Recent News

New Delhi, 11th Oct 2023: Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh is presently on visit Italy and France from October 09 to 12, 2023. During the first leg of his two-nation visit, the Raksha Mantri is scheduled to meet Italian Defence Minister Mr Guido Crosetto in Rome. The relationship between India and Italy was elevated to Strategic Partnership in March 2023 during the visit of the Italian Prime Minister to India.During the second & final leg, Shri Rajnath Singh will conduct the 5th Annual Defence Dialogue with his counterpart, French Minister of Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu in Paris. India and France recently celebrated 25 years of Strategic Partnership. Both countries enjoy a deep and wide-ranging bilateral defence relationship, including significant industrial cooperation.In both Rome and Paris, the Raksha Mantri will also interact with the defence industry CEOs and senior representatives to discuss potential opportunities for industrial cooperation.

Delhi, 4th Oct 2023: Air India will introduce a non-stop service between Kolkata and Bangkok starting 23rd October 2023. Launched during the festive season in Kolkata, this new flight will cater to the need of a convenient direct connection between the two cities. AI322 will depart Kolkata at 2200 hrs to reach Bangkok at 0205 hrs the next morning. The return flight AI321 will take off from Bangkok at 0305 hrs to land in Kolkata at 0410 hrs (All Local Time). The flight, operated with a narrowbody Airbus family aircraft, will have a two-class configuration of Economy and Business Class and operate six days a week from Monday to Saturday. Besides lending a boost to tourism and trade in the two cities, the direct service to Bangkok will offer a unique opportunity to Air India passengers to take convenient connections via Bangkok to and from 10 popular destinations in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia on the network of Bangkok Airways, with whom Air India enjoys an interline partnership with seamless connections beyond Bangkok. Air India currently operates a total of 14 flights to Bangkok per week with daily non-stop flights from Delhi and Mumbai connecting the destination.

Delhi, 1st October 2023: Air India has announced starting non-stop flights between Kochi and Doha from 23 October onwards. This new flight will was much awaited and in demand between both the hubs. AI953 will depart at 0130 local time to reach Doha at 0345 hrs. The return flight AI954 will take off from Doha at 0445 hrs to land at Kochi at 1135 hrs (All Local Time). The flight, operated with an A320neo aircraft, will offer 162 seats (150 in Economy and 12 in Business Class).

Delhi, 01 October 2023: Vistara started its daily, non-stop flights between Delhi and Maldives by Airbus A320neo aircraft. The flight will depart Delhi at 10:45 Hours (IST) and arrive at Velana International Airport, Maldives Airport at 14:20 Hours (MVT). Apart from Delhi, Vistara also connects Maldives with Mumbai with direct daily flights. Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “In addition to the 7x weekly service between Mumbai and Male, which has been getting very good response since its launch in March 2021, we are pleased to introduce our second route connecting this exquisite beach destination with Delhi. Maldives has evolved as one of the most popular leisure destinations for Indian travellers and we are happy to be able to offer more choices and flexibility to our customers on this route. We are confident that customers will appreciate having the option of flying with India’s most loved airline when travelling to or from Male.”

New Delhi, 25 September 2023: Air India has entered into a codeshare agreement with AIX Connect (formerly known as Air Asia India). Air India will add its ‘AI’ designator code to over 100 flights a day operated by AIX Connect on 21 routes. More routes under the codeshare agreement will be added progressively. The codeshare implementation enables Air India guests to connect seamlessly on AIX Connect’s route network to and from over 80 points across Air India’s extensive domestic and international network.The scope of the agreement between the two airlines enables guests to receive their boarding passes at the first point of departure for all the travel sectors on a single ticket, and have their baggage checked-in through to their final destinations. Guests connecting from international to domestic flights will, however, need to clear customs at the first point of entry in India, in line with government regulations. AIX Connect will honour the free baggage allowance mentioned on tickets issued by Air India. Air India guests connecting on to flights operated by AIX Connect will also be able to enjoy complimentary meals on board. With the implementation of the codeshare agreement, Air India has expanded its domestic route network to 4 new destinations in India, namely Bagdogra, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, and Surat, in addition to the common destinations between the two airlines’ route networks. Customers from these originating cities will be able to connect to Air India’s wide international network over hubs at Delhi and Mumbai.

