After Ahmedabad crash, 787 Dreamliner may face fresh heat
Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and 737 MAX have faced scrutiny and safety concerns after fatal crashes and technical issues. While the Dreamliner had a mostly safe record, the recent Air India crash has raised concerns. The 737 MAX has faced multiple groundings and regulatory scrutiny after fatal crashes and production-quality issues.
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Mid-air escape: Air India London-Delhi flight entered Iran airspace as Israel struck with missiles; rerouted over Iraq
NEW DELHI: An Air India flight from London to New Delhi had just entered Iranian airspace when Israel launched a wave of missile strikes on Iran's military and nuclear sites. The flight was rerouted over Iraq before arriving in India one hour late, according to an AFP report. The close call was one of several disruptions on Friday as Air India diverted or turned back at least 16 international flights mid-air due to the sudden escalation and subsequent closure of Iranian airspace. Among those affected were services between India and cities like London, Toronto, and New York. Aircraft tracking site Flight Aware showed that two other Air India flights — from Delhi to Vienna and Mumbai to London — were nearing Iranian airspace and turned back to their origin airports shortly after the strikes began. In a statement, Air India said: 'Due to the emerging situation in Iran, the subsequent closure of its airspace and in view of the safety of our passengers, the following Air India flights are either being diverted or returning to their origin. We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers due to this unforeseen disruption and are making every effort to minimise it.' The airline is offering full refunds or complimentary rescheduling to affected passengers and is arranging accommodation where necessary. The Indian Embassy in Iran also issued an advisory urging Indian nationals and people of Indian origin to stay alert and avoid non-essential travel, as tensions surged following Israel's precision strikes targeting Iranian defence infrastructure. Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria temporarily shut down their airspace, leading to widespread cancellations and rerouting of global flights to and from the Middle East. Global airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv and Tehran as air traffic over the region thinned out overnight. Israel said the strikes were a direct response to the growing threat from Iran's missile and nuclear capabilities. Iran retaliated by launching a wave of drones toward Israeli territory.
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Tata Group needs to fine-tune key aspects of Air India's operations: Praful Patel
Mumbai: Former civil aviation minister Praful Patel has called on the Tata Group to fine-tune key aspects of Air India's operations, a day after the airline's Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft with 242 people onboard crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad. At least 265 people have been confirmed dead as of Friday, including students at a medical college's hostel and others in a residential area near the Ahmedabad airport where the plane went down. 'After three-and-a-half years of the takeover of Air India by the Tatas, the management needs to fine-tune various aspects of running a world-class airline, including maintenance,' Patel told reporters at the Nationalist Congress Party's office in Mumbai on Friday. The 68-year-old was the civil aviation minister in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government when Boeing introduced the Dreamliners in 2011. Asked about India's proficiency in maintaining and repairing aircraft, Patel expressed concern over the 'under-utilisation' of domestic facilities. Before the Tata takeover in 2022, most of Air India's planes were maintained by Air India Engineering Services Limited, the country's largest aircraft maintenance company, which is government-owned. However, many planes are now being managed by other agencies, he said. 'We have a world-class set-up, but it is surprising why some planes of Air India are sent outside the country for maintenance. Air India Engineering Services Limited has always maintained Air India for a long time, and their services should be utilised. It is surprising that aircraft are sent outside. Boeing's maintenance and repair facility at Nagpur has a good track record. However, the facility has been underutilised,' he added. Terming the accident a temporary setback, Patel said India's aviation sector remains largely well-managed. 'We have potential for growth and a need for more aircraft, looking at the size of our country. Any accident has a temporary setback, but largely, Indian aviation is well managed. SOPs and safety norms are well in place in India's aviation growth,' he said. Thursday's accident is being probed by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which comes under the civil aviation ministry. Patel refused to speculate on the reasons behind the crash and said everyone should wait for the AAIB's report. 'The black box has been recovered. While the data will be retrieved within a few months, it will take a little longer for the government to come out with a report detailing the exact reasons behind the crash,' he said. Patel also played down speculation that a bird hit may have led to the crash. 