News / Author / Neha Lm Tripathi

Neha LM Tripathi

I am a principal correspondent with the national political bureau of the Hindustan Times. I track the aviation and railways ministry. I also write on travel trends. I cover the beats at the national level for the newspaper. Before being in Delhi, I have worked as a journalist in Mumbai as well. My hobbies include trekking and travelling.

Articles by Neha LM Tripathi

Other airlines fill in the void left by Jet Airways; flier footfall increases

The daily passenger footfall — which had dropped to 95,000 on April 18 — increased to 1,17,000 this week.

Daily passenger numbers at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), which had dropped by 27% after Jet Airways suspended operations, is picking up after the addition of new flights by low-cost carriers (LCC).

cities

Published on May 08, 2019 04:27 AM IST

Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi

Air India to hire 150 Jet Airways cabin crew, pilots

More than 150 cabin crew as well as pilots from Jet Airways have been shortlisted by Air India and are expected to join the government-owned airline in a fortnight

cities

Published on May 02, 2019 12:39 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

SpiceJet flight overshoots runway at Shirdi airport, plane stuck on the ground

Dhiren Bhosle, airport director of Shirdi said operations at the airport will remain suspended until Tuesday morning because of the incident.

Close shave for Spicejet passengers at Shirdi airport as Spicejet SG946 from Delhi to Shirdi overshot the runway on Monday. All the passengers are safe. The runway has been closed temporarily.(ANI)

india news

Published on Apr 30, 2019 08:22 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

‘No pay, no work’ decision deferred for now: Jet Airways’ pilots guild

The pilots had threatened to stop flying over unpaid salaries.

More than a thousand pilots of debt-laden Jet Airways will not fly from Monday(Mint File Photo)

business

Updated on Apr 15, 2019 12:30 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi

500 ground staff march to Jet office, demand salary

One of the senior ground staffers said the management’s last e-mail in the first week of April mentioned salaries would not be credited.

cities

Updated on Apr 13, 2019 10:31 AM IST

Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi

Jet Airways operates only 26 flights from Mumbai on Thursday

A list available with HT shows that Mumbai-Delhi and Mumbai-Ahmedabad were the most affected domestic flights in terms of cancellations

Picture for representation only.(HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Apr 12, 2019 12:32 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

Pak airspace shut down hits Mumbai ATC, guiding system crashes twice

For now, to reduce its traffic load, the Mumbai airport has issued a notice to pilots and airlines that use its airspace to not request a direct route over Mumbai, and instead follow their regular route.

The Mumbai air traffic control (ATC) is using a decade-old system with no backup if it fails to restart.(Representative Image/HT File Photo)

cities

Updated on Apr 09, 2019 08:14 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi

UDAN: Alliance Air to handle operations at Chipi, Ratnagiri

The ₹520-crore airport has received clearances from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and is expected to ferry tourists to Konkan and Goa

cities

Updated on Apr 02, 2019 12:49 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

Recruits unqualified to man surveillance, air navigation system: AAI association

According to CNS, while some officials protested near the AAI office in Delhi, the general secretary of AAOA has gone on to take a hunger strike.

The Airports Authority Officer’s Association (AAOA) has protested that unqualified candidates are being recruited to man the Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems. Photo:pradeep gaur/mint

cities

Published on Mar 31, 2019 04:01 AM IST

Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi

After 2 months of repairs, Mumbai airport to function normally from March 31

The airport announced on Thursday that 98% of the work is done and they will return to their regular schedule from March 31.

The Mumbai airport had to remove 230 flights from its daily schedule – of the average 950 it operates – on the 22 days when the work was carried out.(HT File)

cities

Updated on Mar 28, 2019 10:48 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

Fighter jets escort flight from Mumbai to Singapore after bomb hoax

The bomb threat was identified as a hoax after the flight safely landed at Changi Airport at around 5.30am (IST). It appears the caller was upset that his mother and son had been allegedly inconvenienced by the staff of Singapore Airlines at CSMIA.

A Singapore-bound flight from Mumbai was escorted by two F-16 jets from Singapore Air Force on Monday night, after a caller claimed there was a bomb on board the plane.(Reuters File Photo)

cities

Updated on Mar 27, 2019 08:13 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi

Gujarat radar to help Mumbai handle the spike in air traffic

Currently, the Mumbai air traffic control (ATC), stationed at the city airport, covers 250 Nautical miles (Nm) towards the Muscat airspace, north of Mumbai. The radar in Porbandar, which is to the north-west of Mumbai, will enable ATCOs to cover another 250Nm. Totally, the Mumbai ATC can cover around 500Nm.

Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said the radar was required as the number of flights overflying Mumbai has doubled since the closure of Pakistan airspace, overburdening ATCOs.(Abhijit Bhatlekar/ Mint File Photo)

cities

Published on Mar 25, 2019 05:25 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi

Porbandar radar to help Mumbai handle spike in air traffic

Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said the radar was required as the number of flights overflying Mumbai has doubled since the closure of Pakistan airspace, overburdening ATCOs.

