Christmas: Mangaluru Bishop pays cordial visit to Bhajana Mandir
Ullala, December 25: in the view of Christmas, Mangaluru Bishop Fr. Peter Paul Saldanha visited Sri Vithobha Rukmayi Bhajana Mandir at Thokkottu in the city on Tuesday.
St. Sebastian church father Fr. JB Saldanha and administrative board members accompanied the Bishop and Minister UT Khader. They participated in the annual programme of the Bhajana Mandir. Bishop distributed Christmas sweets to the gathering on the occasion.
Bishop said that let the God bless everyone during Christmas celebrations and annual programme of the Mandir to live happily.
Minister UT Khader said that Bishop visit to the Mandir has provided an opportunity to share love and affection to the people. Christmas was a festival to be celebrated by one and all and give good message to the society.
Bhajana Mandali felicitated the Bishop and the Minister.
Congress leaders Suresh Bhatnagar, Bazil D'Souza, Mandir president Padmanabha, Mohan Bangera, Chethan Kumar Shetty, Sachindra Salian and others were present.
The Bishop and Minister UT Khader participated in the Christmas celebrations at the St. Sebastian church at Thokkottu and wished the people.
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Air India flights to North America, Europe to use alternative routes
New Delhi (PTI): Air India will operate its flights to North America and Europe using alternative routes over available airspaces in the Middle East and cancel six flights to various European cities on March 2.
The airline, which cancelled 50 international flights on Sunday, said it would extend suspension of all flights to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar till 23:59 hours (IST) on March 2.
In a post on X on Sunday, the carrier said six flights, including Amritsar-Birmingham (AI117) and Birmingham-Delhi (AI114), would be cancelled on Monday.
Besides, AI151 and A152 flights between Delhi and Zurich, as well as AI157 and AI158 flights between Delhi and Copenhagen, would be cancelled on Monday.
“All other flights to North America and Europe will operate as per schedule using alternative routings over available airspaces in the Middle East, which is expected to add to the flying times.
"Additionally, flights to New York (JFK) and Newark (Liberty International) will operate with technical stops at Rome (Fiumicino Airport)," Air India said.
With stops in Rome, the flying time for Air India flights to North America would increase and also result in increased operating expenses.
Since the Iran and Iraq airspaces remain closed, officials said the airline would take the Egypt route to reach Europe, which would mean 30-40 minutes of additional flying time.
The flights would take the route through Oman, the southern part of Saudi Arabia and Egypt for European and North American destinations, the officials added.
The airline also said that it continues to closely monitor the situation and has carefully assessed the evolving circumstances across multiple parameters, including safety, security, airspace availability, and operational feasibility, before deciding on these operations for March 2.
In the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, flight operations have been significantly disrupted, with the civil aviation ministry saying Indian carriers cancelled 350 international flights on Sunday.
