EgyptAir plane that was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus.

An EgyptAir plane that took off from the coastal city of Alexandria for Cairo has been hijacked and forced to divert to Larnaca airport in Cyprus.

Flight MS181 had 55 passengers on board when it was seized, Egyptian authorities said. Everyone on board has been released except for the captain and co-pilot, a female crew member, a security officer and three passengers. Negotiations with the hijacker are ongoing.

Officials at Alexandria airport told Associated Press that the hijacker was a dual Egyptian-American citizen. Cypriot media said he demanded to speak with a Cypriot woman to whom he claims he was once married. She is now being brought to the airport to participate in the negotiations. There were also unconfirmed reports that he had demanded the release of prisoners in Egypt.

Egyptian authorities said the hijacker had threatened to detonate an explosive belt, but did not know whether the belt was real or fake.

Addressing reporters with the visiting European parliament president, Martin Schulz, the Cypriot leader, Nikos Anastasiades, ruled out terrorism, confirming instead that it had been instigated a man bent on reuniting with his former wife.

“It’s all to do with a woman,” said the Cypriot president. “We are doing everything to release the hostages.”

Cyprus police said the control tower was contacted at 8.30am (5.30am GMT) and the plane was given permission to land at 8.50am.

A statement from the Egyptian civil aviation ministry said foreign nationals on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified. The nationalities of those who remained on the plane were not given.

The plane was hijacked 30 minutes into its flight, according to officials. Less than an hour later, local TV showed about 40 women and children being allowed to leave the aircraft. The freed passengers were then put on buses and taken to terminal buildings.

Cyprus, the nearest EU member state to the Middle East, immediately declared a state of emergency, with the ministers of defence, foreign affairs and transport all being dispatched to the airport within minutes of the plane making its forced landing.

Airport authorities said all scheduled flights into Cyprus were being diverted to the island’s second international airport at Paphos.

The hijacking is likely to bring to the fore again the question of security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt’s Sinai peninsula minutes after it took off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group said it downed the plane.

#GoIndigo flight from #Chandigarh to #Dubai ready for take-off

Your more than six-month-long wait to catch an international flight from the new Chandigarh airport would end this summer. Private airline Indigo has obtained the necessary approval to launch Chandigarh-Dubai flight from Indian as well as Dubai authorities. The timing would be released in the summer schedule to commence from March 27. Highly-placed sources said an aircraft having a capacity of 180 seats would fly daily between the two cities.

Assistant solicitor general Chetan Mittal made a formal communication about the final clearance before the Punjab and Haryana high court through a status report on Monday. Mittal said Indigo currently has an unutilized allocation of seven flights/1,260 seats per week in each direction on Chandigarh-Dubai route and it would commence its operations in the forthcoming summer schedule of flights. The private airline confirmed about the commencement of international flight from Chandigarh to the ministry of civil aviation in its communication on March 18.

The proposal from Indigo was pending for past many years. Recently, the Dubaiairport authorities had allotted a slot to the private airline for operating a Dubai-Chandigarh flight. Regarding the offer of Fly Dubai and Bulgarian airlines to operate Chandigarh-Dubai and Chandigarh-Sofia flights, the assistant solicitor general told the high court that the ministry of civil aviation has no objection but these airlines have to seek permission from their governments. It was stated that their governments should initiate diplomatic talks for amendments in existing bilateral agreement regarding allocation seats to run foreign flights.

Brussels Airport attacked by terrorists

Brussels has been hit by three explosions, the terrorists attacked the airport and the metro. A suicide bomber struck the Brussels airport, fired shots and shouted words in Arabic brfore two blasts were heard near the American Airlines check in desk. This incident took place around 8 am local time. The passengers fled the scene for their lives, the airport is now on lockdown and all flights have been cancelled.

An hour later, an explosion was heard at a city centre metro station, which appears to be a separate attack. The attack has been made strategically four days after Salah Abdeslam was arrested in Brussels in relation to the November’s terror attack in Paris.

