Recent News

Delhi, July 30th, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Atlys has launched the country’s first-ever visa sale: “Atlys One Way Out.” The visa processing platform will go live with the sale exclusively on the Atlys website for two days: August 4th and 5th. During the two-day sale, Indian travellers will be able to apply for visas to a wide range of popular destinations, including the UAE, UK, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, Egypt, Hong Kong, Georgia, Oman, Morocco, Qatar, Kenya, and Taiwan, among others, for just ₹1. Additionally, appointment bookings for countries requiring in-person visits, such as the United States and select Schengen nations, will also be available at just ₹1. According to a report by the European Commission and Condé Nast Traveller, Indian applicants collectively lost over ₹664 crore in non-refundable visa fees across various countries in 2024 alone. This staggering figure highlights the financial strain often associated with international travel planning. Atlys’s One Way Out sale addresses this very concern by dramatically lowering visa-related expenses. “Atlys was created to eliminate friction from the visa process. With the One Way Out Sale, we are taking that mission even further,” said Mohak Nahta, Founder and CEO of Atlys. “For the first time, travellers can get visas at a price that feels impossible. We want to challenge what people expect from this industry and prove that global travel can be truly within reach.” In the past 60 days, Atlys has observed an increase in search queries across a diverse range of destinations, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Georgia, the UK, and the UAE, with growth ranging between 18% and 44% compared to the preceding period. This momentum has primarily emerged from users in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, driven largely by Gen Z and millennials. Interestingly, a substantial portion of this rising interest comes from first-time travellers. Against this backdrop, Nahta added, “We anticipate the strongest demand for UAE visas during the sale, followed closely by the UK. Urban millennials and Gen Z from metro cities are likely to drive the most traffic.” The Ra 1 visa sale is aimed at encouraging more users to explore travel options. The pricing strategy is designed to reduce cost-related hesitation among first-time or price-sensitive travellers. Similar to how seasonal discounts drive adoption in other industries, this initiative targets individuals who may be uncertain about international travel. By collapsing barriers (first procedural, now financial), Atlys is setting a new standard for the category: one where access to the world comes easy and without hassle.

Jakarta, 31st July 2025: Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines (SIA) will strengthen their long-standing commercial cooperation in August 2025, with the launch of joint sales of fare products, additional codeshare destinations, and reciprocal lounge access. From August 2025, customers will be able to book flights operated by both airlines for services between Singapore and Indonesia within a single itinerary, offering greater convenience, and a wider range of fare options for travellers. The two carriers will also expand their codeshare arrangement in August 2025 to offer customers more travel options between Indonesia and Singapore, and beyond. Garuda Indonesia customers will gain access to four additional SIA destinations — Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Delhi in India, as well as Male in the Maldives. SIA customers will be able to connect to popular Garuda Indonesia flights from Denpasar to Labuan Bajo, as well as Jakarta to Labuan Bajo, Lombok, and Manado. Customers will continue to enjoy existing codeshare options on flights operated by both carriers between Singapore and Denpasar, Jakarta, and Surabaya in Indonesia, as well as SIAoperated flights to London (Heathrow), the United Kingdom, and Mumbai, India. From mid-August 2025, members of GarudaMiles and KrisFlyer frequent flyer programmes will enjoy reciprocal lounge access when travelling between Singapore and Denpasar, Jakarta,and Surabaya. This covers the Garuda Executive, KrisFlyer Gold, and the Business Class SilverKris lounges in Singapore and those destinations . Members will also be able to earn and redeem miles on the new codeshare routes, under the frequent flyer partnership that was launched in February 2025. SIA increased its flight frequency between Singapore and Jakarta to nine daily services in May 2025, up from eight. Subject to regulatory approval and operational considerations, Garuda Indonesia will boost its flight frequency between Jakarta and Singapore to seven daily flights in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from six, with plans to further increase its frequencies in the coming months. Wamildan Tsani, President and CEO Garuda Indonesia, said: “Garuda Indonesia is delighted with this strengthening of our partnership with Singapore Airlines, which reflects our shared commitment to delivering an enhanced and seamless travel experience for our customers. With broader connectivity and integrated services, this collaboration also serves as a platform to support stronger bilateral relations between Indonesia and Singapore.” Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines, said: “This enhancement of our partnership with Garuda Indonesia offers tangible benefits to our customers through joint sales of fare products, additional codeshare destinations, and improved frequent flyer offerings. By working together, we are leveraging our combined strengths to enhance the customer experience and support the growth of air travel between Singapore and Indonesia, and beyond.”

