IX 812 pilot was rapped for hard landing

Mumbai: The commander of the ill-fated Air India Express flight, Capt Zlatco Glusica, had been called for a counselling session and admonished by the airline's air safety department in March for a hard landing in Thiruvananthapuram. The landing was well within the limits laid down by the aircraft manufacturer and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
"He was paranoid about hard landings after that. Due to the fear of being hauled up by the executive director (flight safety), Capt Glusica, like many pilots in AI Express, used to extend the flare (aircraft floating over the runway) resulting in loss of valuable runway for stopping after touchdown," revealed a senior commander. International airlines do not haul commanders for a few hard landings within the limits as it puts undue pressure on pilots.
The Air India spokesperson confirmed Capt Glusica was called for counselling for a hard landing.
The TOI has a copy of Vg (vertical acceleration due to gravity) limits followed by AI and AI Express. For a B737 aircraft with a 1.65g landing, the pilot gets an email, for a 1.74g he is called for counselling, for 1.8g the report goes to the DGCA and only for a 2.1g landing is the aircraft sent for inspection. "Any normal landing is around 1.2 to 1.4g. The figure of 1.74g is way below manufacturer's limit. To counsel a pilot for that is to keep him in a negative frame of mind for all approaches and landings," said Capt A Ranganathan, an airsafety expert. Another shocking revelation, which, too, goes against airsafety norms followed worldwide, is Air India's policy towards go-arounds.
"In Air India and Air India Express, there is no emphasis or encouragement to pilots to do a go-around if they are doubtful about the quality of approach and the subsequent safe landing. In fact, pilots in Air India and Air India Express are petrified of a go-around as many pilots, though not all, have had to explain their action to the executive director," another commander said.
01/06/10 Manju V/Times of India

Pilot in toilet, plane dives into collision path

Mumbai: An Air India Express plane lost height rapidly and was about 15 seconds away from a probable mid-air collision last week, apparently because the commander could not get back to the controls in time after a trip to the toilet.
The near-miss unfolded four days after the Mangalore disaster in which 158 people died. The plane that plunged last Wednesday shared three factors with the Mangalore flight: it belonged to the same airline, the point of departure (Dubai) was the same and so was the make (Boeing 737-800, the staple of Air India Express).
An hour after takeoff, when the plane was near the Muscat airspace, the aircraft lost some 6,000 feet in three minutes.
The plane apparently reached the same level of another aircraft, which was four nautical miles away. Usually, such a distance can be covered in 15 seconds.
Sources on the flight said the plunge happened when Commander Anupam Tiwari — a seasoned aviator — went to the toilet. While he was away, the plane hit an air pocket and the co-pilot could not bank up the aircraft. It began to veer and descend at the rate of 2,000 feet a minute, said a cabin crew member. The commander rushed out of the toilet, but could not enter the cockpit. According to a rule issued after 26/11, cockpit doors cannot be opened from outside. They have to be opened either from inside or by punching a security code.
“The co-pilot was busy with the controls and had no time to open the door. The commander was banging on the door from outside and then started punching the security code to let himself in. In the melee, crucial minutes were lost,” said the cabin crew source.
The pilot eventually managed to steady the plane.
31/05/10 Samyabrata Ray Goswami/Jayanta Roy Chowdhury/The Telegraph

AI-737 plunged 5,000 ft during Dubai-Pune flight

An Air India Express Boeing 737, on a Dubai-Pune flight last Wednesday, plunged over 5,000 feet risking the lives of 112 passengers.
The incident is being investigated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, and both the commander and co-pilot have been de-rostered.
While the probe is under way, preliminary information suggests that the co-pilot allegedly made an "unauthorised and uncontrolled'' descent.
According to sources, the commander was in the toilet and the co-pilot was in control when the plane dropped altitude. "..When the commander of the Pune flight pressed this button after returning from the toilet, there was allegedly no response from inside.
The commander had to press an emergency code on the button to unlock the door. When he entered, he saw caution lights flashing on the flight control panel," an airline source said. The commander is reported to have filed an operational incident report with the airline higher-ups.According to a DGCA official, the descent was not the result of turbulent weather. "An investigation is on and we are recording the crew's statements.
"When a plane descends following an ATC okay, it is called a controlled descent. In this case, however, it seems the co-pilot did an unauthorised descent. This is called altitude bust and is dangerous as he may be unaware of traffic in the skies.
The co-pilot may have descended the plane using the vertical speed mode. "In this procedure, a pilot can key in both the desired altitude and the rate of descent.
01/06/10 Aneesh Phadnis/Mumbai Mirror

"If the pilot is alive, nail him. If he is dead, blame him.."