The radar and VHF will allow city air traffic controllers (ATCOs) to directly contact overflying pilots, thus increasing safety of international flights and minimising risks and disturbance.(HT File)

cities

Updated on Mar 25, 2019 01:08 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi

Fatigued ATCOs seek help from other airports to manage traffic

In a letter to Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Chennai and Muscat airports, ATCOs said fatigue wing to burdened schedule is leading has disrupted their schedule.

cities

Published on Mar 19, 2019 04:10 AM IST

Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi

Traffic at Mumbai airport down by 15% as airlines ground their planes

Air traffic at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has dropped by around 15% with over 92 aircraft (of Air India, Alliance Air, Air India Express, Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and Air Asia-India) not flying.

The dip is a result of India joining the global ban on the Boeing 737 MAX following a crash of this aircraft type, along with other operational factors including shortage of pilots. Indian airlines have grounded 14% of its total fleet of 648 aircraft.(Picture for representation)

cities

Published on Mar 16, 2019 04:24 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi

On Women’s Day, fly with all-women crews

While Air India will operate 39 such flights (international and domestic), SpiceJet will operate 22 flights and Jet Airways will operate four flights. Vistara’s two Delhi-Goa flights will also have an all-women crews

cities

Updated on Mar 08, 2019 12:13 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

8 GoAir flights grounded in 20 days; airline says schedule unaffected

On an average, an Airbus aircraft flies eight trips every day. “With this calculation, around 64 flights would be rescheduled every day owing to grounding of these aircraft,” said aviation expert Vipul Saxena.

The airline, which has a 9% share in the domestic market, however, did not comment on the number of flights that were rescheduled owing to the grounding of the aircraft(AFP)

cities

Published on Feb 23, 2019 09:59 AM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi

Bangaluru airport show to begin on Wednesday, fares from Mumbai soar to ₹27,318

Mumbai runway repairs, flight cancellations and airline staff crunch to blame for rise in air fare

The event will be held at the Kempegowda airport in Bengaluru from Feb 20-24.(HT file)

cities

Updated on Feb 19, 2019 12:16 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

Mumbai airport runways shut: One-way ticket to Delhi as high as ₹29,000

Mumbai airport, which handles an average of 950 operations daily, has taken 230 flights off the schedule on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until March 30, due to a thrice a week, six-hour shutdown for repair of runways.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), which handles an average of 950 operations daily, has taken 230 flights off the schedule on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until March 30.(HT FILE)

cities

Updated on Feb 15, 2019 09:16 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

No major flight delays at Mumbai airport on third day of 6-hour shutdown

Maintenance work on the runways at CSMIA will require the shutdown of the airport between 11am and 5pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays till March 31

Of the total planned 230 flight cancellations on Tuesday, 33 were between Mumbai and Delhi, the country’s busiest air route.(HT FILE)

cities

Published on Feb 13, 2019 12:46 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

Average delay of only 5 minutes on Day 2 of runways closure at Mumbai airport

The two runways of CSMIA, which handle approximately 950 flights daily, will be shut down on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, between 11am and 5pm till March 30 for re-carpeting and overlay work

The airlines had revised their schedules and decreased daily flights to reduce inconvenience.(Satish Bate/HT File Photo)

cities

Updated on Feb 10, 2019 12:57 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

Tough to get Navi Mumbai airport operational by 2020, says expert

IATA CEO says it will take at least five years, as project still in bidding phase

The tenders for the construction of the terminal building of Navi Mumbai are in bidding stage.(HT FIle)

cities

Updated on Jan 18, 2019 12:34 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

In a first, Indian airlines add 120 planes to their fleet in one year

In 2017, the carriers had inducted 88 new planes

At present, Ait India has 125 planes in its fleet.(Pic for representation/ HT file hoto)

cities

Updated on Jan 07, 2019 11:00 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

Air India’s Boeing pilots reject revised salary, say won’t take 25% cut

The Indian Pilot Guild (IPG), which represents pilots operating the wide-body Boeing fleet, has sent a notice to Air India. The labour commissioner is expected to call the two sides for a reconciliation meeting next week.

Pilots flying Air India’s Boeing fleet have opposed the airline’s decision to revise their salaries and bring them on par with pilots operating other aircraft.(REUTERS)

india news

Updated on Jan 02, 2019 01:29 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

Aviation regulator prescribes work limits for fatigued air traffic controllers

Maximum duty timings of air traffic controllers (ATCOs) is to be 12 hours and total duty hours should not exceed 50 hours within six consecutive days

The CAR may pose a challenge to Mumbai’s airport since it is the only major airport in the country facing a shortage of ATCOs.(HT FILE)

cities

Published on Dec 26, 2018 11:15 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

Air India pilot who failed alcohol test won’t be a board director

Kathpalia was found positive for alcohol consumption in his breathalyser test on November 11 when he was to operate Air India AI 11, Delhi-London flight.

