Tag: kochi

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Air India to begin daily flights from Kochi to Doha

Air India.

“The flight, operated with an A320neo aircraft, will offer 162 seats (150 in Economy and 12 in Business Class),” said the official…reports Asian Lite News

Air India is set to connect Kochi, the commercial hub of Kerala, with Doha, the capital of Qatar, with a daily non-stop service from October 23, said an airline official on Sunday.

AI953 will depart at 1:30 p.m. (IST) to reach Doha at 3:45 p.m. The return flight AI954 will take off from Doha at 4:45 p.m. to land at Kochi at 11:35 p.m. (All Local Time).

“The flight, operated with an A320neo aircraft, will offer 162 seats (150 in Economy and 12 in Business Class),” said the official.

“The new launch is in line with Air India’s commitment to expand connectivity and enhance frequency on domestic and international sectors as it keeps augmenting its fleet with new aircraft,” said the airline spokesperson.

“The service will further densify and strengthen our operations to the Middle East. Bookings for the flights have already opened on all channels,” said the spokesperson.

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-Top News India News Kerala

First batch of Keralites arrives from Ukraine

The parents of several students were seen hugging their children at Kochi International airport….reports Asian Lite News

The first batch of 11 students from war-torn Ukraine reached the safety of their homes at Kochi airport where they were received by parents, friends, and Kerala government officials. Four students from Ukraine have reached Kozhikode airport also. According to Kerala government sources, 83 Keralite students have reached New Delhi and Mumbai.

Athira, a student who arrived from Kiev while speaking to IANS said, “We thank the Indian embassy for the evacuation and bringing us safely home. We expect all the stranded students in Ukraine to be brought back home at the earliest and hope that the Government of India will do that with immediate effect. We faced several ordeals within the bunkers without food and water and thank god for the safe return home.”

A second-year student, Athira told IANS that her academics will not be affected as classes will continue online and practicals will be conducted once the students are back in Ukraine.

The parents of several students were seen hugging their children at Kochi International airport.

Naveen, a student from Ukraine who is in the third year of MBBS, told IANS, “I thank the Prime Minister and Government of India and the Union Minister, V. Muraleedharan for bringing us back to our home state safely. I will return back to Ukraine once the situation becomes normal.”

Officer on Special Duty to the Kerala government in New Delhi and retired IFS officer, Venu Rajamony appealed to students from Kerala in Ukraine not to travel towards border cities of Ukraine unless they receive a message from the Indian Embassy there.

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-Top News Defence India News

Rajnath reviews Project Seabird at Karwar base

The Karwal base visit will give the defence minister a first hand update of the infrastructure project important for future operations on the western front…reports Asian Lite News.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday reviewed the country’s largest naval infrastructure project — Project Seabird at Karwar Naval Base in Karnataka.

He will also review construction of indigenous aircraft carrier in Kochi.

Singh left New Delhi on a two day visit to Karwar and Kochi earlier in the day.

“Shall review the ongoing infrastructure development at Karwar and also the progress of construction of the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) at Kochi. Looking forward to this visit,” tweeted Defence Minister before leaving for Karwar.

Both the projects are extremely critical for Indian Navy’s capabilities and strategy in future.

The Karwal base visit will give the defence minister a first hand update of the infrastructure project important for future operations on the western front.

The first phase of the naval base called Operation Seabird was completed in 2005 and the second phase started in 2011. A 3,000 feet long runway, docking space for 30 warships, hangars for aircraft are part of the Rs 19,000 core project spread over 11,000 acres of land.

At Kochi, he will review construction of the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant which has faced many delays since work started on it in 2009.

An additional aircraft carrier is key in wake of growing Chinese forays in the Indian Ocean Region. While INS Vikrant awaits completion even after 11 years since work on it started, China’s first indigenous carrier was commissioned in 2018 within 3 years of starting construction.

India currently has INS Vikaramditya as the only operational aircraft carrier while INS Vikrant is under construction and the Indian Navy has been pressing for the third one but faces resistance from the government and military planners.

Vikrant is in an advanced stage and is expected to sea trials soon and be fully ready by later 2022 or early 2023.

After Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier INS Virat was decommissioned it is left with one functional carrier.

On the other hand the Chinese Navy has two functional aircraft carriers with a third one expected to hit the seas soon but will take a while for it to be fully operational and a fourth one is also in the pipeline.

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