The blaming of the pilot of Air India Express flight IX-812 that crashed at Mangalore even before an investigation had begun, is a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the deficiencies of the state-run airline and of airport infrastructure. Air India has been cutting costs to avert a serious financial crisis, while Indian airports have been placed under stress as a result of burgeoning air travel both to and within India.
Writing in the Times of India on May 24, air safety expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan commented: “‘After a crash, if the pilot is alive, nail him. If he is dead, blame him,’ goes a saying in our circles. The blame game has already begun even as vital safety deficiencies get swept aside.”
Questions have already been raised about Mangalore airport, which is perched on a hilltop with steep ravines on three sides. The runway on which flight IX-812 had been supposed to land was built in 2006 with an overall length of 2,400 metres. The Runway End Safety Area (RESA) of 60 metres was well short of the 240 meters recommended by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines.
After noting that Air India management claimed Mangalore airport met ICAO standards, Ranganathan stated: “But the aiming point (the point where the undercarriage of the aircraft is supposed to touch down on the runway while landing) on the runway does not conform to ICAO standards. Also if the overrun area had 90 metres of sand laid out as per ICAO specifications for the runway-end safety area, then isn’t it strange that the aircraft did not slow down?”
In a separate comment, Ranganathan suggested an engineered material arrestor system (EMAS), designed to stop a plane from overshooting the runaway, might have prevented the disaster at Mangalore airport. “Though expensive, EMAS can prevent damage to the aircraft and loss of human lives in case of an overrun,” he said. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has ruled out installing EMAS at its airports on cost grounds.
An article in the Times of India pointed out that Mangalore airport does not have approach radar to assist air traffic control to warn a pilot about altitude, speed and glide path. In the absence of approach radar, a pilot is on his own, using Instrument Landing System signals and his own judgment.
The Indian Commercial Pilots Association has also raised questions about pilot fatigue. In 2008, DGCA rolled back the rest rules it had set the previous year to ensure pilots had more time off between lengthy or tiring assignments, like roundtrip international flights. Two Indian pilots told India Real Time that the decision was taken for commercial reasons: the heavy demand for pilots in the growing aviation sector meant airlines couldn’t afford to give pilots as much rest.
A retired Air India pilot pointed out that while the regulations on Flight and Duty Time Limitations [FDTL], issued in December 1992, prescribed a flying time of nine hours and 12 hours of duty time (inclusive of flying time), they did not take into account the time-of-day factor.
01/06/10 Arun Kumar and Deepal Jayasekera/World Socialist Web Site

Air India exists for TUs to flourish, according to Left

New Delhi: With the Air India employees threatening to go on another strike within a fortnight, Left-backed trade unions have sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention to ‘restore normalcy’ in the public sector undertaking.
Alleging that civil aviation minister Praful Patel and Air India chairman Arvind Jadhav are “catering to interests of private players,” they threatened that the entire TU movement will unitedly back the airline unions’ fight against “suppression” of their rights.
While CPM polit bureau member and Citu leader M K Pandhe wrote a letter to the prime minister accusing the chairman of Air India of suppressing “well established and recognised unions,” CPI MP Gurudas Dasgupta met Mr Singh and told him that derecognition of unions did not happen even during the Emergency. “I am informed that the employees of Air India will resort to one-day strike on June 12 to protest against the high-handed policy of the CMD. Due to large-scale victimisation, employees are agitated and desire that all victimisation measures should be withdrawn and recognition of the union should be restored,” Mr Pandhe said.
Putting the ball in the court of the government and airline management, he told the prime minister that the management of Air India will be solely responsible for the strike. “I hope you will view these developments with concern and intervene in the dispute so that normalcy is restored and Air India can march ahead despite unhealthy competition indulged in by private civil aviation companies... Please note that the trade union movement in the country will not be a silent spectator if suppression of trade union rights in such a blatant manner is allowed.”
01/06/10 Economic Times