Delhi, 15 September 2023: Vistara has announced daily non-stop flights between Delhi and Hong Kong, starting 29 October 2023. The airline will operate its A321 Neo aircraft featuring a three-class configuration on this route. Bookings for the flights are being progressively opened on all channels, including Vistara’s website, mobile app, and through travel agents. Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “We are delighted to add Hong Kong to our fast-growing global network. Hong Kong is one of the world’s most premier financial and commercial hubs that continues to draw significant corporate traffic from India. It has also been a very popular destination for Indian tourists. With the addition of Hong Kong, we are now able to offer our customers direct connectivity to and from three of the world’s top financial centres, the others being London and Singapore.”

New Delhi, 13th Sept 2023: With the objective of disposal of pending matters and promoting Swachhata, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is scheduled to participate in the Special Campaign 3.0 from 2nd October till the 31st October 2023, with the preparatory phase for the campaign starting on 15th September 2023. Ministry of Civil Aviation participated in the Special Campaign 2.0 for disposal of pending matters and Swachhata during 02nd -31st October, 2022 with the objective of institutionalizing Swachhata and reducing pendency in Government offices. Apart from the Ministry, all attached offices, including field offices, Autonomous Bodies and PSUs participated in the campaign. The cleanliness campaign was conducted at 134 locations across the country. During the campaign, a total of 43224 physical files were reviewed, out of which 32919 physical files were weeded out, 42,786 square feet of space freed and revenue of Rs. 2,65,91,760/- generated from scrap disposal. Additionally, 582 Public Grievances and 145 Public Grievance Appeals were also disposed during the campaign. The campaign continued beyond October 2022. The highlights of the achievements made by Ministry of Civil aviation and its organizations during December 2022 – August 2023 are: • 6577 Public grievances disposed of • 314 MP and VIP references disposed of • 109189 square feet of space freed • Rs. 2,21,07,809 Revenue earned through scrap disposal • 11283 files weeded out • 36 rules simplified

Delhi, 11 September 2023: Air India has rolled out ‘Project Abhinandan’ aimed at providing personalised and hassle-free on-ground experience to Air India guests at airports.As part of the project, Air India has deployed specially trained Service Assurance Officers at 16 major Indian airports, who will offer on-ground assistance across airport touchpoints to Air India guests who may require it – at check-in area or lounges, near the boarding gates, during transit, or at the arrival hall. Air India’s Service Assurance Officers are trained to sense passenger concerns at airports and will be placed at strategic touchpoints to proactively engage with guests, provide support, or troubleshoot any issues. They are also trained to address unforeseen issues such as missed flights, delayed baggage delivery and misconnections at airports, among others. Rajesh Dogra, Chief Customer Experience & Ground Handling Officer, Air India, said, “Airport experiences can be daunting for many air travellers, despite how frequently one travels. ‘Project Abhinandan’ is our sincere effort to simplify the airport experience for our guests and make a meaningful difference to their overall travel experience, and more broadly, to make them feel at ease and welcomed when they fly with us.” “Flying is a wonderful experience, and we want our guests to enjoy it in the most seamless ways possible. We are constantly evaluating new ways to enhance that experience in our effort to transform Air India into a truly world-class airline. ‘Project Abhinandan’ service is a step in that direction,” Dogra said. Air India’s Service Assurance Officers at airports will provide assistance to any Air India guest, regardless of the cabin class one is booked in, requiring airport assistance at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Calicut, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Varanasi and Vishakhapatnam. The Service Assurance Officers are available at the airports in addition to the other Air India and ground handling agencies’ staff. Air India has already recruited and deployed over 100 Service Assurance Officers across airports.