Calgary, AB, July 29, 2025: WestJet Cargo has announced the launch of its expanded 2025/2026 winter schedule, offering Canadian businesses more destinations and increased service to Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia. This growth reflects WestJet Cargo’s ongoing commitment to providing efficient and reliable shipping solutions across Canada and internationally, with a special focus on supporting the needs of exporters and importers during the busy winter season. This winter, WestJet Cargo will introduce five new destinations to its network: Panama City in Panama, Guadalajara and Tepic in Mexico, Havana in Cuba, and Managua in Nicaragua. The schedule also marks the first winter season of year-round service to Mexico City, a major hub for North American trade. These additions will help Canadian businesses reach new markets and strengthen trade ties with key regions, while also supporting the flow of goods to and from popular sun destinations. These new passenger routes will provide enhanced belly cargo opportunities in select markets, allowing us to support even more Canadian exporters and importers during the peak season. While overall departures across the network will increase by three per cent compared to last year, WestJet Cargo’s capacity will remain robust and consistent. This is made possible by the reconfiguration of former Sunwing and Swoop aircraft, which will be updated to WestJet’s standard cargo-friendly layout before the start of the season. These enhancements ensure that cargo handling and service quality remain seamless and reliable for all customers. With a total of 305 routes and service to 62 sun destinations across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States, WestJet Cargo is providing Canadian businesses with more affordable and flexible shipping options than ever before. The company is also increasing capacity across the Latin America and Caribbean region by six per cent, focusing on high-demand markets such as Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico to support growing trade volumes. “WestJet Cargo’s expanded winter schedule is a direct response to our customers’ needs for greater connectivity and reliable service to sun destinations and beyond,” said Amanda Ierfino, Vice President Sales & Cargo. “By strengthening our cargo network and investing in key routes, we are enabling Canadian businesses to grow and thrive, whether shipping domestically or internationally. Our commitment is to deliver value, flexibility, and world-class service every step of the way.”

Delhi,18th July 2025: “Operation Sindoor demonstrated the operational effectiveness and strategic value of indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) & Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS),” said Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan while underscoring the strategic urgency of achieving full-spectrum indigenisation of these platforms and their counter-measures. He was delivering the keynote address after inaugurating a Workshop and Exhibition on Indigenisation of Critical Components in UAV and C-UAS at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi on July 16, 2025. The CDS stressed that reliance on imported niche technologies weakens India’s long-term readiness, limits scalability, and creates vulnerabilities in sustained operations. He underlined that “Operation Sindoor showcased why indigenously-developed counter-UAS systems, tailored for our terrain and missions, are indispensable. There cannot be dependence on foreign technologies for our offensive and defensive capabilities, when the same can be designed, built, and innovated at home, so that we can safeguard secrets, reduce costs, and retain the initiative.” Highlighting the evolving character of warfare, General Anil Chauhan noted that drone warfare is revolutionising the battlefield, demanding new doctrines, capabilities, and countermeasures. He described drones as highly disruptive, urging military planners to move beyond conventional thinking. The CDS detailed the need for a comprehensive counter-UAS grid integrating radars, sensors, jammers, and directed energy weapons. He stressed that such networks must be supported by robust command and control systems and inter-agency coordination, especially in contested lower airspace. Calling for urgent reforms in defence innovation, General Anil Chauhan proposed the following priority areas: · Increased investment in defence R&D for next-generation unmanned systems; · Modular, upgradable system architectures; · Creation of dedicated test beds for startups and DRDO; · Advancement of stealth UAVs and MUM-T (Manned-Unmanned Teaming); · Long-term vision for swarm drones, drone carriers, AI integration, and directed energy weapons. The workshop and exhibition was organised by Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, in collaboration with the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, in a major step towards self-reliance in next-generation warfare technologies. The deliberations were framed around the strategic goal of reducing dependency on foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers and producing a roadmap for self-reliance in critical UAV subcomponents. Participants included representatives from the Armed Forces, DRDO, academia, industry, and policy circles. The day-long event featured technical sessions, live demonstrations, and an industry exhibition, providing stakeholders with an opportunity to interact, exchange knowledge and showcase emerging indigenous solutions. In his closing address, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit summarised the key takeaways from the workshop and reiterated India’s unwavering commitment to Aatmanirbharta in defence. He stated that the workshop’s insights will feed into a strategic policy document aimed at accelerating indigenisation efforts in UAV and counter-UAS technologies. The initiative reinforces India’s long-term vision to become a global hub for advanced, resilient, and secure military technologies, while ensuring operational superiority in future conflict scenarios. (Source: PIB/MoD)

