Parliament Panel Reviews Aviation Safety After Air India AI-171 Crash

Parliament Panel Reviews Aviation Safety After Air India AI-171 Crash

By Nishang Narayan

Published on July 10, 2025

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture has convened a crucial meeting at Parliament House Annexe to conduct an overall review of civil aviation safety in India. This meeting comes in the wake of the tragic Air India Flight AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad that claimed 241 lives, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

Committee Chairman Sanjay Kumar Jha is leading the discussions, which include Air India CEO Campbell Wilson and top officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

On Tuesday, members of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) also raised serious concerns over aviation safety standards, as well as the sudden spike in flight fares from Srinagar to other cities following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam.

The fatal incident occurred on June 12 when Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The aircraft struck the BJ Medical College hostel building, resulting in 241 fatalities out of the 242 people on board.

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The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has submitted its preliminary report to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and other authorities. Notably, this investigation marks the first time India has domestically decoded black box data. Officials confirmed that the crash protection module (CPM) from one of the black boxes was retrieved and successfully downloaded at the AAIB Lab in Delhi on June 25, using an identical unit known as a "golden chassis" to verify the data.

The investigation is being led by the AAIB Director General and involves a multidisciplinary team, including experts from the Indian Air Force, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), aviation medicine, air traffic control, and the US-based National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the designated body from the aircraft’s country of design.

Meanwhile, efforts to identify victims have concluded. Civil Hospital Medical Superintendent Rakesh Joshi confirmed, “A total of 254 DNA matches were done, all identified and handed over. Six were identified through facial recognition.” All 260 bodies from the crash have now been returned to their families.

As scrutiny intensifies, the Parliament panel’s review aims to ensure that aviation safety protocols are thoroughly examined to prevent such tragedies in the future, while also addressing concerns around fare hikes in sensitive situations.


SpiceJet Expands Festive Connectivity to Bihar with New Flights to Patna and Darbhanga

SpiceJet Expands Festive Connectivity to Bihar with New Flights to Patna and Darbhanga

By Hariharan U

Published on October 22, 2025

SpiceJet has announced a major expansion of its domestic network ahead of Chhath Puja and Diwali, strengthening connectivity to Bihar with new and additional flights to Patna and Darbhanga.

The airline has introduced new flights to Patna from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, along with increased frequencies from Delhi and Mumbai. In addition, Darbhanga has gained extra services from Delhi and Mumbai, further improving accessibility for travellers heading home during the festive season.

These routes build upon SpiceJet’s existing operations to Patna from Delhi, Mumbai, and Guwahati, and to Darbhanga from Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi. The new flights commenced in a phased rollout from October 10, 2025, ensuring greater travel flexibility and convenience for passengers amid the festive rush.

Earlier this month, SpiceJet also introduced special daily non-stop Diwali flights to Ayodhya from Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad, enabling devotees and tourists easier access to the Shri Ram Temple during the celebrations.

Commenting on the development, Debojo Maharshi, Chief Business Officer, SpiceJet, said, “The festive season holds immense significance for millions of our passengers, and we are delighted to make travel home for Chhath Puja and Diwali more convenient and accessible. With enhanced connectivity to Patna, Darbhanga, and Ayodhya, SpiceJet continues to play a key role in bringing people closer to their loved ones for celebrations that matter most.”

The expansion underscores SpiceJet’s commitment to meeting evolving travel demand, particularly during high-traffic festive periods, by offering affordable, direct, and seamless connectivity across India’s key regional hubs.


IndiGo Integrates with Digi Yatra for a Seamless Digital Boarding Experience

IndiGo Integrates with Digi Yatra for a Seamless Digital Boarding Experience

By Manu Vardhan Kannan

Published on October 20, 2025

IndiGo and Digi Yatra have announced a new app-to-app integration that allows IndiGo flyers to share boarding passes directly with the Digi Yatra app. The collaboration enhances contactless, biometric-enabled travel while ensuring user consent, data privacy, and faster passenger processing at airports.

