Faizan Haidar writes on the Delhi government, city politics, transport, aviation, and social welfare. A journalist for a decade, he also tracks issues such as trafficking and labour exploitation in Delhi and other states.
Articles by Faizan Haidar
Bengaluru may be India’s first to use body scanners
The Bureau for Civil Aviation Secretary (BCAS) has made it mandatory for so-called hypersensitive airports, or facilities thought to be vulnerable to security risks, to deploy body scanners by April 2020.
Updated on Jul 05, 2019 08:08 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
DGCA show-causes four SpiceJet officials
The alleged lapses pertain to incidents reported in the past 72 hours, in which three SpiceJet flights — Bhopal-Surat, Pune-Kolkata and Jaipur-Mumbai — overshot the runway on landing.
Updated on Jul 04, 2019 11:29 PM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Spicejet aircraft still stuck at Mumbai airport, hurts air ops
SpiceJet-operated Boeing 737-800 skidded off the runway, broke its nose wheel and has been stranded for two days at the end of the main runway.
Published on Jul 04, 2019 03:04 PM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
SpiceJet that overshot Mumbai airport runway is still stuck. Here’s why
DARK is used whenever aircraft get stuck in soft surfaces after veering off from runways. It is placed below the stuck portion of an aircraft and then blown like a balloon to lift it.
Updated on Jul 03, 2019 11:36 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Airport operators to provide security to intl airlines flying to India
With over 100 foreign airlines operating in India, the business was distributed between six Indian airlines, IndiGo. Vistara, Spicejet, Air India, Go Air and Air Asia.
Published on Jul 01, 2019 05:58 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
E-mail says bomb in bags, but Air India left most behind
Luckily, for the 343 people on board, Air India had made a decision that would normally rankle most flyers: most of the check-in luggage had been left behind at Mumbai since the flight was overbooked.
Updated on Jun 28, 2019 11:20 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Air traffic control responsible for 2016 near mid-air collision over Delhi
An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Bengaluru and KLM Royal Dutch Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flight came close to each other over Delhi airspace on November 2, 2016.
Updated on Jun 27, 2019 02:21 PM IST
New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Air India suspends pilot for allegedly shoplifting at Sydney airport
According to an Air India official, the regional manager of the Australia informed about the case to the headquarters and though the pilot was allowed to fly, he was handed over his suspension as soon as he arrived at the Delhi airport.
Updated on Jun 23, 2019 03:54 PM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
DGCA asks Indian airlines to avoid Iranian airspace
Indian carriers’ decision follows a warning by the American aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration to a possibility that commercial aircraft can be mistakenly targeted in Iranian airspace.
Updated on May 25, 2020 09:47 AM IST
New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Railways board, minister differ on key PSU issue
The board, consisting of its chairman and members, meets every week to decide on important matters. The minister is not a part of this meeting.
Published on Jun 16, 2019 11:37 PM IST
New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Dubai, Istanbul top tourist hubs this holiday season
Night markets, culinary trails and special shopping offers make local festivals an ideal time to see destinations at their best, say tour operators.
Updated on Jun 10, 2019 07:10 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
AI flight grounded after door damage
While some passengers who reached the airport expressed their disappointment on Twitter, Air India claimed that most were adjusted on other flights.
Published on Jun 04, 2019 01:00 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Udantashtari, Chetak: Contest to name bullet train sees 22K entries
The agency has directed suggestions received via social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to the platform before it is expected to finalise a name for the train by the first week of July.
Published on Jun 03, 2019 07:20 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Airport authority to take a musical route for less stressful waiting time
An official said the tenders were issued after the AAI received positive passenger feedback to a trial run of playing music at the Chandigarh airport last year. He said the same will now be replicated at other AAI-run airports.
Published on Jun 03, 2019 07:16 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Air India to maintain record of frequent flyers
The move will help passengers missing out on updates from the national carrier regarding flight cancellations and delays because they booked their tickets through travel agents.
