Hong Kong not allowing flights from India; discussions on with Kuwait on bilateral air bubble: Govt
New Delhi: Hong Kong is not allowing flights from India and the Centre is in discussions with the Kuwait government to establish a bilateral air bubble, said the Civil Aviation Ministry on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, India had formed bilateral air bubbles with countries such as the UAE, the US, Germany and France. Under the pact whereby an air bubble is established between two countries, the airlines of both are allowed to operate special international charter flights during certain restrictions.
Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"Civil aviation access is a matter of reciprocal bilateral arrangements. As far as flights to & from Hong Kong are concerned, the problem is that HK is not allowing flights from certain places of origin including India. @airindiain has applied for permission with the authorities," the ministry said on Twitter.
Significant progress has been made on aviation access between India and Kuwait, it noted in another tweet.
"Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and President of Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation had useful & productive discussions on several issues related with bilateral access between our two countries which will be resolved soon," the ministry said.
Since May 6, international charter flights have been operated by Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission to help stranded people reach their destinations. Private carriers have also operated a certain number of flights under this mission.
The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the coronavirus pandemic. All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, leave-without-pay and firings of employees in order to conserve cash.
India resumed domestic passenger flights from May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The airlines have been allowed to operate only a maximum of 45 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights.
However, occupancy rate in Indian domestic flights has been around just 50-60 per cent since May 25.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
