News

Cheers for Shirdi devotees! Direct Mumbai-Shirdi chopper service resumes, check fare, timing

In a cheering development for the tourists and pilgrims of the country, a direct chopper service from Mumbai to Shirdi has resumed from Tuesday after it remained closed during the Coronavirus induced lockdown. Religious pilgrims and tourists wanting to visit Shirdi will not only cut down their travel time by almost seven times but also get a panoramic view of the physical landscape including mountains and rivers. On an average, pilgrims travelling to Shirdi from the financial capital have to travel for around 6-7 hours by road to reach the destination. The chopper service provided by Blade India, on the other hand, will not only cut down the travel time to less than an hour but also dodge the snarling lines of traffic on the road. Moreover, the chopper service can be of particular utility for elderly people who cannot sit through the arduous journey of six hours. The helicopter service is available on three days of the week- Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The chopper can be boarded from the Mahalaxmi vertiport every Monday whereas the chopper flies from the Juhu vertiport on Thursday and Saturday. The take-off time for the chopper has been kept at 11 AM from both the Juhu and Mahalaxmi vertiports, according to the release issued by the company. Amit Dutta who is the Managing Director of BLADE India on the occasion of resuming the Shirdi service said that long hours of road journey turns out to be very tedious for the elderly devotees in particular and the company provided seamless and congestion-less commute to the pilgrimage. As far as the fare of the chopper service is concerned, the company has kept the regular fare at Rs 18k for one way per passenger. However, the company is also offering an introductory offer through which passengers can fly at a cost of Rs 15,300 one way per person. It is to be noted that the mentioned fare does not include the Goods and Services Tax. In addition to the on-seat service provided by the company, customers have also been enabled to crowdsource or book the entire chopper for their convenience.

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UAE’s Emirates and Etihad Airways to introduce Covid-19 travel pass

Dubai’s Emirates and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways have partnered with the International Air Transport Association to introduce a travel pass for passengers who have been inoculated against Covid-19 or have tested negative. The IATA Travel Pass will be offered on selected flights from Abu Dhabi in the first quarter, state-owned Etihad said on Tuesday. The carrier will extend the pass to other destinations if the initial trial is successful. The travel pass will keep passengers in control of their data and facilitate sharing their test results with airlines and authorities for travel, Etihad said. Emirates, the world’s largest long-haul carrier, will implement phase 1 of the pass in April to validate Covid-19 tests for flights departing from Dubai. The United Arab Emirates has administered almost 2 million vaccine doses and has the second-highest rates of inoculations per 100 people globally after Israel. IATA, the industry group, had planned a test program with British Airways parent IAG SA at the end of last year. And last month, Singapore Airlines started trials on a new digital verification process based on IATA’s Travel Pass Framework.

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Covid-19: Russia to resume air travel with India, 3 other countries from 27 Jan

Russian authorities said on Saturday that flights between Moscow and the capitals of Finland, Vietnam, India and Qatar, suspended since the early weeks of the pandemic, would restart from Jan 27, after certain epidemiological criteria were met, reported news agency Reuters. A statement shared following a meeting of the government's coronavirus HQ said that the four countries were seeing fewer than 40 new cases per fortnight per 100,000 people. Meanwhile, Russia registered 24,092 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, down from 24,715 the day before, taking the tally to 3,544,623, the coronavirus response center said on Saturday. "Over the past day, 24,092 coronavirus cases were confirmed across 85 Russian regions, including 3,113 cases (12.9 per cent) that were detected actively, with people showing no clinical symptoms," the center said, adding that the cumulative case count has now reached 3,544,623, with the rate of increase at 0.7 per cent. Moscow confirmed 5,639 new coronavirus cases over the given period, up from 5,534 the day before. The Russian capital was followed by St. Petersburg with 3,625 cases, up from 3,094 the day before, and the Moscow Region with 1,300 new cases, down from 1,361 the day before.