Updated on Jun 03, 2019 07:14 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
After 5 years, 15-yr-old UP trafficking victim reunites with family
The boy, when he was 10-year-old, was told by a close uncle that he could earn thousands of rupees and get a proper school education in Delhi .
Updated on Jun 02, 2019 07:50 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Airspace restrictions lifted, 11 points opened for Pakistan
According to a senior official of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the temporary restrictions were in place on the direction of the IAF.
Updated on May 31, 2019 11:45 PM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Harvard prof’s stolen bag exposes chinks in IGI airport’s security
A detailed audit has revealed that the Terminal-3 MLCP (multi-level car park) of the IGI Airport has some dark spots and that CCTV coverage needs to be improved to help the police in solving crime cases.
Updated on May 24, 2019 08:38 AM IST
New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Scare on Priyanka Gandhi flight after pilot spotted fire near Delhi runway
According to multiple officials familiar with developments, the plane was flying in from Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur on May 16 with five passengers, including Priyanka Gandhi, and three crew members on board
Updated on May 23, 2019 01:00 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Delhi’s IGI airport records lowest passenger growth, says data
According to data released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Delhi airport handled 69.23 million passengers in 2018-19, 5.4% more than the previous year.
Updated on May 20, 2019 03:06 AM IST
Muslin wraps with state-specific designs may replace blankets in AC coaches of Railways
Following the criticism, in April 2018, the railway changed the specification and started planning to move towards lighter blankets
Updated on May 19, 2019 07:53 AM IST
Alert sounded after sensitive documents found at Pune airport
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which provides security at major airports, including the one in Pune, had alerted the local police and Intelligence Bureau (IB) after the documents were seized on May 6.
Published on May 18, 2019 01:07 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Passengers, airlines face steep costs due to closure of Pak airspace
The fare for the Delhi-Kabul flight on Afghanistan’s Kam Air, for instance, has gone from $160 to almost $300 as the capacity has reduced substantially.
Updated on May 15, 2019 08:12 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar and Rezaul H Laskar
Cyclone-hit Bhubaneswar airport became operational in 12 hours
In one of the happier stories emerging from the aftermath of Cyclone Fani, it emerges that the Airports Authority of India which runs the airport took just 12 hours to make it operational after the cyclone.
Published on May 13, 2019 11:20 PM IST
New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
AirAsia plane makes emergency landing at Delhi airport
According to an official in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) of Delhi airport, the pilot had requested for emergency landing.
Updated on May 13, 2019 09:39 PM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Vande Bharat to get improved body double
The back-up train, likely to arrive in New Delhi by the end of May, will have adjustable seats and fully functional washbasins and will be used every time the old unit is sent for maintenance, the officials cited above said.
Updated on May 13, 2019 08:00 AM IST
Pieces of Air India plane’s tyre found on Delhi airport runway
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which operates the Delhi airport, carried out an inspection of the pieces and the runway was closed for around 15 minutes, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.
Updated on May 11, 2019 07:47 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Age gap between pilots led to Air India Express plane ending up in open drain
A senior male pilot who was 30 years older to his female co-pilot and refused to heed her suggestions or warnings was one of the reasons for Air India Express flight IX 452 from Abu Dhabi to Kochi with 102 passengers ending up in an open drain following a landing in heavy rain on September 4, 2017
Updated on May 10, 2019 07:31 AM IST
Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Faizan Haidar
Anti-slip measures for Terminal 3 floor
Hindustan Times had, on May 7, reported that Terminal 3’s floor was proving to be too slippery for the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) staff’s daily exercises since removal of the carpet.
Published on May 10, 2019 02:05 AM IST
Indian railways to sell its bottled water at 74 more stations
The railways produced six lakh litre Rail Neer until 2018-19 even as the daily water requirement was 16 lakh litre, according to a railway official.
Published on May 09, 2019 12:07 AM IST
New Delhi | Faizan Haidar