Category Archives: Aviation

The recent decision by Saudi Arabia and Oman to allow Israeli civilian overflights is a significant regional development that is already having a positive impact on the Israeli airline industry. Flights from Israel to the Far East will be much shorter as a result of the new air corridor, allowing airlines to offer more direct and efficient routes. El Al’s decision to fly over Saudi Arabia and Oman en route to Thailand is a historic moment for the Israeli national carrier, cutting the flight time from Tel Aviv to Bangkok from about ten and a half hours to just eight. This is expected to open up new opportunities for the airline in the region. El Al is expected to re-launch its route to India, which was closed during the pandemic. Arkia also announced plans to re-launch its routes to Goa and Cochin, which were closed in 2019, and is considering expanding its service to India and Sri Lanka. Israir has also announced its interest in opening a route of just five hours flight time to India. Overall, the new air corridor over Saudi Arabia and Oman is a boon to the Israeli airline industry, and it is expected to spur growth and innovation in the region’s aviation sector. The two-and-a-half-hour reduction in flight times from Israel to the Far East will also shorten flights on Israeli carriers to India, Sri Lanka, and Australia, among other destinations. This will almost certainly increase tourism and business travel to and from Israel. According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “Israel has, in effect, become the main transit point between Asia and Europe. Israel is opening up to the East on an unprecedented scale.” Commenting …

Under a deal, Singapore Airlines will inject further SGD 360 million (USD 267 million) into Air India. It will give SIA a 25.1% stake in the group following its takeover by Tata and merger with Vistara Airlines.

Continuing its ambitious and dynamic strategy of fleet and network expansion, Oman Air, the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman, has unveiled its summer schedule for 2023. The schedule specifies significant frequency increases on existing routes, and the addition of four destinations—representing a 60% increase in the number of flights from its hub in Muscat compared to the previous year. This will provide the market with approximately 60,000 more seats weekly across its network and provide greater convenience and connectivity for Oman Air guests. The four additional destinations being introduced for the summer schedule are: four-weekly flights from Muscat to Chittagong (from March end); four-weekly flights from Muscat to Maldives (from June end); twelve-weekly flights from Muscat to Lucknow and five-weekly flights between Muscat and Thiruvananthapuram (from August). Due to popular demand, the new summer schedule will see frequency increases to the following regions:   Far East Indian Sub-Continent Europe GCC Daily flights to Phuket (from March end, wide- body) Double-daily flights to Mumbai (from March end, wide-body) Daily flights to Moscow (from March end, wide- body) Double-daily flights to Kuwait (from June) Ten-weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur (from June) Double-daily flights to Chennai (from March end) Six-weekly flights to Paris (from March end) Five-daily flights to Salalah (from July)   Double-daily flights to Cochin (from March end) Daily flights to Trabzon (from March end)     Double-daily flights to Kozhikode (from March end) Double-daily flights to Istanbul (from June)     Double-daily flights to Hyderabad (from March end)       Daily flights to Dhaka (from March end, wide- body)     The expanded network and schedule for 2023 demonstrates Oman Air’s ongoing efforts to contribute to the …

Nok Air has unveiled its maiden flight service to Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok. Hyderabad is the first and only Indian destination from where Nok Air has started direct flights to Bangkok. The new route will be operated by Nok Air’s Boeing 737 MAX 8.

Despite having a natural geographical advantage, Indian airports have, to date, not been able to realise the opportunity that exists, according to CAPA India. According to its research, for years India has ceded traffic to offshore hubs. In fact, over the last couple of decades, there has been a structural evolution from hubs to mega-hubs, particularly in the Middle East, supported by world class airlines with large widebody fleets. It will discuss this and more at its research briefing on ‘Prospects for airport hubs in India’ at 4pm IST today.

The ver.di trade union has announced that employees at seven airports in Germany will go on strike for higher wages on February 17. Severe disruptions to all planned flights are expected. Airports in Dortmund, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich and Stuttgart will all be affected.

Air India has announced orders for 470 Boeing and Airbus passenger jets. It is buying 220 Boeing aircraft valued at $34bn and 250 passenger jets from Airbus. Air India is seeking to reinvent itself by expanding its operations and modernising its fleet to tap surging demand for affordable air travel. India is going to be the world’s third-largest market in the aviation sector,” Modi said, adding that over the next 15 years, it is estimated India will need more than 2,000 aircraft.

flynas, the Saudi air carrier, announced that its passengers can apply for an electronic Stopover Visa through its website. The “Stopover Visa” is issued after purchasing the airline ticket, and the validity of the visa extends to three months and the stay in the Kingdom up to 4 days. The visa application will be passed automatically to the unified national visa platform at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to process and issue the digital visa immediately and send it to the beneficiary via e-mail. Expecting that the new service will contribute to increasing the visitors to the Kingdom, including Umrah and Pilgrim visitors, tourists, and businessmen, Bandar Almohanna, CEO and Managing Director of flynas, said, “the Saudi Vision 2030 has laid the foundations for cooperation among the regulatory and executive sectors on one hand, and with the private sector on the other hand, to serve the Kingdom’s goals in all sectors. Today, we see a practical application of this integration and cooperation by enabling the national carriers to facilitate a request for issuing a Stopover visa, which facilitates procedures of obtaining a Stopover visa for whoever wishes to visit the Kingdom”. Almohanna stressed that this service will contribute to strengthening the Kingdom’s position as a global hub for travel and business by facilitating quick business visits, making the Kingdom a point of contact between countries and continents. He indicated that the new service comes in line with the civil aviation strategy to reach 330 million passengers and link the Kingdom’s cities with 250 global destinations and 100 million tourists annually. Thousands of tourists are expected to benefit from the Stopover visa to attend the various cultural and entertainment events in …

SriLankan Airlines will start operations from additional three cities in India, including Ahmedabad, to lure more Indian travellers to the island nation. Currently, it flies out of nine Indian cities, revealed Richard Nuttall, CEO, SriLankan Airlines.

Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet, has said, “The budget is growth oriented and yet prudent and responsible. Coming as it does in a year when India has assumed the presidency of the G20, it is an object lesson in how an economy should be managed in a crisis.”