The directorate general of civil aviation has suspended Kathpali’s licence for three years. The airline also took him off his duties as director (operations).(HT PHOTO)

cities

Updated on Dec 18, 2018 09:27 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

Hoax bomb threat at Mumbai airport creates panic, delays flight

All the necessary checks were conducted on the aircraft by the bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS), a wing of the CISF.(HT Photo)

cities

Published on Dec 16, 2018 12:38 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByNeha LM Tripathi

Mumbai airport security wear cameras to catch unruly fliers

Cameras pinned to CISF staff uniforms to provide evidence against rude fliers or personnel

According to the Central Industrial Security Force, which manages security at 60 out of the 98 operational airports in the country, these cameras that also record audio will help nail rude or problematic fliers and even personnel.(Hindustan Times)

cities

Updated on Dec 10, 2018 12:29 AM IST

ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

Air hostess falls out of Air India plane at Mumbai airport before departure, injured

The incident took place when the flight AI 864, a Boeing 777-337 aircraft was being readied for its scheduled departure around 7 am.

Air India planes are kept in the tarmac at the IGI airport in New Delhi on September 1.(AFP Photo)

india news

Updated on Oct 15, 2018 11:03 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi

Fleet crunch may put Air India’s Mumbai-New York non-stop flight on hold

Air India had plans to commence the non-stop flight this month.

The airline’s other non-stop flight to Frankfurt from Mumbai, which was suspended in 2010, is being re-launched from October 16(AFP File Photo)

cities

Published on Oct 14, 2018 03:17 PM IST

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByNeha LM Tripathi, Mumbai

Copy

Whatsapp Twitter Facebook Linkedin

Neha LM Tripathi

The daily passenger footfall — which had dropped to 95,000 on April 18 — increased to 1,17,000 this week.

More than 150 cabin crew as well as pilots from Jet Airways have been shortlisted by Air India and are expected to join the government-owned airline in a fortnight

Dhiren Bhosle, airport director of Shirdi said operations at the airport will remain suspended until Tuesday morning because of the incident.

The pilots had threatened to stop flying over unpaid salaries.

One of the senior ground staffers said the management’s last e-mail in the first week of April mentioned salaries would not be credited.

A list available with HT shows that Mumbai-Delhi and Mumbai-Ahmedabad were the most affected domestic flights in terms of cancellations

For now, to reduce its traffic load, the Mumbai airport has issued a notice to pilots and airlines that use its airspace to not request a direct route over Mumbai, and instead follow their regular route.

The ₹520-crore airport has received clearances from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and is expected to ferry tourists to Konkan and Goa

According to CNS, while some officials protested near the AAI office in Delhi, the general secretary of AAOA has gone on to take a hunger strike.

The airport announced on Thursday that 98% of the work is done and they will return to their regular schedule from March 31.

The bomb threat was identified as a hoax after the flight safely landed at Changi Airport at around 5.30am (IST). It appears the caller was upset that his mother and son had been allegedly inconvenienced by the staff of Singapore Airlines at CSMIA.

Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said the radar was required as the number of flights overflying Mumbai has doubled since the closure of Pakistan airspace, overburdening ATCOs.

In a letter to Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Chennai and Muscat airports, ATCOs said fatigue wing to burdened schedule is leading has disrupted their schedule.

Air traffic at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has dropped by around 15% with over 92 aircraft (of Air India, Alliance Air, Air India Express, Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and Air Asia-India) not flying.

While Air India will operate 39 such flights (international and domestic), SpiceJet will operate 22 flights and Jet Airways will operate four flights. Vistara’s two Delhi-Goa flights will also have an all-women crews

On an average, an Airbus aircraft flies eight trips every day. “With this calculation, around 64 flights would be rescheduled every day owing to grounding of these aircraft,” said aviation expert Vipul Saxena.

Mumbai runway repairs, flight cancellations and airline staff crunch to blame for rise in air fare

Mumbai airport, which handles an average of 950 operations daily, has taken 230 flights off the schedule on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until March 30, due to a thrice a week, six-hour shutdown for repair of runways.

Maintenance work on the runways at CSMIA will require the shutdown of the airport between 11am and 5pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays till March 31

The two runways of CSMIA, which handle approximately 950 flights daily, will be shut down on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, between 11am and 5pm till March 30 for re-carpeting and overlay work

IATA CEO says it will take at least five years, as project still in bidding phase

In 2017, the carriers had inducted 88 new planes

The Indian Pilot Guild (IPG), which represents pilots operating the wide-body Boeing fleet, has sent a notice to Air India. The labour commissioner is expected to call the two sides for a reconciliation meeting next week.

Maximum duty timings of air traffic controllers (ATCOs) is to be 12 hours and total duty hours should not exceed 50 hours within six consecutive days

Kathpalia was found positive for alcohol consumption in his breathalyser test on November 11 when he was to operate Air India AI 11, Delhi-London flight.

Hoax bomb threat at Mumbai airport creates panic, delays flight

Cameras pinned to CISF staff uniforms to provide evidence against rude fliers or personnel

The incident took place when the flight AI 864, a Boeing 777-337 aircraft was being readied for its scheduled departure around 7 am.

Air India had plans to commence the non-stop flight this month.

Join Hindustan Times

Create free account and unlock exciting features like