AirWhizz

AirWhizz

10 Bizarre Reasons Why Flights Have Been Delayed!

Every frequent flyer knows that flight delays are a way of life.

And most travellers can guess when a flight will be delayed depending on circumstances like ongoing bad weather.

But there have been instances when flights have been delayed due to strange and bizarre reasons which  have left travellers baffled.

Get ready to have your mind blown cause here are 10 strange and crazy reasons why flights have been delayed.

1. Scorpion Stings A Passenger

In August 2018, a passenger was stung on an Alaskan Airlines flight to Portland, Oregon.

The flight originated in Los Cabos, Mexico and was preparing to take off from LAX when the incident happened. The delay cost the airline about 50 total minutes, which doesn’t seem to be too bad.

But, the airline is yet to figure out how did a scorpion get on an airplane.

2.Snakes On An Airplane

Well, the incident is not exactly like how it happened in the movie, but the thought of a snake on an airplane can scare even the bravest of flyers.

In 2013, a small snake forced the grounding of a Japan-bound Qantas flight in the Australian city of Sydney. The snake, which was non-venomous, was about eight inches long.

The flight took off the next day ,however passengers were booked into hotels for their overnight layover. By the way, this was not the first or only snake incident for Qantas that year and a similar incident happened the year before.

3.Flight Attendants Fighting

In 2012, two flight attendants manning an American Eagle flight from JFK to Washington-Reagan (DCA) couldn’t see eye-to-eye on something.

The argument got so heated up that the cockpit crew determined it was necessary to turn the airplane around and head back to JFK ,where it remained for nearly four hours.

It’s hard to believe that  the issue was so big that the attendants couldn’t  work with each other for an hour, but supposedly they didn’t!

4.Mice Situation

Last year a Qatar Airways flight from Madrid to Doha was delayed for more than six hours after a mouse was found in the cabin.

Much to the mouse’s surprise, passengers were significantly alarmed by its presence on the airplane.

On landing at the Barajas Airport in Madrid, the plane had to be fumigated which resulted in a 6-hour delay of the return flight.

5.Slow-Moving Turtles

More than 400 diamondback terrapin turtles managed to find their way to New York City’s JFK Airport, with several of them actually making their way onto the airport’s runways and taxiways, leading to several flight delays.

The incident happened again after a few years which caused flights to get delayed by an hour.

According to experts, turtles had been using the same route to migrate prior to JFK’s existence, which is why such incidents have occurred in the past.

6.Asking Passengers To Pay For Jet Fuel

When an Air France flight was redirected from Beirut to Damascus because of civil unrest in the August of 2012, the crew asked passengers to scrape together whatever cash they could to pay for fuel.

The Syrian authorities declined to pay for the fuel, and alternate arrangements were made, however, the confusion caused a delay of more than 2 hours.

To be fair, it’s still better than landing in a country on brink of a war.

7.Improperly Served Nuts

In 2014 vice president of Korean Air & daughter of the airlines owner, Heather Cho, made headlines all over the world when she forced a flight leaving JFK, to head back to the airport.

She was offered macadamia nuts in a packet instead of a plate, which didn’t go down well with her.

She forced the flight attendants to kneel before her and wanted them thrown out of the airplane. She was later escorted off the premises by the police and was eventually arrested and sentenced to one year in jail.

8.Boy Band’s Shopping Spree

American sensations “One Direction” delayed an entire British Airways flight from Heathrow (LHR) to LAX for 15 minutes so that they could do some duty-free shopping.

According to a band spokesman, the band members had left the airport between flights and had been stuck in traffic on the way back to LHR, however they were spotted by fans shopping inside the terminal.

9.A Lawn Chair Got In The Way Of The Airplane

Presumably lacking space in his garden, Larry Walters, an American citizen,  decided to tie industrial balloons to his lawn chair to enjoy a cold beer mid-air.  

A Pan Am flight had to alter its course, at 16,000 feet incase he flew up that high, causing the flight o delay.

10.Passenger Opens Emergency Door By Mistake

In 2016, one of the 130 passengers aboard a China Southern Airlines flight leaving Chengdu Airport (CTU) opened the emergency door just before take-off, leading to a delay of more than an hour.

The passenger later explained that he thought the door was a window and just wanted to “get some fresh air.”

Read More

Flight Operations At Bengaluru & Delhi Airport Affected Due To Fog!

For the 4th time this month, fog disrupted flight operations at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport with 38 departures being delayed on Sunday morning.

