New Delhi:

Hindon, which has become the second airport to function from the National Capital Region, will vault into the big league with the initiation of daily flights to and from Kolkata. Currently small airlines operate on short routes from Hindon. But Air India Express — a subsidiary of Air India and a part of the Tata Group – will be the first airline to operate out of Hindon airport with a jet engine airliner, a spokesperson of the company said.

The Kolkata-Hindon flights will begin from March 1. The flight will operate daily, while the return flights will operate six days a week. There will be no flight on Saturdays.

The flights will take off at 7.10 am from Kolkata and reach Hindon at 9.30 am. The return flights will leave Hindon  at 5.20 pm and reach the eastern metropolis at 7.40 pm.

With this expansion, Air India Express will operate from two airports in the National Capital Region (NCR) – Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi and Hindon Airport in Ghaziabad, the spokesperson said.

The civil terminal at Hindon was opened initially to accommodate the government’s  Regional Connectivity Scheme. But there were no takers and the airport had to be shut down for about eight months. 

Air traffic control in Hindon is being provided by the Indian Air Force. Its Civil Enclave was developed and managed by AAI, which also caters to VIP and non-scheduled flights.

The airport is expected to provide a convenient alternative for travellers from east and central Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad.
Besides Kolkata, the airline also plans to connect Goa and Bengaluru to Hindon with six daily flights from each city.

The Kolkata-Hindon flights were expected to start from August last year but were postponed.

“We connect to 14 direct destinations from Kolkata including Hindon. Some of the key destinations are Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Guwahati and Hyderabad,” the spokesperson said.

(With PTI inputs)

New Delhi:

Under fire for faltering service standards, staff disputes and severely dated aircraft interiors, Campbell Wilson, the MD and CEO of Air India told NDTV that the revival of the airline will take a few more years to complete. “The Economist called this the Everest of corporate turnarounds,” said Mr Wilson. “We made no secret of the fact that it was going to be a multi-year programme.”

Now in year two of a five-year transformation programme, the management of Air India is facing an uphill battle to integrate thousands of workers across airlines that are now part of the group – Vistara, Air India Express and Air Asia India. Each airline, including the original Air India, has had its own work culture, however, bringing the job expectations of personnel into line has been particularly challenging.

Vistara pilots effectively went on a form of strike by calling in sick en masse, starting notably towards the end of March 2024, with significant disruptions continuing into early April 2024. This was a protest against new contracts introduced due to Vistara’s impending merger with Air India, which reduced their guaranteed flying hours from 70 to 40 hours, resulting in a pay cut for many pilots, particularly junior first officers.

In May this year, Air India Express cabin crew went on strike when a significant number of cabin crew members began reporting sick to protest against alleged mismanagement and issues related to their merger with AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India). After initially dismissing several cabin crew members, the airline management reinstated them after mediation by India’s Chief Labour Commissioner.

“It is certainly not the finished product. I know that there’s a huge amount of expectation and indeed impatience for the future Air India to fully emerge,” says Mr Wilson. “I am equally impatient for that to happen,” he says, pointing out that despite the hiccups, there have still been massive changes in the direction of the airline.

”We’ve brought the average age [of staff members] from 54 to 35, hired 9,000 new staff, brought four airlines, 140 IT systems, 100 new aircraft, new training academies [and] started a base maintenance facility,” he said.

Asked about being fined for deficient safety practices, Mr Wilson acknowledged occasional systemic gaps, some of which could be explained through legacy practices within the former government carrier. “Sometimes it’s legacy practice. Sometimes it is a matter of human oversight. Sometimes it’s a matter of a systemic gap or something that hasn’t been addressed or mitigated through another means,” said Mr Wilson. “We open ourselves for audit every 6 months. We open ourselves for external audit, whether by IATA [International Air Travel Association] or other parties.”

Between January and August this year, Air India was fined at least Rs 2.8 crore by India’s aviation regulator, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) for a host of safety-related concerns linked to operations over long-range critical routes, violating the flight duty time limitations of its operating crews and for operating an international flight with ‘non-qualified’ crew members.

Air India’s decision to proceed with its planned merger with Vistara, widely considered India’s finest full-service airline, has also raised concerns among passengers and fans of Vistara who have consistently appreciated the former airline’s renowned service standards. Earlier this year, Vistara was adjudged the best airline in India and South Asia for the fourth consecutive year at the 2024 World Airline Awards by Skytrax. Vistara, now integrated with Air India, is also configured to a higher standard than a large majority of Air India’s existing A-320s and A-321.