Air India to revamp overseas operations

New Delhi: Air India, run by National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, is planning to revamp its international operations, concentrating on non-stop connections instead of one-stop flights on its long-haul routes.
From November, the airline is likely to drop Frankfurt as its European hub, flying direct to destinations such as Toronto and Chicago from Delhi’s new Terminal 3, according to two Air India officials familiar with the proceedings of the national carrier’s strategy committee meeting on Monday that was attended by newly appointed chief operating officer Gustav Baldauf.
The airline also plans to start flights to destinations such as Melbourne as part of a new strategy aimed at taking advantage of a growing fleet of aircraft capable of traversing such distances without refuelling with passengers willing to pay a premium for seats on such flights.
The move is also meant to attract travellers to visit India during the Commonwealth Games in October. A proposal to hire Cato Purnell Partners to rebrand the carrier ahead of the Games has already been approved, as Mint reported last month.
31/05/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

‘30 pc pilots should be of the rank of training captains’

Mumbai: India’s aviation regulator wants 30 per cent of pilots flying should be of the rank of training captains, in order to increase trainer-pilot ratio. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a circular last week regarding this.
This means that if 10 pilots of an airline operate Boeing 747-800 fleet, about three should be training to be captains.
Of these, half of the training captains should be check pilots (who accompany a junior pilot in the cockpit to test their skills) and the rest should be examiners who conduct ground training. The initiative will help to conduct more safety checks on pilot skills.
“The move will ensure better scrutiny on pilot skills in all types of aircraft,” said a senior DGCA official requesting anonymity.
The DGCA has been under fire from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US aviation regulator, for gaps in safety checks on pilots because it is short staffed in testing pilot skills.
The move also come to enhance air safety a week after 158 people died in an Air India Express flight that crashed in Mangalore.
01/06/10 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

New terminal of Mangalore airport not to open on Tuesday

Mangalore: The Rs 180 crore new integrated terminal of the Bajpe airport here will not be open for domestic and international flight operations from Tuesday.
Union minister of state for civil aviation Praful Patel and Airport Authority of India chairman V P Agarwal had announced June 1 as the date, on which the new terminal will be open.
Bajpe airport General manager Peter Abraham on Monday told TOI that due to the Air India Boeing tragedy of May 22, the shifting operations had received a set back. During the inauguration of the new integrated terminal building on May 15, Patel had also said the length of existing runway will be extended by a further 1,000 feet to take its total length to 9,000 feet at the earliest.
31/05/10 Times of India

Post-crash, work on Bajpe runway to be accelerated

Bengaluru: The ministry of civil aviation will accelerate work on extension of the runway at Bajpe airport by 1,000 feet in view of widespread criticism about its length particularly after the crash of Air India Express jet which claimed 158 lives on May 22.
According to official sources, extension of the runway was approved sometime ago but work did not commence due to red tape. In fact, a runway measuring 9,000 feet was proposed during its construction in 2002 itself but the authorities completed one measuring 8,000 feet. Exactly a week before the crash, minister for civil aviation Praful Patel had assured that it would be lengthened by 1,000 feet while speaking at the inaugural of a new airport terminal at Kenjar.
The sources said such an extension of the runway will increase its length from 8,000 feet to 9,000 feet. At the end of the runway there will be a sand trap of about 250 meters. Work on lengthening the runway will commence shortly as the authorities have already acquired land for the project. “We have land for 1,000 feet runway in our control, but since it is a table-top runway extending it more than 1,000 feet may be difficult as we have to acquire land and fill the other side which may be expensive,” Peter Abraham, director, Mangalore Airport, told Deccan Chronicle.
01/06/10 Deccan Chronicle