Around 11 arriving flights were also delayed as fog enveloped the airport for the second time in three days. On Friday morning, 50 flights were affected due to the same reason.

According to the Bangalore International Airport Limited, four flights, including three Air India flights from Ahmedabad, Vishakhapatnam and Dubai, and another Indigo flight from Delhi were diverted to Chennai and Hyderabad airports.

With an old Instrument Landing System in place at the KIA, fog-related disruptions have become an annual affair and are expected to last till February this year.

However, the commencement of flight operations on newly launched Runway 2, expected from September this year, will bring good news for KIA passengers.

Runway 2 comes equipped with a mechanism to help flight operations continue during foggy conditions as well as with improvised facilities for landing during low visibility.

In Delhi, however, there is no improvement in the situation, after 41 flights were delayed again due to heavy fog.

Delhi International Airport Limited on December 6 said that the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) is fully prepared to handle flight operations during dense fog.

The very next day, 362 flights were delayed and 38 cancelled. In fact, since the first week of December, there have been regular delays and cancellations at India’s busiest airport that handles 1,300 arrivals and departures every day. And it has hit passengers hard.

Read More

The World’s Safest & Punctual Airlines In The World For 2019!

If you’re a nervous traveller, you’ll be interested to know that Qantas is the safest airline in the world, according to a new list from AirlineRatings.com.

The Australian airline has nabbed the top spot on the annual list since 2014, although technically it was a joint winner in 2018. United Airlines is back on the list after the ranking left it out it last year.

AirlineRatings.com put together its list by sourcing data from 405 airlines, looking at points like government audits, crash and serious incident records, and profitability.

While Qantas has the top spot, Finnair and Hawaiian are not far behind.

Here is the list of the top 20 safest airlines in alphabetical order (which is how AirlineRatings.com presents the list):

  • Air New Zealand
  • Alaska Airlines
  • All Nippon Airways
  • American Airlines
  • Austrian Airlines
  • British Airways
  • Cathay Pacific Airways
  • Emirates
  • EVA Air
  • Finnair
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • KLM
  • Lufthansa
  • Qantas
  • Qatar Airways
  • SAS
  • Singapore Airlines
  • Swiss
  • United Airlines
  • Virgin Atlantic
  • Virgin Australia

The Most Punctual Airline In The World

Panama’s Copa Airlines SA has been crowned 2018’s most punctual carrier in a global survey.

Latvia’s Air Baltic ranked second among airlines arriving or departing within 15 minutes of scheduled times, according to a report by data firm OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd.

Hong Kong Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Bangkok Airways rounded out the top five. IndiGo & Air Asia India have come in the Top 20 as well.

About 4.3 billion passengers traveled by air last year, 6.1 percent more than in 2017, according to a preliminary report by the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization. Airlines filled a record 81.9 percent of their seats in 2018.

Here’s The List Of The Most Punctual Airlines in the world in 2019

  • 1. Copa Airlines (89.79%)*.
  • 2. AirBaltic (89.17%).
  • 3. Hong Kong Airlines (88.11%).
  • 4. Hawaiian Airlines (87.52%).
  • 5. Bangkok Airways (87.16%).
  • 6. Qantas Airways (85.65%).
  • 7. LATAM Airlines Group (85.60%).
  • 8. Azul (85.21%).
  • 9. Qatar Airways (85.17%).
  • 10. KLM (84.52%).

*On-Time Performance

Read More

7 Fun Things To Do On An Airplane To Beat Boredom

It’s easy to pass time when you’re on a 2 hour flight. You can sleep, watch a small movie, catch up on some work or finish a book you’ve been reading.

But what to do when you’re on a long-haul flight?

The best thing you can do on your flight is to get yourself into the correct mindset for your trip whether you’re travelling for work or relax.

Who says you need Wi-Fi to beat boredom mid-flight? Here are a few interesting and creative activities to try.

1.Play Games

No Wi-Fi? No problem!

Seasoned travellers like enjoy playing games that can be accessed offline and have zero ads on your phone or tablet.

You can also do this the old fashioned way and play games like Ludo or chess if you’re travelling with someone or just test your skills with crosswords or puzzles.

2.Creative Writing

When traveling on a journey long enough to serve flight meals, the secret is to see the glass half full as opposed to half empty.

The silence and lack of distractions make long distance flights the perfect time to get creative and write.

