Soubhik Mitra

Flights, hotels, packaged holidays bought on the go likely to grow at a staggering rate: Study

The report said ‘price conscious’ Indian travellers do extensive research

Frequent fliers demand an airfare regulatory body

The Air Passengers Association of India (APAI), a body formed by frequent air travellers, said it has seen a spike complaints against surge pricing.

A new high: Only 25% domestic traffic in India from metros, rest from smaller cities, says study

Mid-air scare: German jets escort Mumbai-London flight after it lost contact with air traffic control

The cockpit crew was temporarily grounded following the incident which ostensibly happened after they tuned in an incorrect radio frequency.

German fighter planes escort Jet Airways flight after it loses contact with ATC

A communication failure on board a Jet Airways aircraft while flying over German airspace gave a scare to at least 330 passengers as authorities scrambled fighter jets to intercept the London-bound plane which had taken off from Mumbai.

Senior pilot barred from flying for 3 months for skipping breathalyser tests

On Monday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an order that found the senior pilot guilty of evading a pre-flight breathe check-up last month

DGCA bans ‘all kinds of photography’ by flight crew

On January 13, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reinstated its October 2016 order banning all kinds of photography by flight crew on board an aircraft...

A long and torturous flight ahead for the Navi Mumbai airport

After its inception in 1997, it took a decade for Mumbai’s second airport near Panvel to reach the drawing board. It took another decade to find a builder

Mumbai’s airport operator set to build Navi Mumbai airport

GVK-led MIAL outbids GMR; deal to be signed in a month after cabinet nod

Valentine’s Day: Couples chose unconventional destinations, drive hotel bookings

According to travel operators, many working couples booked holidays between February 11 and 14 to celebrate the occasion and majority of the bookings were done in advance...

Valentines’ Day: Couples drive hotel bookings, in advance

According to travel operators many working couples booked holidays between February 11 and 14 to celebrate the occasion. And, majority of the bookings happened well in advance. Nearly one-third of the hotel bookings for that period on travel portal Cleartrip, happened last year; some of them as early as March.

Scare at Mumbai airport: Indigo flier opens emergency door, co-passenger hurt

The flier was offloaded and taken to the police station.

Senior Air India pilot banned from flying after skipping alcohol test

India’s aviation safety regulator benched Air India’s executive director (flight operations) for allegedly skipping mandatory breathe checks.

Air India pilot accused of evading breath checks to face panel

The committee was set up hours after an AI pilots’ union told India’s air safety regulator that an executive-rank pilot was skipping the check, which is mandatory before operating a flight.

A senior AI pilot evading breath checks before flights, union tells DGCA

A senior Air India (AI) pilot has been evading pre-flight breath checks, a pilots’ union told Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Two senior aviation security officials in Mumbai fight over transfer before tribunal

Both officers did not wish to comment on the matter as it was still pending with the tribunal.

DGCA asks pilots to cooperate with ATC to avoid unstable landings

The DGCA chief BS Bhullar, however, said the circular was not linked to any rise in unstable landings or mix-ups between pilots and ATC

Making last-minute travel plans for Republic Day weekend? Be ready to pay double the airfare

On Monday, spot fares between metros and routes connecting metros with tourists hubs such as Goa had nearly doubled, showed the analysis conducted by travel operator, Cox and Kings Ltd

Passengers claim they saw sparks from engine, Mumbai-Delhi flight aborted

While the airline said take-off was cancelled owing to a ‘technical snag’, some passengers said they saw sparks coming from the engine.

Local tours hold holidayers back for Republic Day weekend

A small but significant section of holiday bookings for the upcoming long weekend comprises such close-to-home experiences, said travel operators.

Indian business fliers’ bills touched US$29.6 billion in 2015: Report

Currently at US$30 billion, collective work-induced travel bills are projected to more than triple to US$93 billion by 2030. The projections, however, did not take the recent demonetisation into account

Service tax hike hits the holiday planner

The revision in service tax that comes into effect from January 22 is small but families booking package tours are likely to feel the pinch, said travel operators

Mumbai remains most unpunctual private-run airport

Mumbai airport continued to be the most unpunctual among four private-run airports in December with more than 3,00,000 stranded (for more than two hours) travellers, the highest ever.

Stranded fliers hit record high in December

Flight cancellations and cases of passengers denied boarding were also the highest, the data added.

Mumbaiites make travel plans for Republic Day weekend

Travel operator Cox & Kings Ltd, for instance, saw up to a 25% rise in bookings, compared to the same period last year. In 2016, the public holiday fell on a Tuesday, when travel companies noticed a similar trend

Longer wait at Mumbai airport as runway to be shut for 3 months

From February 1, the airport operator will shut the main runway and repair its surface from 9am to 5pm. The main air strip handles around 800 take-offs and landings daily.

45% of flights were not on time at Mumbai airport in December

Even as domestic carriers squabble over whose flights were mostly on time, flight movement data showed that fliers across airlines faced their worst delays at the Mumbai airport in December

On-time performances of flights: Senior officials meet aviation regulators

The ongoing airlines’ tiff over who fared better on the clock entered the second round on Tuesday after senior officials met the aviation regulator with concerns and calculators.

Snowfall in Istanbul leaves fliers stranded in Mumbai

Thousands were stranded in different parts of the world after heavy snowfall in Turkey, particularly Istanbul, froze air traffic over the past four days

9.5 million fliers travelled across India in Dec, the highest for 2016

Between January and November 2016, domestic airlines had catered to more than 90 million fliers up from 73.38 million during the same period in 2015.