Civil aviation secy lashes out at his top officials

New Delhi: Civil aviation secretary MM Nambiar has hit out at top officials of his Ministry saying their attitude had embarrassed him and the Ministry.
The sharp reaction followed a meeting of the Committee on Government Assurances (CoGA) last week, which found Ministry’s replies to various issues "totally unsatisfactory".
Ordering an "internal enquiry", the secretary has recommended action against the Director/ Deputy Secretary concerned — relatively senior officials — responsible for this embarrassment.
The CoGA, chaired by BJP MP Maneka Gandhi, met on May 25. Incidentally, the same day, sone Air India employees had proceeded on a flash strike.
Nambiar, in a letter —accessed by HT — to his joint -secretaries soon after his return from the meeting said replies to issues and assurances given by the Ministry were unsatisfactory and were adversely commented by the chairperson and the members of the panel.
"It is clear there has been no application of mind and these have been sent in a routine manner. It is most unfortunate to note that the joint-secretaries have also not applied their mind but have sent these in a routine manner. This has caused embarrassment not only to me personally but to the Ministry of Civil Aviation," Nambiar wrote.
31/05/10 Tushar Srivastava/Hindustan Times

Diverted flights: No fuel shortage, says govt

New Delhi: Amid reports that three planes with insufficient fuel were diverted from Delhi to nearby airports due VIP flight movements, the Civil Aviation Ministry today said all these aircraft had much fuel to spare.
All the aircraft, which were diverted on May 26 following flight movements of President Pratibha Patil and Turkmenistan president Gurbanguly Berdimunha-medov, carried sufficient fuel "as per laid down procedure of DGCA and their fuel requirement," the Ministry and Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in a statement.
31/05/10 Press Trust of India

Bangladesh examines Indian proposals to put marshals on planes

Dhaka: Fearing attacks by terrorists, India has proposed to Bangladesh to put sky marshals on all Dhaka-bound flights and to post its own forces to man security in its mission in Dhaka, which authorities say they are "actively examining".
The proposals are part of new measures India is contemplating in all its missions in neighbouring countries and flights to all these destinations.
"We are examining the nitty-gritty of both the proposals for deployment sky marshals in Indian planes en-route to Bangladesh and their own security personnel at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka," Foreign Secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes told newsmen at a briefing in Dhaka late last night.
He said, "we expect" to let India know about the decisions soon, which follow a universal practise to ensure security of aircraft and foreign missions.
31/05/10 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

InterGlobe General Aviation announces Dornier Seastar CD2 begins production

The world’s most advanced seaplane, the Dornier Seastar CD 2 has now gone into production, announced InterGlobe General Aviation Pvt. Limited, the representative for Dornier Seaplane Company in SAARC (including Mauritius).
The new fully certified all composite twin engine seaplane provides the fastest cruise speeds, the most comfortable cabin and the greatest reliability of any other amphibious aircraft available, making it the most apt seaplane for the vast coastlines of Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and Mauritius.
The seaplane is being assembled at the new facility in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in the southern suburb of Montreal, Canada. On this development CEO and President of InterGlobe General Aviation Nigel Harwood said, “We are very excited about the launch of this new manufacturing facility; there is not only a great deal of interest in this product but also a strong requirement in the region which we can now go about fulfilling.”
Dornier chose Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu due to its proximity to Lake Champlain for demonstration and production of flight test activities and also the importance of Montreal as a transportation hub with skilled aerospace labor pool in the area.
31/05/10 India Infoline

Compensation despite fake passports in plane crash

Thiruvananthapuram: The government will not deny compensation to families of passengers with fake passports who were among the 158 people who died in the May 22 Air India Express crash in Mangalore, a top leader of the Congress Party said yesterday.
“I have received an assurance from the authorities that even if any of the victims carried fake passports their families will get compensation,” former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy said. “I’m told that the compensation is given to those who die in an air crash and the status of their passport has no bearing.”
Victims of the Mangalore air tragedy should get at least $145,000 in compensation from the carrier apart from the amount sanctioned by the state and federal governments. Of the 158 people who died in the tragedy, 49 were from the northern Kerala districts.
According to reports, officials have detected that 12 passengers travelled on passports secured from the Regional Passport Office in Kozhikode through fraudulent means making it difficult to identify them.
It also exposed a flourishing fake passport business in the Gulf countries with links in Kerala’s Kasaragod district for more than two decades - known as “Kasaragod embassy”.
“According to international aviation rules the compensation is $145,000. We will see that no dilution takes place in this and we are working with the central government on it,” Chandy said.
01/06/10 Ashraf Padanna/Gulf Times

Can we have a safer airport in Mangalore?

