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For Indians, visa on arrival scheme in Malaysia

 Kuala Lumpur, Aug 10 (UNI) Visitors from India and 22 other countries will now be able to get visas on arrival at the international airports in Malaysia from September one.

 The tourists will have to pay 100 ringet for the single entry, which will be valid for one month.

 This move aimed at providing a boost to the ’Visit Malaysia Year 2007’ involves only those arriving at international airports, Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said.

 Tourists entering the country through other checkpoints would, however, have to apply for their visas in their home countries.

 ‘‘The idea is to encourage them to come straight to Malaysia, to spend their money here first, instead of neighbouring countries,’’ Radzi was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying.

 ‘‘They can stay for one month and if they want to continue their stay, they will have to leave Malaysia and re-enter by paying another RM100,’’ Radzi said.

 The arrangement will continue throughout next year and ‘‘for as long as it seems fit’’, he said.

 Referring to a new ruling that employers and agents who were late in collecting their foreign workers would be fined, Radzi said the ministry would start enforcing this in ‘‘one or two weeks’ time’’. Such employers will be fined RM10 per hour.

 This could be good news to hundreds of Indian workers who arrive in Malaysia only to find that their agent or employer not there at the airport to pick them up.

 Employers are to collect their foreign workers within five hours upon arrival or pay the fine.

http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/newsPopup.php?fileR=20060728094103088&dir=2006/07/28&secID=livenews

SIA in talks with Kingfisher Air

Source: IRIS NEWS DIGEST (28 July 2006)

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is in talks for an interline agreement with Kingfisher Airlines, reports Business Standard.

This move is aimed at offering the international traveller of Singapore Airlines more routes on Kingfisher`s domestic network. At present, Singapore Airlines has a similar arrangement with Indian Airlines.  

Singapore Airlines General Manager (India) B K Ong said that the airline`s passengers could be filled in Kingfisher at the destination where the airline does not fly. He further added that the airline was looking for special domestic fares from Kingfisher.  
 
Singapore Airlines operates 47 weekly flights to eight destinations in India, including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Amritsar.

Kingfisher operates 86 flights a day covering 18 cities. The airline is keen on starting flights from more secondary cities of the country.
 

karatecatman wrote:

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http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/newsPopup.php?fileR=20060728094103088&dir=2006/07/28&secID=livenews

SIA in talks with Kingfisher Air

Source: IRIS NEWS DIGEST (28 July 2006)

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is in talks for an interline agreement with Kingfisher Airlines, reports Business Standard.

This move is aimed at offering the international traveller of Singapore Airlines more routes on Kingfisher`s domestic network. At present, Singapore Airlines has a similar arrangement with Indian Airlines.  

Singapore Airlines General Manager (India) B K Ong said that the airline`s passengers could be filled in Kingfisher at the destination where the airline does not fly. He further added that the airline was looking for special domestic fares from Kingfisher.  
 
Singapore Airlines operates 47 weekly flights to eight destinations in India, including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Amritsar.

Kingfisher operates 86 flights a day covering 18 cities. The airline is keen on starting flights from more secondary cities of the country.
 

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Passenger give anxious moments to security staff at airport

Chennai, Aug 15 (UNI)

A Maldives-bound air passenger gave some anxious moments to the security officials as he ran into the Anna International terminal urgently to catch the Colombo-bound Sri Lankan airlines flight last night.

According to police, Ahamed Bhutto hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, residing in Gopalapuram in Chennai, and running a handicrafts shop went to catch the Colombo flight, en route Maldives. After parking his car, he told the person manning the parking space that he would come and pick up his car after a couple of days.

The carpark attendant who charged a parking fee of Rs 500, asked him to pay the amount. As Bhutto did not have sufficent Indian currency to pay, he handed over five Euro currencies to the man, who refused to accept the foreign currency. In the melee, the passenger hurriedly ran into the terminal and left for Colombo by the Sri Lankan Airlines flight.

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AAI fines Bangladeshi national

 Kolkata, Aug 14 (UNI) A Bangladesh national was fined by the Airports Authority of India for entering the internaional arrival lounge restricted area without authorisation this afternoon, an airport official said here today. The woman and her husband, an US citizen, had earlier flown to Kolkata on a domestic flight from Delhi. After arriving here, they noticed that some luggage from United States Which belongs to her husband were missing. The husband had come to Delhi on British Airways flight recently from the US. Today they entered the international lounge restricted area to enquire about the missing luggage and were confronted by the CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) personnel. They contended that they have airlines ticket so can enter the restricted area. Both were initially detained but the husband was released but the wife was released after she paid a fine of Rs 400. 