There are reports of multiple explosions at different metro stations, all public transport in Brussels has been shut down. Multiple fatalities have been reported with a higher number of injured people. Upto 23 people have been reported dead and a lot many injured.

The American Airlines has confirmed that all its staff are safe. The Belgian national team have cancelled a scheduled training session out of respect for the victims of the Brussels attacks today.

Belgium are set to play Portugal in an international friendly at Brussels’ King Baudouin Stadium next week but the fixture is now in doubt following suspected terrorist bomb attacks.

to read more about airports pls visit- http://www.farehawker.com/airport/europe-rest-airports.php

Plane crashes in Russia, all 61 people on board killed

Russian officials said on Saturday that all 61 people on board a passenger jet flying from Dubai to southern Russia were killed when their plane crashed on its second attempt to land at Rostov-on-Don airport.

Russia's emergencies ministry said the aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 operated by Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai, crashed at 03:50 (0030 GMT) at the airport in Rostov-on-Don. Officials said there were 55 passengers and six crew on board the plane.

"Unfortunately, they all died," Viktor Yanutsenko, an emergencies ministry official helping coordinate the emergency response, was quoted as saying by Russia's RIA news agency.

Zhanna Terekohova, an advisor to the Russian transport minister, told state television possible causes of the crash included pilot error and poor weather conditions.

Local officials said at the time of the crash, there was strong, gusting wind in the Rostov area.

The aircraft had to abandon an initial attempt to land at Rostov, its scheduled destination, and came down while making a repeat attempt, according to an emergencies ministry statement.

The plane came down inside the airport's perimeter, about 250 meters (yards) short of the start of the runway.

Grainy pictures from a security camera pointing towards the airport, which were broadcast on Russian television, showed a large explosion at ground level, with flames and sparks leaping high into the air.

Most of the passengers on board were Russian, the regional governor said on television.

"Three foreigners were on the passenger list of the plane, but that information needs checking" an emergencies ministry official said on Rossiya-24 news channel.

Flydubai said in a statement: "We are doing all we can to gather information as quickly as possible. At this moment our thoughts and prayers are with our passengers and our crew who were on board the aircraft."

"We will do everything we can to help those who have been affected by this accident," said the carrier, which is owned by the Dubai government. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly, Noah Browning and Omar Fahmy; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Michael Perry)

info source : msn.com/en-in/news/world/plane-crashes-in-russia-all-61-people-on-board-killed/ar-BBqDTuo?ocid=spartandhp

Slashing Ticket prices and Increasing Cancellation Charges

Airlines in India are trying to lure in passengers during the off season by offering them discounts and good deals on the tickets. Last week IndiGo began IndiGo began offering air tickets starting from Rs 1,178. This was followed by discounts from other airlines too. GoAir, Vistara, AirAsia, Air India and SpiceJet have all huge discounts to get passengers on board. In the last week of March, GoAir announced fares starting from Rs 1,299 for passengers travelling between June 23 and October 31. This was the second discount offered in the week. The first offer had fares starting from Rs 999. Full service carrier Vistara too offered 20% discount on premium economy and business class, while state-run Air India also participated in the price cut. Even Jet Airways slashed fares up to 50 percent on domestic and international flights.

But on the other hand airlines have increased the cancellation charges by 50-100%. This means passengers now will be charged a higher fee who cancel their tickets 2-48 hours before departure. Cancellation charges of Rs 1,250 per passenger per segment will be charged if the cancellation is made 30 days prior to departure, whereas if you cancel your tickets 7-30 days prior to the departure a cancellation fee of Rs 1,500 will be charged. Cancellation made 48 hours to 7 days before departure will have to shell out Rs 2,000 while for 2-48 hours before departure, a cancellation charge of Rs 2,250 will be charges. (all these will be charge per segment)

Earlier the cancellation charges were Rs 1,500 per passenger on domestic routes.

The above fees will apply for bookings that are made on or after 1 April 2015 only. For any bookings made before this date, the old Fees (Rs 1,500 for Domestic and Rs 2,000 for International) will continue to apply.

Happy Women’s Day Girls & Ladies!!