IndiGo, India’s leading airline, has partnered with Digi Yatra, the Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI)-based ecosystem that uses facial biometric technology for contactless passenger processing, to enable this direct integration between their mobile applications. The initiative eliminates the need for passengers to manually scan or upload boarding passes on the Digi Yatra app.

After completing web check-in, IndiGo flyers can now simply click “Share with Digi Yatra” within the IndiGo app to securely transfer their boarding pass. This process ensures that passenger consent is obtained at every step and that only essential data is shared with authorised Digi Yatra verifiers at airports.

Designed with privacy by design principles, the transaction occurs entirely offline through deep linking between the two apps, without involving any cloud or server processing. This ensures data integrity, authenticity, and enhanced security while improving convenience for travellers.

Commenting on the development, Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO of Digi Yatra Foundation, said,

“Our mission is to transform air travel into a seamless, secure, and paperless experience for every passenger. This collaboration with IndiGo marks a significant milestone in that journey. By integrating our technology directly with IndiGo’s app, we are enabling travellers to enjoy faster check-ins, smoother boarding, and enhanced convenience. As more airlines and airports embrace our ecosystem, we will continue to innovate and support India’s vision for digital transformation in travel.”

Neetan Chopra, Chief Information and Digital Officer, IndiGo, added,

“Every year, we fly millions of customers who trust us for our promise of safe, on-time, and hassle-free travel. This partnership with Digi Yatra takes our commitment to customer convenience a step further by enabling a smooth, contactless boarding journey. We are thrilled to be among the first airlines to adopt this technology and remain focused on leveraging innovation to make air travel simpler, faster, and more enjoyable.”

This collaboration underscores the aviation industry’s shared commitment to digital innovation and highlights growing confidence in Digi Yatra’s secure, paperless travel ecosystem as India moves closer to a fully digital airport experience.


Etihad Leverages Premium Service and Partnerships to Grow in India

Etihad Leverages Premium Service and Partnerships to Grow in India

By Manu Vardhan Kannan

Published on October 14, 2025

Etihad Airways is focusing on premium travel and customer segmentation to boost its business in India, one of its top three global markets, while operating at full capacity under a bilateral seat agreement with the country.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline has been upgrading its services with new aircraft and enhanced cabin experiences to attract high-value travellers. Since relaunching flights to Kolkata in March 2023, Etihad increased its weekly frequency from four to eight flights by 2025. Across India, the airline now operates 185 flights a week to 11 cities.

“We fly all the seats that the bilateral agreement allows us,” said Javier Alija, Etihad Airways Vice President for Global Sales and Distribution. The agreement caps 50,000 weekly seats for Abu Dhabi-based carriers, shared between Etihad and Air Arabia Abu Dhabi. Until the agreement changes, the airline cannot add more frequencies or destinations.

To overcome these capacity constraints, Etihad is building partnerships, including a tie-up with Akasa Air, connecting four Indian cities to Abu Dhabi. The airline is also enhancing the passenger experience for long-haul travellers, especially to the US, with Abu Dhabi’s new terminal and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pre-clearance. This allows passengers to arrive in the US as domestic travellers, saving time at immigration.

Kolkata is the first Indian city to receive Etihad’s new A321 LR aircraft, featuring a redesigned cabin with just 160 seats, two first-class suites, 14 business, and 144 economy seats, offering a widebody-like experience in a narrow-body aircraft. “This reflects Kolkata’s strong premium travel potential,” Alija said.

Etihad’s focus on yield optimisation and operational efficiency has helped the airline achieve record financial results. For the current year, it expects 21–22% growth in seat capacity, 22–23% increase in revenue, and a 30% rise in absolute profit, supported by expansions in other markets. The airline plans to launch 13 new international routes by year-end, aiming to serve nearly 90 destinations worldwide.

Alija added, “Even if our frequencies and destinations remain static, these customer-focused and operational efforts ensure Etihad continues to be the preferred airline for Indian travellers. We are very conscious that our rapid growth should not compromise the financial gains we have achieved.”

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