”Vistara now allows Air India the opportunity to be catalyzed and the transformation accelerated at a new airline which represents the best of both Vistara and the legacy of Air India to be born,” says Mr Wilson. In order to be consistent with the quality offered by the Vistara product, Air India has announced that it will continue flying erstwhile Vistara Airbus A320neo aircraft on key metro routes between Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru, Delhi-Hyderabad, Delhi-Hyderabad, Mumbai-Bengaluru and Mumbai-Hyderabad from December 1.

Air India’s biggest concern, arguably, is the long overdue fleet restoration of its existing long-haul jetliners including legacy Boeing 777s and 787 Dreamliners which it acquired from the government when the airline came into its fold. These are meant to complement its record 470 aircraft order from Airbus and Boeing, a $70 billion deal that it closed out on February 2023. This remains one of the largest single deals in the history of commercial aviation. The refurbishment of the existing fleet will cost the group $400 million. This includes the overhaul of cabin interiors for its wide-body fleet, comprising 27 Boeing B787-8 and 13 Boeing B777 aircraft. Single-aisle aircraft – the Airbus A320neo and A321neo are also being upgraded, a process that has already begun.

“It’s fair to say that, particularly, the legacy aircraft that we inherited, were not up to that standard, and it just takes a long time. We have committed $400 million to buy the seats to refurbish those aircraft. The seats have been in the certification and manufacturing process since then. They will start to be installed on the wide-body aircraft next year. The problem Air India faces with the pace of refurbishment of its older aircraft is an industry-wide issue,” Mr Wilson said.

“Two different seat suppliers, reflecting just the nature of the post-COVID supply chain, came to us and said, the dates we committed to deliver, we can no longer meet. There’s going to be a delay of, in one case, six months, in one case, a little bit longer,” he added.

This means that legacy Air India Boeing 787s and 777s which are scheduled for refurbishment will see a new and vastly improved interior product only from mid-2025 onwards. “Unfortunately, it is what it is. We don’t have any control over that. Many other airlines are affected by similar constraints,” Mr Wilson said.

The first set of new-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliner seats arrive in April and will be installed and then certified for use, though not before October next year. The pace of the upgrade will then pick up with a couple of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft entering the refurbishment process every month. Air India’s large-capacity Boeing 777, which has operated long-haul routes primarily to the United States and the United Kingdom will take longer to upgrade. While there will be an interim refresh to the product on existing aircraft during 2025, the full cabin refresh will only happen in 2026.

“As I say at the end of 2026, the refurbishment is to be well underway,” said Mr Wilson.

In the meanwhile, Air India has introduced six brand new Airbus A-350-900 aircraft onto its flagship routes – New York and London with services commencing to Newark within weeks. While this is a welcome addition to the hard product offered by the legacy carrier, the truly new Air India is still years away from being realised. Mr Wilson realises this.

”We carry 60 million people a year across the group. We operate more than 1200 flights every day. And so, it is a mass transportation business, and unfortunately, you know, there are occasions where it’s not perfect,” says Mr.Wilson. “It’s just that we have to be more consistent and continue that process because I’m as impatient as anyone of improving this to the level that, you know, meets customer expectations all the time.”

Singapore:

Singapore Armed Forces on Tuesday scrambled two fighter jets to escort an Air India Express plane away from populated areas following a bomb threat before the aircraft landed safely at Singapore’s Changi airport.

The Air India Express plane operating flight IX 684 from Madurai to Singapore had received a bomb threat.

Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said Air India Express received an email that there was a bomb on board flight AXB684 that was bound for Singapore.

“Two of our RSAF F-15SGs scrambled and escorted the plane away from populated areas, to finally land safely at Singapore Changi Airport at around 10:04 pm tonight,” he said in a series of posts on X.

(1/3) Air India Express received an email that there was a bomb on board flight AXB684 that was bound for Singapore. Two of our RSAF F-15SGs scrambled and escorted the plane away from populated areas, to finally land safely at Singapore Changi Airport at around 10:04pm tonight. pic.twitter.com/tOzo6wgT5E

— Ng Eng Hen (@Ng_Eng_Hen) October 15, 2024

The Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) systems and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) were also activated. Once on the ground, the plane was handed to the airport police, he said and added that investigations are going on.

“Many thanks to the dedication and professionalism of our SAF and Home Team that keep us safe in our homes, even when threats exist around us,” he said.

SAF refers to the Singapore Armed Forces.