Let me take this opportunity to wish all you wonderful women a great day ahead. 

I know.. I know we usually don’t make a big deal about women’s day and I’d say why should we ??
Why just celebrate Women’s Day once a year??
Celebrate it every day!!!

#Celebrate yourself, you #womanhood, your strengths, your weaknesses, your life and everything about you, because you my lovely ladies are the reason that society exists. What would men be without women??? Scarce, mighty scarce!!

Being a woman myself I’ve always worried about my appearance, been conscious about my looks, about what I eat, what I wear and a hundred other things. But today I am going to stop worrying about all of this. Eat that cake, it’s not going to kill you rather it will make you happy, but that dress, cry if you are sad, talk your mind out, travel alone and do stuff that makes you happy. Break the stereotypes!!
Travelling alone has always interested me!!

Being a woman my family was always against the idea of me travelling alone for obvious reasons like my safety and the “unpredictability” of people. 

But if done right travelling alone for a women can be liberating in so many ways. Plan your holiday to suit yourself, just you!!! No boyfriend, no spouse, no family needs to be catered to, just you!!!!! I don’t wanna sound like a loner, but all of us need some time off our families. I recently travelled alone to Thailand, it is one of the best places on the face of the earth. I shopped till I dropped, ate the local food, enjoyed booze and music at local bars, got massages at the beach, stayed at a reasonably good hotel in a good neighborhood, the only thing I did not do was to be careless. The most important thing to keep in mind is to be safe at all times. Carry a local guide, a map, a bottle of water and your passport with you at all times. Be wary of the people around you and be cautious. Have fun but be safe.  Keep your folks informed about your hotel and your plan for the day. Travelling alone is safe and no you will not feel lonely, rather you will appreciate that you took the trip.

Parting thought  “You can do almost anything you set your mind to… You can swim the deepest ocean and climb the highest peak… Be a doctor or fly a plane… You can face adversity and still walk tall. You are strong, beautiful, and compassionate and much more than words could ever say! Today is yours and so is every other day”

Happy Women’s Day

Planning to fly in Group? FareHawker is the answer !!!

If you are planning to fly in group on upcoming trip with your extended family, friends, colleagues, college mates or whomsoever and you are wondering whom to contact, which airlines will you best group discounted fare, on which airlines you can rely for avoiding last moment cancellation or delay, in case of over ten passengers, then FareHawker can play major role to the take all your headache.   

FareHawker.com (the Ultimate Travel Jockey) is just an email or call away where you can find answers to any queries regarding any airlines or helicopter or for charter plane. What acts as cherry on the cake is their Airlines Group Booking facility. 

As you know that no airline or travel portal provides booking facility for more than nine passengers, group booking becomes problem when the number crosses 10+. Than FareHawker is here for providing this facility to book more than 10 passengers in one go. Once you have provided them with all the necessary details like number of passengers, destination, journey dates, additional tour or sight-seeing services and so on, they negotiate with all the airlines possible to provide you with the most economical rates. As the airlines also know them for their airfare bulk booking it is easy to book through them. And what is interesting is that their services are free of cost and you just have to pay for your flight!

FareHawker is the best option for airlines group booking because they have a dedicated group of professionals who specialist in handing flight group booking which saves your time and money. As all the hard work is done by them, they keep you stress free and are also open to last minute changes as their services a very flexible. You don’t have to deposit any security money and you can always stay in touch with them through email, quick reply is a guarantee.  

The next time you travel a group trip, FareHawker it is! For more details visit page http://www.farehawker.com/group-booking.php 

NEERJA BHANOT- THE BRAVE HEART ANGEL

Most of us will never find ourselves in a high-pressure situation facing like Neerja did. She did not let fear get the best of her. We cannot even begin to imagine what must she be thinking or feeling during those 17 terrible hours, but what we know is that the 23 year old girl chose to take on the responsibility of safe guarding the lives of the 359 passengers on board the flight. She was the senior most team member on board the aircraft after the Captain, Co-pilot and the flight engineer abandoned the aircraft using the overhead hatch in the cockpit after learning about the terrorists and the hijacking.