'Even if one of the two engines had failed, technically, the plane is equipped to take off and travel the full distance. Watching the video, it seems that there was no problem at the time of the takeoff. Otherwise, the pilot would have avoided it,' he said. The NCP leader also called on passengers not to be scared of air travel following the crash. 'India's overall safety standards are well-defined and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation keeps updating these norms in line with international norms,' he said. Meanwhile, Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran on Friday described the crash as 'one of the darkest days in Tata Group's history.' In a letter addressed to employees, Chandrasekaran conveyed his grief over the loss of lives, calling the tragedy 'incomprehensible.' 'Words are no consolation right now, but my thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the people who died and were injured in the crash. We are here for them. I want to say that, like you, we want to understand what happened. We don't know right now, but we will,' Chandrasekaran wrote in the letter. With inputs from PTI
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Insurance premiums to rise in bad year for aviation, say experts
New Delhi It's a payout no one -- neither airliners nor passengers -- hopes would ever come to pass, but aviation insurance is set to get costlier amid rising risks and air fatalities, experts say. Mishaps and war have already ratcheted up the stakes, capping a dream run of low, stable premiums, which are poised to jump this year. The lumbering Russia-Ukraine conflict, a spate of air accidents and the apparent start of an Israel-Iran clash have added significantly to those risks, an industry executive said, requesting anonymity. Earlier this month, a UK judge ruled that insurance companies must compensate aircraft lessors and airliners for planes seized by Russia as part of its counter-sanctions reprisal, adding a new dimension to aviation insurance. The year 2025 was already beginning to prove to be a tipping point with the Potomac River mid-air collision in the US this January. It shattered the calm of 2023 when no large plane was involved in a fatal accident, according to aviation groups. The encounter between American Airlines Flight 5342 and an army helicopter near Washington was the deadliest US disaster in over a decade. 'This changed sentiments dramatically in New York and London, two financial centres where the largest aviation reinsurance businesses are concentrated,' said Mathew Pannerselvam of Troth Broking Ltd. The crash of Air India AI 171 outside Ahmedabad's airport on Thursday has already made 2025 the deadliest in a decade globally with over 480 fatalities, according to figures from the Virginia-based Flight Safety Foundation. The London, Gatwick-bound Boeing 787 jetliner crashed moments after taking off, unable to power its initial climb and barely able to clear a neighbourhood just outside the runway. Insurance payments to follow from the Air India crash are likely to be the costliest in Indian aviation history because of the extent of damages, including to properties on the ground and non-passenger fatalities, the executive cited in the first instance said. The accident resulted in the complete destruction of the aircraft and the death of all but one passenger. The payouts could potentially reach nearly $100 million if the totality of liabilities is taken into account, said a second executive from Marsh India, an investment advisory firm, requesting anonymity. The main insurer of the Air India Dreamliner was TATA AIG while several other firms underwrote part of the liabilities, including National Insurance and Oriental Insurance, a third industry analyst said, asking not to be named. Most large insurers opt for reinsurance, an arrangement where the original insurance firms protect themselves against losses by transferring their own risks to a reinsurer at a cost. 'In aviation, this is the norm and very little risks remain with the original insurers,' one of the industry executives cited above said. In the case of the AI 171 flight too, just about 10% of the liability will have to be borne by Indian insurers, whose aviation businesses are covered under a global reinsurance programme, the third analyst cited above said. Aviation insurance is never a single product, analysts said. A commercial plane typically is covered by several types of risk packages. The most critical ones include cover for hull losses during flight and taxiing, as well as when an aircraft is stationary. Passenger liability covers allow airliners to compensate the next of kin in case of fatal accidents. Tata Sons, the conglomerate that owns Air India, on Thursday announced that it would pay ₹1 crore to the next of kin of each passenger on board the fatal flight. Airliners also need to take out a public liability policy for third-party compensation, just as in car insurance, to pay for damages caused to other aircraft, objects or people. Insurance premiums make up no more than 1.5-2% of airlines' costs, very little compared to spending on fuel or maintenance, and premiums can range from $45000 to $150,000, depending on aircraft type, age and routes travelled, among other parameters, according to data from AerCap Holdings NV. The insured value of a commercial jetliner can range from $112 million to $230 million. The insurance industry is 'good at adapting to changes' and risks from emerging wars were earlier considered 'second-order risks', Bruce Carnegie-Brown, the chairman of Llyod's of London, one of the largest aviation insurers, told Bloomberg last month.