Mangalore: There have been suggestions for shifting Bajpe airport to Padubidri during the seventies. Industrial Minister late T.A. Pai proposed this in 1975 as Padubidri is naturally more suitable for an airport with its plain landscape and it is also convenient to the people of northern region. But since the other politicians of that time did not take much interest on this matter, this proposal did not materialize.
As per the records, since October 2006 up to March 2010 about 7,900 international planes have landed and taken off at Mangalore airport. Also, since 2006 up to March 2010 about 31,000 domestic planes have landed and taken off as well. This is the first ever such disaster in this airport.
Mangalore airport has been also distinguished as a table top airport surrounded by deep valleys in three sides. At one side the valley is 300 feet deep, at west side of runway it is 272 feet deep and at east side it is 82 feet. Now, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said that the runway will be increased from the present 8,000 feet to 9,000 feet. The airport authority has 580 acres of land and for the extension they will need more 200 to 300 acres of land, which needs to be acquired. We will have to wait and see when this will be completed.
The other facts to be noted in the current facility are whether Mangalore airport meets all the requirements an International airport needs. For a full fledged International airport the ATC (Air Traffic Control) tower should be 125 meters high from the sea level. At present Mangalore airport ATC is 109 meters high. With the increased height it will be easy for the communication between ATC and the pilot. Also the approach radar is essential for the safe landing of flight. This facility will provide the complete picture of airport prevailing the weather condition of the airport and details about the height and speed of the plane.
At present Mangalore airport has 420 meters of approach light system. For an International airport 900 meters of approach lights are required. Approach light system facilitates smooth landing and take off of plane at night and also during cloudy and rainy season. The present the 90 meter long sand arrestor system at the new runway did not work during the crash, so this should be re strengthened also.
01/06/10 Victor D’Souza/Bellevision

Usman goes home with a spring in his step

Mangalore: He cheated death by a whisker and has lived to tell the tale. From the initial shock, Mohammed Usman, one of the eight survivors of the Indian Airlines Boeing 737-800 crash, which claimed 158 lives, is now recovering -- His physical scars are healing, but the mental scars run deep.
Though he had asserted that IX-812 would be his last flight to Bajpe airport, he has changed his outlook in the past one week. "Accidents happen and can happen anywhere. I will take flights from Bajpe airport," he said half smiling. "The Almighty has given me a new lease of life, I'll use it well as he intends," said Usman.
Usman, who works in the transport logistics company at Dubai, had come home for a two-week vacation. His travel plans have gone awry as he has lost his passport in the crash. "Air India officials will assist me in getting the passport. They said they will give me a letter to process my passport," he said.
Usman had suffered burns on his both hands and bruises on his chest, torso and legs. He has a deep cut on the back of his head, probably sustained by a tree stump while he was rolling down the slope after jumping out of the plane.
31/05/10 Stanley G Pinto/Times of India

Jet Airways set to hike salaries soon

Mumbai: At a time when gloom pervades the airline sector, especially in the context of mounting losses and frequent strikes at state-run Air India, private carrier Jet Airways may bring in some cheer. Having missed a pay hike and promotions last year, the airline’s staff are all set to receive their due very soon.
CEO Nikoss Kardassis has written to 8,000 of the airlines’ staff stating that they will get title and salary hikes on a case-to-case basis, soon. It can translate to a decent raise, considering the upper limit of salary hikes is capped at around 25%. The recent improvement in the company’s performance, although modest, should have helped, and so would have the industry’s prospects.
The company posted a net profit of Rs 59 crore for the March quarter of FY2009-10, compared with Rs 53 crore in the same quarter a year ago. The carrier has seen its Ebidtar margins improve to 19% for 2009-10 as against 4% in 2008-09. Similarly, its revenues from passengers stood at 12 million, up 9% compared with the same period last year. It registered load factors of over 77% compared with 67.7%.
31/05/10 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Express