After 17 hours, the hijackers opened fired and set off explosives, Neerja opened the emergency door to help passengers escape, Neerja could have been the first to leave the aircraft but she stayed on board and died shielding 3 unaccompanied children from a hail of bullets. There were 360 passengers on board the Pan Am flight, Neeraj set aside all concern for her own personal safety and well-being and saved 340 lives on her own, while losing hers just 25 hours before her 23^rd birthday.

For her actions, Neerja was awarded the Ashok Chakra, the highest civilian award for bravery during peace time. She is the youngest recipient of the Ashok Chakra, also she became the first woman to receive this honor.

In a letter to her farther, a year before her ill-fated death Neerja said,”I will do you proud”, and indeed she did.

The youth of today must take inspiration from Neerja. She saved the lives of 340 people and ensured that the hijackers were caught by the Pakistani commando force. The hijackers wanted to harm the American passengers on-board, but Neerja did not let that happen, she did all that was in her power and more in the name of her duty.

She is the hero of our nation. The Government of Pakistan also awarded her with Tamgha-e-Insaniyat for her heroism and valour.

Let us all take inspiration from this young brave heart and the hero of the nation.

Courage, Commitment and Compassion is what we should learn from her.

NEERJA- the movie releases on 19^th of February’16. The movie pays a homage to the unsung hero. The script of the story was approved by Neerja Bhanot’s brothers, and it is said that the movie is an exact replica of how Neerja’s life was. The review of Neerja says it all, viewers are praising the movie, the direction and the work of #SonamKapoor, #ShabanaAzmi and Yogendar Tikku.

IndiGo is an official airline partner for Neerja, the movie. The air carrier had entered into an agreement with the production company, Fox Star Studios, to brand and market the film on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

Airlines these days take the training of the crew members very seriously, the cabin crew is trained to handle any and every situation that comes their way. The airlines today leave no margin for error and are not lax in terms of safety and security. This makes sure that no such event happens in today’s date. But God forbid it happens, the crew is well trained and equipped to handle such situations. One last lesson we can learn from Neerja is to remain calm and composed during high pressure situations. 

RESIDENCE CLASS ON-BOARD ETIHAD AIRWAYS-REDEFINING LUXURY

Etihad Airlines is one of the best airlines in the world. Etihad aims at providing the best on-board facilities to its passengers. Etihad has this time surpassed all parameters set for luxury air travel. Etihad has come up with the most luxurious cabin class on-board its A380 aircrafts. It offers a total area of 125 sq ft with a 3 room suite configuration, all this to just yourself.

Passengers enjoy a truly unique and one of its kind service in this class of travel. You will be surprised to see what all does Etihad have to offer. Passengers enjoy the same hospitality as they would in a 5 star or a 7 stra hotel, a luxury yatch or a private jet. The residence on Etihad has a VIP concierge and they will organize everything for you, from a limousine pick up, to private check in lounge and when you step on-borad the aircraft you will be greeted by your very own butler, YES !! YOUR VERY OWN BUTLER!!!! There is a chef on board to cater to your hunger pangs, he will cook up anything for you from the gourmet menu or anything else you want, its like sitting in the best of restaurants in mid air !! The cabin is designed by hospitality experst who understand what the luxury traveler of today need, The leather used in upholstering the seats is the same as that used in a Ferrari.

A living room to lounge in, dine in and enjoy your in-flight entertainment system. The living room has a luxurious leather double seat sofa and two dining tables. You can enjoy an intimate meal for two and watch your 32 inch TV.

The carpeted floors lead you down to the en-suite bathroom, your very own bathroom !! this just keeps getting exciting. Doesn’t it !!!? You can shower before you arrive at your destination. What more could you ask ??

But there’s more.

You get your very own bedroom, at the end of the hallway is a 6 foot 10 inch double bed with Egyptian bed sheets, you can take a nap, watch TV on your 27 inch flat screen TV and after your nap you can order for breakfast in bed.