You don’t need to be a journalist by trade to put pen to paper. Here are some content ideas to get your juices flowing:

  • Think you’ve got what it takes to write a short film or book? Then pick up a pen and make magic happen.
  • If you find it difficult to find the time to write your diary, a flight overseas should give you ample time.

3.Learn A Language

Before your trip, download a language app like Babbel and Duolingo.

Take advantage of the time you’ll have on the airplane and learn the need-to-know phrases of the country you’re visiting.

4.Pre-Load Your Content

Even if you have a Wi-Fi connection on your flight, it might not always be reliable or fast enough to stream movies, TV shows and music.

Long-distance travellers should pre-load their content of choice on their phone or tablet before boarding an airplane.

You can pre load a TV series, movies, blogs or books, but make sure you have plenty of it.

5.Keep Your Hands Busy

To keep your mind occupied for 8 hours, you can take up activities like knitting which you’re your hands busy.

If you’re not into that you can let your inner social media enthusiast come out, especially if you’re sitting on a window seat.

Take advantage of the view. Use your smartphone to capture different views of the sky. As the plane will be in motion, getting the money shot may take some time. But on an international trip, time is all you have.

Another thing you can do it organize your work on your laptop. It should keep you busy for a while.

6.It’s Good To Talk

Engaging in deep conversations with strangers can be a fascinating experience.

You can talk to the flight attendant and get some travel tips for the destination you’re going to.

You can talk to your seatmates, however When deciding to get chummy with your seat neighbour, we advise you to tread lightly. Be sure to take note of your seatmate’s tone of voice and body language as you attempt to talk since not everyone is very friendly.

7.Stretch It Out

When traveling on a long-haul flight, sitting in a small airplane seat can cause tension to build in your muscles. Plus, it can also cause your blood to clot.

 Yoga relieves stress and tense muscles which is why many flyers turn to this form of exercise on a plane. However, doing yoga on the airplane can be challenging as you don’t want to encroach on your neighbour’s space.

You can do simple Yoga Stretches that will help with your body’s blood circulation and keep you energized during the flight.

Our list of travel tips are not exhaustive and we would love to know what tried and tested tips you have to survive boredom on long-haul flights.

Read More

IndiGo & Air Asia India Amongst The Most Punctual Airlines Globally!

Low-Cost Carriers IndiGo & Air Asia India are the only 2 Indian Airlines to make it to the top 20 most punctual airlines in the world in 2018.

Among airports, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Bhubaneshwar feature in the top 20 list of the most punctual airports across the globe.

The report published by OAG Punctuality League ,a UK-based air travel intelligence firm, analysed 58 million flight records in 2018 to create a ranking of the best on-time performance (OTP) for the world’s largest airlines and airports.

On-Time Performance (OTP) is the percentage of flights that depart or arrive within 15 minutes of schedule. Airports handling at least 25 lakh passengers have been ranked according to their punctuality.

IndiGo, India’s largest airline by passengers carried and fleet size, was ranked at number six under ‘Mega Airline’ list and at number seven in ‘Low-Cost Carrier’ list for punctuality. It also took the tenth spot in Asia Pacific region for best punctuality.

AirAsia India was ranked at number 12 in low-cost carrier list for punctuality.

Under large airports with best punctual or on-time performance, Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports took the number 13 and 16 spots respectively. Airports with 10-20 million passengers in a year were identified in this category.

Bhubaneshwar Airport also secured a place at number 20 in the small airport list with annual passenger traffic of 2.5 to 5 million.

Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport was ranked at 13 in the list of mega airports for punctuality, which has over 30 million passengers departing every year. It is currently the seventh busiest airports in Asia and among the top 20 busiest airports in the world.

Read More

SpiceJet Under Scanner After Mid-Air New Year Celebration!

A mid-air new year celebration party has landed SpiceJet into trouble with Indian aviation regulators Directorate General Of Civil Aviation(DGCA).

On December 31 last year, the private airline decided to celebrate the arrival of 2019 onboard. The crew wore colourful wigs and carried pompoms while greeting passengers in their seats.

What irked the DGCA was a video on social media that showed passengers dancing on board a mid-air flight. The regulator has summoned the airline officials seeking an explanation.

Here are the details of the incident:

  • The video was taken inside flight SG 282 flying from Amritsar to Goa.
  • In the video, it is seen that while the aircraft was mid-air, many passengers were moving around the aisle dancing, clicking photos, and even posing with the cabin crew.
  • According to DGCA this is a violation of cabin-safety requirements. Use of cell phones to take pictures mid-air is also a violation of safety rules.

