India’s low-cost airline IndiGo has been fined 12 million rupees ($144,200) for jeopardising the safety of passengers who were seen eating meals on the tarmac at Mumbai airport during a flight delay.
A video went viral on social media this week, showing passengers eating on the tarmac next to an aircraft after their IndiGo flight from Goa to Delhi was diverted and landed in Mumbai after a long delay. The incident happened on January 14.
The aircraft was reportedly allotted a remote parking bay instead of one near the airport terminal, leading to frustration among passengers who had not yet been served refreshments.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, the regulatory authority under the federal government, has imposed a fine of 12 million rupees against the airline. It has given it a month to pay the fine.
It has also imposed a penalty of six million rupees ($72,000) on Mumbai International Airport Limited for mismanagement.
Both IndiGo and the airport company failed to report the incident, the BCAS said.
The fines were imposed after the country’s aviation regulator DGCA was made aware of the video and called it a breach "of apron discipline".
The apron is the area where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refuelled, boarded or maintained.
The DGCA has also imposed a fine of three million rupees ($36,000) on Mial.
“This is in violation of Para 5 of DGCA Air Safety circular … which directs all agencies working at the airport not to permit walking on an active apron,” the DGCA said.
“The presence of passengers on the apron for a considerable period is in violation of apron discipline as it jeopardises the safety of the passengers and the aircraft."
The regulator has also fined two other airlines, Air India and SpiceJet, three million rupees each for poor preparedness during fog that led to delays.
The Indian aviation industry has been heavily scrutinised in recent weeks for widespread delays and cancellations that airlines said were caused by fog.
More than 300 flights have reportedly been cancelled since January 14, leaving more than 40,000 passengers stranded. The average delay was more than an hour.
More than 50 flights were cancelled, including international departures and arrivals, while 120 flights were delayed on Wednesday at Delhi’s international airport, as seen on the flight information display screens.
The aviation ministry has set up “war rooms” at six airports across the country to help facilitate the anxious passengers and address the situation.
Meanwhile, a Kuala Lumpur-bound international flight from Chennai city in southern India with 130 passengers and seven crew members onboard suffered a burst tyre while taxiing on Thursday.
The rear wheel of the Malaysian Airlines MH 181 flight burst when it was taxiing for take-off to the Malaysian capital at about 2.20pm, local media reports said.
All the passengers disembarked and were reportedly moved to hotels. The flight is expected to resume on Friday.
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
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Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
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Players Selected for La Liga Trials
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Position: Right Wing
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Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
Sunday: Final
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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Europe wide
Some of French groups are threatening Friday to continue their journey to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up with drivers from other countries on Monday.
Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
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- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
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Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.
KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
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Watford 2 (Sarr 50', Deeney 54' pen)
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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
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Power: 640hp
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Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