The Residence Class is the epitome of luxury in air travel. A one way ticket from Abu Dhabi to London will cost you around $21,000 !!!

You will have to have extremely deep pockets to shell out this kind of money for a 7 hour flight.

AEROSVIT DECLARES BANKRUPTCY

Aerosvit was Ukraine’s private airline. Its head office was based on the Boryspil International Airport in Boryspil. Aerosvit had its primary hub at the Boryspil Airport. The airline was founded on 25^th March 1994 and commence operations in April 1994 with flights from Kyiv to Athens, Larnaca, Tel Aviv, Odesa and Thessaloniki in co-operation with Air Ukraine.

All was well and Aerosvit was constantly adding new aircrafts to its fleet and new destinations to its existing route map. Aerosvit operated flights to 72 destinations in Asia, Europe and North America until it filed for bankruptcy.

Boryspil International Airport suspended Aerosvit’s flights in March 2012 and a clash over a RUB 95 million debt indicated with Sheremetyevo International Airport in the year end indicated the financial troubles Aerosvit was in. By the end of 2012, Aerosvit was under a debt of US $534 million, which was thrice the value of the company assets. 

Finally on 29^th Decemb

er 2012 Aerosvit filed for bankruptcy but wanted to make reforms and continue operations. As soon as the bankruptcy was announced, all of Aerosvit’s aircrafts were detained at various airports. In 2012 the bankruptcy procedure was cancelled by the court. Aerosvit has since then ceased operations and is currently not operating any flights.

In mid-February 2013 Aerosvit announced that it would cut down 1800 jobs by March 2013.

The business court of Kyiv again initiated a case of bankruptcy of Aerosvit on March 4^th, 2015, this was done when the airline failed to pay its debts.

Aerosvit operated flights to Beijing in China, New Delhi and Goa in India, Bangkok in Thailand, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. In Western Asia Aerosvit operated flights to Yerevan, Baku, Ganja, Larnaca, Tbilisi, Batumi, Tel Aviv and Dubai. In Europe the airline flew to Minsk, Sofia, Prague, Copenhagen, Berlin, Hamburg, Duddeldorf, Stuttgart, Athens, Thessaloniki, Budapest, Milan, Naples, Vilinius, Chisinau, Krakow, Warsaw, Bucharest, Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, Moscow, Murmansk, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Stockholm, Istanbul, London, Toronto, New York City and various destinations in Ukraine. 

Gift for Gorakhpur by National Carrier -Air India

Air India to begin Delhi-Gorakhpur operations

Air India will commence flight operations from New Delhi to Gorakhpur, six days a week, starting January 15, 2016. The flight will offer connection to flyers travelling to various domestic and international destinations from Gorakhpur. Similarly, passengers arriving from the Gulf and other international destinations will get a convenient connection to Gorakhpur from Delhi by this flight.

This is the latest destinations to be added to its network under its Connecting India programme Air India recently also launched operations between Mumbai and Gwalior with ATR-72 aircraft and also connected Durgapur to Delhi and Kolkata with an A319 flight.

Air India will operate a 70 seater ATR 72-600 aircraft between Delhi and Gorakhpur. The flight AI 9809 will depart from Delhi at 1215 hrs and arrive Gorakhpur at 1415 hrs. On the return leg, flight AI 9810 will depart from Gorakhpur at 1445 hrs and reach Delhi at 1645 hrs. The flight will operate six days a week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Popular Routes of Air India in India

Mumbai-New Delhi New Delhi-Bengaluru Mumbai-Bengaluru Pune-New Delhi Chennai-New Delhi Hyderabad-New Delhi Hyderabad-Mumbai

New Delhi-Mumbai Bengaluru-New Delhi Bengaluru-Mumbai New Delhi-Pune New Delhi-Chennai New Delhi-Hyderabad New Delhi-Kolkata

Mumbai-Chennai Mumbai-Hyderabad Kolkata-New Delhi Kolkata-Bengaluru New Delhi-Patna Chennai-Mumbai Bangalore-Kolkata

We at FareHawker are a group of young aviation industry professionals.  We aim at finding the cheapest and best fares for our customers. It gives us immense happiness to provide people with better fares than they can find themselves, but do not be mistaken, we are not a travel agency or a booking portal, we are an Indian travel website and offer our services free of cost. We provide cheap fares for domestic and international flights with almost all the airlines of the world.