The regulator is probing whether crew members joined in the celebration and if it was an incident inside only one aircraft. However, SpiceJet said no protocols were violated and the airline crew did not participate in the dancing.

According to SpiceJet, On one specific flight, after completion of service and prior to the seat belt sign coming, they got some of their cabin crew members to greet passengers while walking down the aisle.

“The people seen dancing were passengers who got momentarily carried away. The crew immediately requested the passengers to be seated. The captain also put on the seat belt sign and appropriate announcements were made.”

This is not the first time that the regulator has taken a strict stance against a mid-air bash inside an aircraft.

In 2014, the DGCA had sent a show-cause notice to SpiceJet for holding a 10-minute dance show inside an aircraft. In 2016, the regulator had also grounded the crew of Jet Airways after singer Sonu Nigam was allowed to perform mid-air over the public announcement device inside an aircraft.

Mid-air bashes, however, are common as airlines regularly use them to attract flyers and improve their brand image. Airlines such as Finnair and AirAsia have conducted dance and birthday celebrations onboard their flights.

Read More

Passengers Hit By Flight Delays At Chandigarh Airport!

Passengers boarding airplanes for destinations like Kolkata, Srinagar, Pune and Mumbai had to stay put at the airport for over four hours as eight flights were delayed from the Chandigarh International airport due to poor visibility.

An Air India official said that the Alliance Air morning flight got delayed by around two hours owing to poor visibility. The ones majorly affected were flights arriving from Delhi as three of seven flights got delayed.

The flight scheduled to depart at 8:20 am, departed at 9:52 am, post the delay of 1 hour 32 minutes. He also said that the flight had a delayed departure from Delhi at 7 am while the scheduled time was 5:55 am.

IndiGo flight from Kolkata, which was supposed to arrive at 7:30 am, arrived at 12:30 pm because of the delayed departure. It departed at 9.20 am while it was scheduled to leave at 4:50 am.

The IndiGo flight from Srinagar got delayed as well, making its arrival at 3:23 against its scheduled arrival time of 10.45 am. The flight departed late at 2.15 pm against its scheduled departure of 9.30 am from Srinagar.

The Air India flight from Pune, who’s scheduled arrival time was 2:55 pm, was delayed by 1 hour 14 minutes and arrived at 4.09 pm.

Likewise, the flights departing from Chandigarh departed late. Flights of Air Asia from Bengaluru, IndiGo from Mumbai and Bengaluru, Air India from Delhi, and Jet Airways from Delhi were delayed between 45 minutes an hour and a half.

Air India, has stated to temporarily withdraw its morning Delhi-Chandigarh-Delhi flight owing to poor visibility at the airport.

Also, the Air India Kullu-Chandigarh-Kullu flight has also been withdrawn till January 15 due to bad weather conditions at the Bhunter and Chandigarh airports

Read More

Authorities Concerned Over “Fake E-Ticket” Airport Entry!

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which guards airports across the country, has raised concerns over increase in incidents of people entering airports using fake E-tickets.

The CISF has said that 140 such incidents had been recorded in 2018 while 111 cases were registered in 2017.

The issue assumes significance as incidents of people entering airports illegally have increases every year. In 2015 and 2016, number of such cases was less than 100.

Though the CISF does not suspect any terror angle with regard to such cases, but the force considers it as a major threat to security of airports. It suspects that such incidents may lead to some major incident if not curbed.

They say most of the cases involved individuals who illegally entered the airport terminal to see off family members or friends. Others using fake e-tickets were attributed to ignorance of the rules.

Those entering the airport illegally using these method seem to have taken advantage of the present CISF practice of checking the date and departure time of the flight and match the name on the ticket to a photo ID card.

Considering the threat, the CISF and the Civil Aviation Ministry both want to implement a new entry system for airports using a uniform identity. The CISF is pressing for implementation of biometric system for travellers to enter airports and the concept of DigiYatra.

The passenger would be asked to either create or use the unique identity at the time of the booking of the ticket. Officials say this method would be optional, as would be the choice of which ID the passenger wants to use, including Aadhaar.

Officials are also mulling the use of barcodes or QR codes to authenticate tickets and verify the identities of the individuals presenting them at the gates to the terminals.

However, with the programme not rolled out yet, it remains to be see what methods the CISF and other security agencies are likely to use.

Read More