AI crisis: Former bosses advise patience

New Delhi: The recent strike in AI has taken ties between the management and two of its unions into a tailspin. In a bid to prevent further deterioration, the management has called the other 12 unions for a meeting on June 1, says an AI spokesman. Former chairmen of IA and AI say HR policies, especially in a service sector, are more about negotiation than arm-twisting. Here's their advice to both parties:
Keep talking: A management which doesn't talk to unions or senior directors is asking for trouble. "Be accessible to unions even if their demands are unreasonable," stresses a former senior official of IA who didn't want to be named and in whose time, three strikes were prevented. "There were times when pilot unions demanded a 300% hike but we still kept talking to buy time." The top management should work as a team, advises Roy Paul, chairman of AI from 2002-2004, when a striking Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) was derecognized.
Magnanimous management: The work force is the backbone of an airline. Respect them, even if you don't agree with them, says the IA official.
The strike, says P C Sen, former CMD of IA and ex-chairman of AI, is the reaction of a demoralized workforce.
Networking skills: Have trusted aides. There were IA chiefs who knew every move of unions, giving them a head start in negotiations.
Right timing: AI's two unions lost public sympathy for their bad timing — within days of the Mangalore crash and when traffic was at a peak. They gave the management an upper hand on a platter.
01/06/10 Shobha John/Times of India

Jet Airways co-pilot held on charges of raping air-hostess

A co-pilot with private air carrier Jet Airways was today arrested from Mumbai airport for allegedly raping an air-hostess on several occasions since May 2009 on the pretext of marrying her, police said.
Varun Agrawal (27) was arrested from the domestic airport at suburban Vile Parle on charges of raping the 22-year-old air-hostess, who was in a live-in relationship with him, police added.
He was booked under sections 376 (rape), 420 (cheating), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), they added.
Both the victim and the accused are associated with Jet Airways and hail from Uttaranchal, they said.
According to police, the accused, who joined Jet Airways in 2006, started luring the victim since 2008, a year after she joined the private air carrier.
29/05/10 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

Couple to be taken to temple where they got ‘married’

Mumbai: The Powai police will be taking the Jet Airways pilot Varun Agrawal (27) and air-hostess Shobha Pathak (name changed) to the temple in Andheri (East), where they allegedly married, as claimed by the Pathak.
Pathak, on Friday alleged to the Powai police that Agrawal had raped her on several occasions for a period of over two years.
She also alleged that they got married in an Andheri temple, though the police have not as yet found their union to be legal. “We will be taking them to the temple as part of our investigation,” said Senior Police Inspector Ashok Jadhav of the Powai police station.
Agrawal, who is in police custody, has denied marrying Pathak. An officer from the Powai police station said, at times Agrawal has denied of even knowing Pathak.
The police official involved with the investigation of the case said the couple will be taken to meet the temple priest to ascertain whether the rituals had taken place or not.
Police sources said it will be difficult to establish that a marriage, albeit an invalid one had taken place between them at the temple, as the complainant has no proof of it and she does not even remember the date of marriage.
01/06/10 Hindustan Times

Day 4: Flight from Ludhiana fails to take off

The much-hyped Ludhiana-New Delhi flight services deserted its passengers for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday after it was cancelled due to a technical snag.
Sahnewal Airport Director VK Jain said, “We had to cancel the flight. The visibility was okay today and we were expecting a flight but the Air India officials said there would be no flight today due to a technical snag,” he added.
Since Thursday, the flight services have taken a hit either due to poor visibility or pollution. On Friday, the flight was cancelled due to duststorm while on Thursday, this flight had to be diverted to Chandigarh due to poor visibility and strong winds at the Sahnewal airport. The passengers were ferried to Ludhiana by taxis arranged by the Air India. On Saturday, the passengers were told at the airport that there would be no flight.
The New Delhi-Ludhiana flight that was started on May 13.
31/05/10 Amrita Chaudhry/Indian Express

Emirates Airline sees 20% growth in India

Hyderabad: Emirates Airline is expecting a 15 to 20 per cent rise in the number of customers from India in fiscal 2011. The company operates 184 weekly flights from ten Indian destinations to Dubai.
“India has bounced back strongly from the effects of the global economic crisis. Even last year, we saw robust numbers from our Indian operation,” Orhan Abbas, vice president – India & Nepal, Emirates Airline, said. “The trend should only get stronger this year.”
India is the fastest growing market for the UAE-based airline.
The West Asia and Indian Ocean region, which includes India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mauritius and Seychelles, accounts for more than 12 per cent of the company’s revenue.
Abbas believes corporate travel is returning to its earlier levels after a poor FY 10.
31/05/10 Sharang Limaye/mydigitalfc.com