US Hits India With Massive 50% Tariff as Donald Trump Retaliates Over Russian Oil Imports
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Mint
11 minutes ago
- Mint
Independence Day weekend to see extra flights, with IndiGo set to benefit most
Starting in July, there has been a lull in Indian skies, with passenger numbers dropping below the 4 lakh mark on a few occasions and airlines deploying fewer than 3,000 flights a day on domestic routes. However, that is set to change over the Independence Day long weekend, when airlines, led by market leader IndiGo, will operate additional flights to cater to the demand. Data obtained from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, exclusively for this article shows a sudden surge in seat capacity around 15 August. There are over 12,000 more seats in the market on Friday, 15 August, compared to Friday, 8 August. The data shows that the average seat availability between 1 August and 13 August was 5.05 lakh, rising to 5.14 lakh on 14 August, 5.15 lakh on 15 August, and then peaking again at 5.19 lakh on 18 August, the end of the long weekend, across all airlines. Market leader IndiGo is adding nearly 9,000 of the total 12,000 seats, with the rest contributed by Air India Express (1,000 seats), Akasa Air (300 seats), and SpiceJet (1,000 seats). The top carriers are adding around 66 additional flights on 15 August to cater to the high demand, 38 by IndiGo, 10 by Air India Express, eight by SpiceJet, and two by Akasa Air. A similar pattern is expected on Monday, when IndiGo will operate 26 more flights compared to the corresponding Monday of the previous week, while Air India Express will add 10 more, some of which are reinstated services or new routes. Even as debates continue over whether Goa is falling off the tourist map, with complaints from locals about tourists, taxi issues, and rising costs, the state remains a hot favourite for long-weekend travellers. On 15 August, IndiGo is adding two extra flights to Goa from Ahmedabad, three from Bengaluru, two from Mumbai, and one from Delhi. The airline is also adding a similar number of flights to Goa on 14 August, the eve of Independence Day. Air India Express, meanwhile, is augmenting flights to Bagdogra starting 15 August, not as a holiday-driven move, but as part of a broader capacity expansion that includes additional flights to Guwahati and Bagdogra from Kolkata. The additional flights are helping keep airfares in check on routes where these 'holiday special' services are operating. For example, the fare between Pune and Goa is upwards of ₹ 13,000 for the one-hour flight on 15 August. Prices are in a similar range for Nagpur–Goa and Indore–Goa flights on the same day. By contrast, fares between Delhi and Goa remain below ₹ 10,000, owing to the availability of additional flights and a better demand–supply balance compared to the Pune–Goa sector. However, fares to other tourist destinations, such as Kochi, Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), and Dharamshala from Delhi, have risen significantly. Many short international routes are seeing a spike in fares, including those to Dubai, Bangkok, and Phuket, destinations that either offer visa on arrival or have easier visa norms for Indians. Bengaluru, which has seen increased connectivity to leisure destinations over the past year, is no exception, with fares rising to Phuket, Langkawi, and Colombo. By the following Friday, however, fares to destinations such as Langkawi and Colombo from Bengaluru drop to half or even less than half of the Independence Day weekend rates. There has been a drop in both flights and passengers since July as airlines pulled capacity from the market. IndiGo described the move as planned, aimed at better balancing demand and supply, while Air India reduced capacity as part of its rationalisation following the AI171 crash in Ahmedabad in June. Daily domestic departures fell below the 3,000 mark, with passenger numbers dipping below 4 lakh on some days. The long weekend around 15 August, followed by festive travel across the country, is expected to bring in more passengers and offer airlines some much-needed respite in what has been a lacklustre quarter. The obvious question is how airlines are managing a sudden influx of capacity. IndiGo had deliberately pulled out capacity to match demand, focusing instead on maintenance tasks and engineering checks. The airline has now managed to bring back some aircraft temporarily to operate the additional flights, a flexibility that not many carriers have the luxury of enjoying.
Economic Times
12 minutes ago
- Economic Times
'Who gave them the right..?': Bihar woman slams INDIA bloc, Rahul & Priyanka Gandhi for politicising her face without consent
Synopsis Minta Devi from Bihar rebuked the INDIA bloc for using her image in a protest without consent, sparked by an EC voter list error that wrongly stated her age as 124. Upset, she questioned the opposition's motives and emphasized her desire for accurate records, not political exploitation. Agencies Bihar woman Minta Devi A woman from Bihar's Siwan district has publicly rebuked the Opposition's INDIA bloc for using her name and photograph in a protest without her permission, after her age was mistakenly recorded as 124 years in the Election Commission (EC) voter Tuesday, Opposition MPs staged a demonstration in Parliament wearing T-shirts with her name and the slogan '124 Not Out' to highlight alleged discrepancies in the electoral roll. Reacting sharply, Minta Devi told news agency ANI that she only learned about the issue recently and wanted her details corrected, not politicised."I came to know about this 2-4 days back... Who are they (Opposition MPs) to me? Who is Priyanka Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi to me? Who gave them the right to wear T-shirts featuring me?... I think there are discrepancies (in the list)... I did not get anyone's (from the administration) phone call... Why are they becoming my well-wisher over my age?... This should not be done, I do not want this..." Minta Devi said."I want my details to be corrected... Whoever entered the details, did they do so with their eyes closed?... If I am 124 years old in the eyes of the government, why are they not giving me old age pension? My Aadhaar Card mentions 15-07-1990 as my date of birth," she added. Earlier in the day, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and other INDIA bloc leaders joined the protest in Parliament over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll. Several MPs wore white T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan '124 Not Out', while leaders including NCP MP Supriya Sule and DMK MP Kanimozhi carried onions as part of their of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused the Election Commission of failing in its duty."We are protecting the Constitution. One Man One Vote is the foundation of the Constitution. It is the duty of the Election Commission to enforce One Man, One Vote, but they have not done their duty. We are protecting the Constitution, and we will keep doing it..." he MP P Sandosh Kumar declared that the campaign will now be escalated nationwide. "INDIA parties' leaders are more energised and this has become an all-India campaign. We will intensify our fight against SIR. There is more unity among the coalition partners now. This will be a huge fight to save democracy..." (With inputs from ANI)
Hans India
13 minutes ago
- Hans India
PM Modi May Visit New York for Possible UNGA Speech Amid Ongoing Trump Tariff Dispute
Indian PM Modi US visit in September for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting to be held in New York City. India's 'Head of Government (HG)' is set to speak at the high-level debate of the 80th session of the General Assembly on the morning of September 26, news agency PTI reported, citing the provisional list of speakers. Heads of Government of Israel, China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, among others, are also expected to address the PM Modi UNGA 2025 general debate on September 26. If PM Modi's New York trip in September, it would come at a time when the US has hiked tariffs on New Delhi to 50 per cent for its purchases of Russian crude oil, which US President Donald Trump has said has 'fueled' Moscow's war in Ukraine. Trump tariff row India US on most imports from India for the purchase of Russian oil. That additional levy, on top of the 25 per cent tariff he already announced, would bring the duties on products and goods that India exports to the US to 50 per cent if fully applied. The executive order Trump signed on the grounds that the purchase of oil by India from Russia threatens UN General Assembly address Modi into effect on August 27, leaving a three-week window to work out a deal. In a sharply worded statement, the MEA said, 'It is extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest.' Also, a US trade delegation will be coming to India before August 25. The two countries have been sniping at each other about tariffs. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said, '"I am pleased to announce that President Vladimir Putin of Russia and I will meet on Friday, August 15, 2025, in Alaska. More information about the meeting will be shared soon." Thank you for your attention to India US relations 2025!' he added.