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Adani Group operated Lucknow airport accredited for safe travel

Chaudhari Charan Singh International Airport, Lucknow operated by Adani Group was accredited safe for travel in the airports council international (ACI) airport health accreditation programme. The global recognition was given after reviewing evidences presented based on 118 checks points. The ACI assessment covered the health and safety measures undertaken by the airport for passengers and staff in all the terminal areas including departures, arrivals and transfers, transportation services, food and beverage services, escalators and elevators, lounges, facilities and baggage claim area among others. The accreditation is valid for the next 12 months. Speaking on this development Behnad Zandi, CEO – Adani Airports said, “This accreditation is a significant step in the pursuit of reinvigorating air traffic in the wake of Covid-19 and the ensuing vaccination drive. It instills trust in health and safety standards practiced at Lucknow airport amidst the spread and control of the global pandemic. We remain committed to reinforce our preparedness with global best practices and thus ensure a safe pre and post flight experience for flyers.”

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IRCTC offers free air tickets to passengers of Golden Chariot

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has come up with a first of its kind offer by giving free air tickets for luxury tourist package in the Golden Chariot. IRCTC regional manager MPS Raghav said complimentary air tickets on domestic sector to and from Bengaluru to Chandigarh has been offered for those opting for the Golden Chariot, a luxury train. He said the IRCTC has launched two itineraries i.e. departing from Bengaluru which covers destinations like Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Goa and then returning to Bengaluru. So, tourists opting for higher package of the two itineraries will be given free air tickets. Shubham Arya, tourism and marketing spokesperson for the IRCTC, said, “We will be flexible in booking the ticket dates which will be according to the demand of the passenger. It can be done in two or three days in advance or even two to three days after the Golden Chariot tour is completed. The free air fare will be between Chandigarh-Bengaluru-Chandigarh.” The Golden Chariot is a luxury train par excellence plying on the Southern Sector, which intends to provide a mix of travel to destinations with historical, architectural, mystique and scenic relevance endowed with state-of-the-art amenities on board and international service standards creating an impressionable and lifetime experience for the IRCTC tourists to cherish. The guest will travel in royal style in coaches named after the dynasties, which ruled South India for centuries. The train now has several new features, including newly upholstered furniture, elegant draperies, renovated rooms and bathrooms, crockery and cutlery of reputed international brands and an exquisite range of linen. For providing wholesome in-room entertainment, smart TVs with a variety of Wi-Fi enabled subscriptions, including Netflix, Amazon, Hotstar etc. have been installed. CCTVs and the fire alarm system have been added for more safety. Guests can continue to enjoy spa therapies at the onboard spa, which has been provided with modern workout machines for fitness enthusiasts.

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Indo-Nepal rail connectivity gets a major boost

To improve rail connectivity between India and Nepal, the Jayanagar-Kurtha rail connectivity will now be extended by upto 17 km to connect Bijalpura by March 2021. The section Jayanagar-Kurtha, (34.9km) is a part of the Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail (68.72km) project. As the first phase of this project, the rail line from Jayanagar in Madhubani district, Bihar, has been connected to Kurtha in Nepal and will be extended up to Bijalpura by March 2021. India has spent nearly INR 550 crore for the section up to Bijalpura, which is further 17km from Kurtha. Jayanagar is 4km from the India-Nepal border. After Bijalpura, a new line will be constructed till Bardibas after Nepal government hands over land for the project. This route has Janakpur, the famous pilgrim centre in Nepal which is 29km from Jayanagar. The project is being undertaken by IRCON and all rail engineering and infrastructure works are complete. To operate rail service on this route, two sets of 1600 HP DEMU passenger rakes have been supplied by Konkan Rail Corporation Limited (KRCL). These two DEMU rakes have two AC coaches each apart from non-AC coaches. The rakes were handed over to Nepal last year in September. This will be the first broad gauge passenger rail service in Nepal. Prior to this, till 2014 a narrow gauge service was running between Jayanagar and Janakpur operated by Nepal. Indian Railways is extending full cooperation to Nepal in running the BG service by sharing the know-how and operations and maintenance processes with Nepal Railway Company as well as imparting training to officials from Nepal. A draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for starting passenger train operations in the section has been prepared and shared with Nepal Railways by the Government of India. KRCL is being considered by Nepal Railway Company to run the operations and Maintenance (O&M) of this line till such time Nepal Railway Company is able to do this itself. Both Nepal and India are working together to start rail service between Jayanagar and Kurtha and it is hoped that after finishing the necessary technical and operational requirements, this service will be commenced soon.

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