The number of passengers onboard the aircraft could not be immediately ascertained. There was no immediate statement from Air India Express on the incident. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A report of hydraulic failure from a Tiruchirappalli-Sharjah Air India Express flight and its subsequent holding pattern for over two hours may have caused panic on the ground, but things were always under control inside the cockpit, senior sources from the airline have told NDTV. 

Flight AXB 613 took off from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu at 5.40 pm on Friday and landed at the same airport around 8.15 pm. 

Here’s what happened in the interim:

The sources said that after the plane, a Boeing 737-800, was airborne, the landing gear was retracted normally. 

When the landing gear, or undercarriage, was stowed successfully, the cockpit master caution, which indicates a system malfunction, sounded. Sensors detected that oil had drained out of the hydraulic system which controls the undercarriage. 

The aircraft flew normally in all other respects, the sources said, adding that the 737-800 has redundancies built into the hydraulic system to deal with such situations. 

The pilots decided to return to the Tiruchirappalli airport and chose not to undertake an ‘overweight landing’ with full fuel on board. The aircraft maintained a holding pattern at a short distance from the city to ensure that the fuel was burnt off and the landing weight was acceptable for making a normal approach to the Tiruchirappalli airport. 

The undercarriage was manually deployed and locked into position at the first attempt, enabling the aircraft to make a normal landing. 

On the ground, meanwhile, preparations had been made for an emergency landing. Tiruchirappalli Airport Director Gopalakrishnan said that 20 ambulances and 18 fire engines were on standby. 

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu had also asked officials to remain on alert and the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was coordinating. 

‘Will Investigate Cause’

An Air India Express spokesperson said the cause of the snag would be investigated and the safety of passengers was their main concern. 

“We are aware of media reports related to an Air India Express flight operating on the Tiruchirappalli-Sharjah route. We would like to clarify that no emergency was declared by the operating crew. After reporting a technical snag, the aircraft circled multiple times in the designated area as an abundant precaution, to reduce fuel and weight considering the runway length, before making a safe precautionary landing,” the spokesperson said.

“The cause of the snag will be duly investigated. In the interim, an alternative aircraft is being arranged for the onward journey of our guests. We regret the inconvenience and reiterate our commitment to prioritising safety in every aspect of our operations,” the spokesperson added.

An Air India Express flight going from Tiruchirappalli to Sharjah has landed safely at the Tiruchirappalli airport after facing a hydraulic failure. The flight, which was scheduled to go to Sharjah, has 144 passengers aboard. Several ambulaces and rescue sevices are present at the aiport. 

Here are the updates:

Air India Express Flight Hydraulic Failure Live:
Over 20 ambulances and fire engines were rushed to the Trichy airport to prepare for any emergency.

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: Air India flight from Trichy to Sharjah faced a technical problem (Hydraulic failure) and is rounding in air space to decrease the fuel before landing at Trichy airport. More than 20 Ambulances and fire tenders are placed at the airport to make sure no big… pic.twitter.com/rEiF6mSZz2

– ANI (@ANI) October 11, 2024

Air India Express Flight Hydraulic Failure Live:

The flight took off around 5:40 pm as per schedule but suffered mid-air hydraulic failure and the landing gear faced issues during retraction after take off. The flight hovered south of Trichy for over two hours, burning fuel to prepare for a precautionary landing, a procedure followed by pilots in such scenarios.

The Boeing 737-8 aircraft landed safely at 8:14 pm after hovering near Trichy.

Air India Express Flight Hydraulic Failure Live:
The Air India Express flight landed safely at 8:14 pm. All passengers aboard are safe. 

Air India Express Flight Hydraulic Failure Live:
The Air India Express flight was in the air for over two hours. The passengers clapped after the safe landing. The pilot’s quick and good judgement made the safe landing possible.

Air India Express Flight Hydraulic Failure Live:

The Air India Express flight, with 144 passenger aboard, lands safely at Tiruchirappalli
airport after facing hydraulic failure. 

Air India Express Flight Hydraulic Failure Live:

The AXB 613 flight may make emergency landing by 8:30 pm.

Air India Express Flight Hydraulic Failure Live:
Fire and rescue services and ambulances are on standby at the Trichy airport as it prepares for emergency landing. 

Air India Express Hydraulic Failure Live:

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has asked all officials to remain alert.

Air India Express Hydraulic Failure Live:
The flight, AXB 613, which was headed to Sharjah, reported the hydraulic failure some time after it took off from Tiruchirappalli.