrier (LCC) IndiGo has overtaken Kingfisher Airlines to become the third largest carrier in India. It has also replaced Kingfisher Red (the former Air Deccan) as the largest LCC in India.

IndiGo gained two ranks to third position with a market share rose to 14.7 per cent, while Kingfisher Red remained at fourth with 13.3 per cent, and Kingfisher Airlines slipped two spots to fifth with a lowly 11.6 per cent. In October 2008, it was Kingfisher Airlines, Kingfisher Red, and Indigo in ranks three, four, and five, respectively.

Friends and acquaintances in the airline and aviation industry too are scratching their heads, at this sudden downturn at Kingfisher.

Kingfisher Airlines is a passion for Chairman Dr. Vijay Mallya, one he administers personally. Given his world-wide business interests, constant globe-trotting, and resultant demands on his time, is it time for Dr. Mallya to do a Naresh Goyal and let a veteran airline executive like Wolfgang Prock-Schauer step in as CEO, who can devote 24 x 7 and run the airline without interference ?

According to Business Traveller magazine, Nigerian carrier Arik Air will launch its flights from London to Lagos on December 15, using the Airbus A340-500 aircraft with their plush interiors and seating designed for Kingfisher Airlines.

Arik recently took delivery of its first of three A340-500 aircraft, planes originally destined for Kingfisher Airlines before it was forced to shelve the order.

A look at the pictures on Arik’s website shows that the carrier will be using the same fully-flat seating product originally intended for Kingfisher, as well as the communal bar for premium passengers. It is known that the A340-500's were to be Kingfisher's flagship flights. Dr. Vijay Mallya and his team, reportedly spent massive time and effort designing the interiors. The benefit will be reaped by Arik. Without doubt, it's a coup for Arik, in it's head-to-head battle with British Airways and Virgin Nigeria on the route.

There will be 201 economy seats in a 2-4-2 layout, and 36 Premier seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. The Kingfisher product, came with a full basket of goodies; fully-flat beds with vibrating massage functions and lumbar support, touchscreen controls on the armrest, an in-flight entertainment system with 17-inch (43cm) screen and remote in the side of the seat, mirrored privacy screen, in-seat power and USB connectors, personal reading light, and mood lighting.

Kingfisher also featured a communal bar area with white leather sofas on each side and a bar in the middle with three stools.

As a admirer and supporter of Kingfisher Airlines, I really feel for the team. Cheer up gang, the economy will recover.

Kingfisher (Arik Air) A340-500 seating plan. Image (c) Business Traveller.

Congratulations to Jet Airways, which has been voted as the ‘Airline with Best First-Class Service in the World’, by readers of the prestigious Business Traveler magazine, at the 20th Annual ‘Best in Business Travel’ Awards.

The airline received the award at a gala ceremony at the Sofitel, Los Angeles on December 11, 2008.

With the introduction of its award-winning First Class, Jet Airways created the first airline ‘suites in the sky’, offering passengers the ultimate in privacy and luxury.

Each First Class suite features dual sliding doors that create complete privacy for every passenger, the world’s longest First Class bed at 83 inches, a massive 23 inch flat screen monitor and carefully designed storage areas that include a personal hanging wardrobe, dual credenza and under ottoman stowage, among other amenities.

Menu choices are exquisite and extensive, and plated on hand painted Bernardaud porcelain dinnerware. Passengers may also choose from the finest of French champagnes, including vintage Dom Perignon and Krug, the finest wines from around the world and a library of single malt whiskies, all served in Mikasa crystal.

Jet Airways’ First Class product is available on the airline’s Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, currently deployed on the airline’s long-haul services to North America and the UK.

Speaking on the victory, Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO, Jet Airways said, “Jet Airways’ is arguably the finest First Class product in the skies today. The airline has invested a lot of time and money in the development of the same, and this award is a proud affirmation of the quality of our product.”

As per the Times of India, the "left luggage" facilities for transit passengers at the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, which were closed well before the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, still remain closed.

Airport operator GVK promoted, Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) had closed down the luggage rooms, where transit passengers could leave their luggage behind and go about their business around the city, citing high security threats to the airports. MIAL has now decided not to re-open the luggage rooms inside the terminal building.

Mumbai is the primary gateway for many international passengers to and from India. The economic capital of India, Mumbai is also headquarters to many of India's airlines like Air India, Jet, and Kingfisher. Mumbai airport has one the highest proportion of transit passengers in India. The lack of a "left luggage" facility is most felt here.

MIAL claims, "It is difficult to ascertain the contents of a bag inside the luggage room. We discontinued it due to security reasons". It is a legitimate concern. But, then I ponder; transit passenger bags are already security screened, and as a double precaution, the bags can be screened again prior to being placed in the left luggage room.

The time line provides some clues. The luggage room at domestic terminal was discontinued three months ago, the one at the international terminal was pulled down when part of it was used for reconstruction. It is well known that Mumbai airport has a space constraint, and is this one of the real reasons ? After all, the left luggage facilities do not bring in revenue commiserate with the space they use.

The security threats have provided the airport operator, GVK promoted, MIAL, legitimate cover for the non-availability of luggage room facilities, which poses a problem for transit passengers who have a significant time to spend between their flights. Most of them are unable to leave the airport. since they are forced to carry their luggage along.

MAIL claims that Mumbai airport would reopen the luggage room, but there is no definite time line, and for sure it does not seem to be happening any time soon. As per information, there are plans to make luggage rooms outside the terminals, once the revamp of the international terminal is complete.

As per the plans, the passengers would be required to drop their bags at the collection centre of the airline, from where it would be transferred to the room. The luggage would also be screened before it is deposited there.

MIAL sources indicate that they have issued a letter of intent to the vendor who would take care of this facility in the future, and that there are plans to do the same at domestic terminal. At domestic terminal, luggage rooms are likely to be located near the car parking.

In the meantime, I advise Mumbai transit passengers to contact their arriving and departing airlines. There is a provision of leaving the luggage with the airline.

Reuters reports that talks between striking unions and Budapest Airport, a unit of Hochtief of Germany, broke down on Sunday, over over demands for improved labour conditions, a new collective agreement and a halt to layoffs. The airport operator said longer delays were expected later following relative calm in the morning.

Read the full story here.

DNA reports a group of drunk women caused chaos at the departure gate of Terminal 2C at Mumbai Sahar airport, early on Friday. They broke champagne bottles in their drunken stupor, forcing authorities to raise the alarm.

At about 6am on December 12, the group of five or six foreigners was waiting for a flight near the departure terminal. “They were scheduled to take a flight to Goa and were very drunk,” a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) official said. “The women were carrying three champagne bottles in their hand.”

Following an altercation between themselves, the women began flinging the bottles at each other. “The corks of the bottles popped out, making sounds like gunshots,” the official added. CISF officials quickly intervened only to find pieces of broken glass on the floor. “The women then started shouting slogans like 'India is the best' and 'We love India'.”

Since it was not a security threat, no action was taken against the women, and they were let off.

I am wondering what happened to the rules about letting an inebriated person onboard an aircraft. ? The women should thank their lucky stars for Indian hospitality.