New Delhi, 17th July 2025: As the AAIB report on Air India flight AI 117 goes public, worldwide debate was initiated with the selective release of transcription from the CVR of the fatal aircraft, somehow estimating pilot error with managing Fuel Control Switch (FCS). However, the final report is still awaited and the MoCA has also issued an statement to wait and watch and not make any remarks citing anticipation. Meanwhile, the India aviation regulator DGCA mandated its rule for all Boeing 787 & 737 planes to inspect the locking mechanism of fuel control switches. Adhering to this guideline, Air India acting swiftly on the regular orders, released a statement that it has completed the inspection of the locking mechanism of fuel control switches in its Boeing 787 planes and did not find any issues. DGCA had directed airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes against the AAIB’s preliminary report stating that fuel switches were cut off before the AI 117 crash in Ahmedabad. In an internal message which Air India officials had sent to its pilots was posted by media quoted, “Over the weekend, our Engineering team initiated precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) on all our Boeing 787 aircraft. The inspections have been completed and no issues were found.” The official also said that all the Boeing 787-8 aircraft have undergone Throttle Control Module (TCM) replacement as per the Boeing maintenance schedule. FCS is part of this module. Air India has also asked its pilots to remain vigilant and report any defect in the technical log, as per the existing reporting process.

New Delhi, 16th July 2025: In a significant push toward achieving self-reliance in defence technologies, Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) in collaboration with the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), is organising a Workshop and Exhibition on Indigenisation of Critical Components Currently Being Imported from Foreign OEMs in the Areas of UAV & C-UAS on 16 July 2025 at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi. The event comes in the backdrop of recent India-Pakistan hostilities, including Operation Sindoor, which highlighted the strategic importance and operational effectiveness of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS). These systems played a vital role in enhancing situational awareness, enabling precision targeting, and reducing risks to human personnel-demonstrating the maturity, dependability, and value of India’s indigenous defence technologies during real-time operations. Recognising the importance of reducing the dependency on OEMs for critical UAV and C-UAS components, the upcoming workshop-cum-exhibition aims to bring together all relevant stakeholders, including defence experts, policymakers, military leaders, scientists, and private industry, to develop a strategic roadmap for indigenisation. The event is expected to serve as a catalyst for innovation, knowledge sharing, and long-term capability building in unmanned systems. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan will grace the occasion as the Chief Guest. Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit will deliver the Closing Address, summarising the deliberations and presenting the expected outcome, a strategic policy document focused on the indigenisation of UAV and C-UAS systems and their critical subcomponents. The initiative aligns with India’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, aiming to bolster national security, enhance defence preparedness, and transform India into a global hub for advanced military technologies. The workshop will feature talks by prominent experts, live demonstrations of indigenous technologies, and discussions on overcoming existing challenges in domestic production.