Travelling in a group and confused how to book your tickets and get seated together on the aircraft, come to us and we will solve your problems.

FareHawker also specializes in Helicopter and Aircraft Charter services. We cater to people who do not have a lot of time on hand and want to explore the world on their own terms. FareHawker also arranges for Charter Pilgrimage, you can travel to pilgrimage destinations of your choice in a charter helicopter or aircraft.

So stop waiting, start planning. Leave your details and needs with us at farehawer.com and we will get back to you within 04 hours with all your travel solutions.

LEH- PARADISE ON EARTH

When it comes to holidaying in India Leh is the most popular choice of tourists from India and abroad. Leh is the capital of Ladakh. Leh is the home to the Namgyal Tsemo monastery which is renowned for its three-storey high solid gold idol of Buddha. Leh with its multiple monasteries, snowcapped mountain, cold winds and burning sun is a vision straight out of ones fantasies.

Tens of thousands of tourists from all over the globe travel to Leh every year. There are very few places in India which are as travel- friendly as Leh. Leh has its old world charm because of the Stupas and mud brick houses. It is very easy to fall in love with Leh. I have therefore listed a few places to visit in and around Leh.

So here goes,

1.      The Shanti Stupa: Shanti Stupa is a white dome shaped Stupa built by a Japanese monk and was enshrined by the 14^th Dalai Lama himself. The stupa is one of the major tourist attractions in Leh. It is located at an altitude of abround 13000 ft, and it is only 5 kms by road from Leh, or one can even reach the stupa by climbing 500 steps from the city of Leh.

2.      Namgyal Tsempo Monastery: Namgyal Tsempo Monastery was founded in 1430. This monastery provides a picturesque view of the Indus river and the snow capped peaks of the Zanskar mountain range. The monastery is the home to a solid gold three stories high statue of Maitreya Buddha.

1.      Khardung La: Khardung La Or Khardung Pass is situated 40 kms from Leh. This is the highest motorable pass in the world. It is situated at an altitude of 5602 meters above sea level. This pass is also used by our army to transport goods to our soldiers stationed in Siachen. This pass is also a major attraction for bikers from all over the world.

2.      Gurudwara Patthar Sahib: This Gurudwara is located at a distance of 20 kms from the city of Leh, this was built in 1517 in the memory of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. As the anme suggests “Patthar” in hindi means rock, This Gurudwara houses an immovable rock. It is believed that under the rock is a negative image of Guru Nanak. This is a must visit place when in Leh.

3.      Pangong Tso: Tso means lake, this lake is situated at an altitude of around 13000 ft and it extends from India into Tibet. Pangong Lake is a 150 kilometer drive from Leh, but the drive is worth the effort as the view on the way is jaw droppingly amazing. You will fall in love with Mother Nature all over again.

These are just a few of the many tourist attractions in and near Leh.

Travelling to Leh is a life changing experience. It is popularly said that there are two types of people in the world, the first kind who have travelled and explored the pristine beauty of Leh and the second who want to. So jump from the second kind to the first. Leh is easily accessible via road and air.

And there is good news for travel enthusiasts, GoAir is starting a direct flight from Mumbai to Leh  March 26^th,2016 onwards. This is the perfect time for GoAir to start operations on this route as April onwards is the best time to visit Leh. From April to June the sun shines bright, Leh has clear blue skies, this magnifies the beauty of the breath takingly beautiful place. So get your friends together book your tickets, pack your bags and head for the adventure of a lifetime. Contact FareHawker @ farehawker.com for group bookings on GoAir. We provide you with the best fares possible.

P.S: Don’t forget to pack lots of strong sunscreen if you don’t want a different coloured nose !!!

Happy travelling.