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Cargo truck runs into Qantas jet at Los Angeles airport

LOS ANGELES, Aug 16, 2006 (UNI)

A Qantas airliner with more than 300 people on board was damaged when it collided with a cargo truck on a taxiway at Los Angeles International Airport, officials said.
The Boeing 747 jumbo jet had just arrived from Australia and was rolling toward the terminal Monday when it was struck by the cargo truck, damaging one of its engines, according to an incident report by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Nobody was hurt. The 291 passengers and 19 crew members were taken off the plane and removed from the airfield by bus. The jet was towed to a maintenance hangar, where it remained on Tuesday.
Airplanes always have the right of way on the taxiways at the airport, said airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles.
The plane was expected to be back in service on Wednesday after mechanics received a replacement part, said Qantas Airways spokesman Mike Abraham. He said the engine did not suffer any major damage.
The FAA said in its report that damage to the engine was ‘‘substantial.’’
Abraham declined to provide more details about the accident.
‘‘We’re investigating the circumstances and it would unfair to describe anything until we know more,’’ he said.
Abraham said passengers who were booked on a 10:30 p.m. flight to Sydney on Monday were assigned to other Qantas flights.

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‘Unclaimed’’ suitcase causes tension at airport
 Chennai, Aug 16 (UNI) There was some tension at the airport here after an ’unclaimed’ suitcase was found on a trolley in the portico of the international terminal, airport and police sources said.
 The sources said it was later found that a Sudanese student, Aliyar of a city college, left a suitcase on a trolley after finding that he had excess baggage and expecting his friend to take it with him adding the stduent was to board the Emirates flight to Dubai.
 After finding an ‘‘unclaimed’’ suitcase, security officials, including bomb disposal squad personnel and sniffer dogs took it into their possession for a thorough check.
 Meanwhile, another Sudanese, Humayun Sayyedali, received an SMS message from Aliyar and rushed to the spot to pick it, and was questioned by the security personnel.
 The authorities then told him to produce some proof about the ownership of the suitcase and collect. 

430 additional aircraft ordered by India? Wow, 100 of those will go to IndiGo, 68 to Air India and 43 to Indian.

Any idea about the break-up of the remaining orders?

karatecatman wrote:

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  “As India has placed an order for 430 additional aircrafts over the next five years,” says Kapil Kaul, CEO, Indian subcontinent and Middle East, Center for Asia Pacific Aviation, “the demand for just cabin crew would be 5,000, with airlines direct employing 40,000 people in the next 5-7 years.”

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More on that item on unclaimed baggage at the Chennai airport:

Two baggages created flutter in city airports

Chennai, Aug 16 (UNI)

Two unclaimed baggages created flutter among the security personnel at both Anna International Airport and Kamaraj Domestic Airport here today.

Airport sources said, Syed Ali Mohammed of Ramanthapuram came to Anna International Airport to fly to Dubai by a Emirates Airlines flight, EK 545. At check-in counters, airline authorities found that the passenger’s baggages weighed more than the allowable weight. They asked the passenger to pay extra baggage charge.

The passenger, instead of paying extra baggage charges, opened his one of the baggages and removed some goods, including a transister radio and kept it in a card board box and kept the box in an isolated place, and asked his relative Ali Khader a undergraduate student of the New College, through mobile phone, to come to te airport and take away the box, and left for Dubai.

Meanwhile, the CISF personnel, who were on the patrol duty, found the unclaimed box and informed the matter to the airport authorities. In the melee, Ali Khader, who came to the airport and searched for the box. The CISF personnel rounded up him and handed over to the airport authorities for further action. During the interrogation, Ali Khader told that as per the request of his relagtive he came to collect the box. The authorities had verified the bonafides about Ali Khader with the New College authorities as well as the passenger through pilot of the flight and left the student with the baggage after obtained an undertaking, the sources added.

In a similar incident, a card board box containing personal things had created flutter among the security personnel at Kamaraj Domestic airport, which was also seized by the CISF personnel and handed over to the airport manager, the sources added.

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Update on August 17.

Sudanese student detained while trying to help friend

Chennai, Aug 16 (UNI) A Sudanese student, who came to the airport here today to collect his friend’s luggage that had triggered a bomb scare, was handed over to immigration authorities after it was found that his visa had expired in 2002, police said.

 Humayun Sayyedali had come to the airport after receiving an SMS from his friend Aliyar, who asked him to collect a suitcase he had left behind in a trolley after finding he had excess baggage. Aliyar left this morning by an Emirates airlines flight for Dubai.

 On spotting the suitcase, security officials took it into their possession for a thorough check. But nothing suspicious was found after the suitcase was examined by the bomb squad.

 Sayyedali, who came to the security hold area to pick up the suitcase, was questioned by security personnel. During the questioning, the authorities found out that his visa had expired in 2002.

 He was handed over to immirgration authorities, police said.