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Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

AI’s Maharaja smiles joyfully

All 30 grounded aircrafts now fly Mumbai : Air India’s Maharaja is all pleased as punch at 80. After years of huge costs and efforts, the last of the grounded 30 aircraft – inherited by the Tata Group during the privatization in Jan. 2022 – is now resurrected fully and took to the skies gracefully on Monday.   The aircraft is the gleaming VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER, that was gathering grime since February 2020, and becomes the final among the two-and-half dozen aircraft that have been revved...

AI’s Maharaja smiles joyfully

All 30 grounded aircrafts now fly Mumbai : Air India’s Maharaja is all pleased as punch at 80. After years of huge costs and efforts, the last of the grounded 30 aircraft – inherited by the Tata Group during the privatization in Jan. 2022 – is now resurrected fully and took to the skies gracefully on Monday.   The aircraft is the gleaming VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER, that was gathering grime since February 2020, and becomes the final among the two-and-half dozen aircraft that have been revved up and revived in the past few years, AI official sources said.   It marked a symbolic milestone for Air India itself - founded in 1932 by the legendary Bharat Ratna J. R. R. Tata - which once ruled the roost and was India’s pride in the global skies.   Once renowned for its royal service with the iconic Maharaja welcoming fliers on board, in 1953 it was taken over by the government of India. After years of piling losses, ageing aircraft, decline in operations and standards – almost like a Maharaja turning a pauper - it returned to the Tata Group four years ago.   This time it was not just the aircraft, the brand and the deflated Maharaja coming into the large-hearted Tata Group stables, but a formidable challenge to ensure that the airline could regain its old glory and glitter. Of the total around 190 aircraft in its fleet were 30 – or 15 pc – that had been grounded and neglected for years.   At that time, the late Ratan N. Tata had directed that all these valuable aircraft must be revived as far as possible and join the fleet. Accordingly, the VT-ALL, languishing at Nagpur for nearly five years, was ‘hospitalized’ at the Air India Engineering Service Ltd., its MRO facility in May 2025.   New Avatar Then started a thorough, painstaking nose-to-tail restoration of an unprecedented scale, in which over 3000 critical components were replaced, over 4,000 maintenance tasks executed, besides key structural upgrades like the longeron modification, engines, auxiliary power units, avionics, hydraulics, landing gears and almost every vital system was rebuilt or replaced.   After the repairs, the old aircraft was reborn, under the gaze of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and technical assistance from Boeing, and the new ‘avatar’ jetliner emerged with the highest global safety standards.   The aircraft cleared all the rigorous checks, a successful test flight, earned the mandatory Airworthiness Review Certificate and then made its maiden commercial flight from Monday, March 16 – after a wait of six years.   Sturdy Fliers Created in 1946 to become an instant global icon, the Air India’s mascot Maharaja now sports a youthful and chic look, a welcome with folded hands, closed eyes, featuring a bejewelled turban, stylish jootis, and a textured kurta in Air India’s new colours. He is prominently visible at various touch-points in a flyer’s journey, such as First Class, exclusive lounges, and luxury products.   Today, he commands a mix fleet of around 190 narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft like : A319, A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo, A350-900 and B787-8, B787-9, B7770200LR, B-777-300ER. With the merger of Vistara and agreements signed for 10 A350 and 90 A320 aircraft, the Maharaja’s fleet is slated to soar to some 570 in the near future.

Bomb-like object recovered in Jaisalmer

  • PTI
  • May 9, 2025
  • 2 min read

Jaipur: A bomb-like object was found in the Kishanghat area of Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district on Friday morning, prompting swift action by the local police and air force.


According to the police, the object was found near a nursery in the colony of the Jogis, located in front of Kishanghat under Kotwali police station area. The area has been cordoned off as a precautionary measure.


Kotwali SHO Prem Daan said it seems to be a bomb-like object. Experts from the army are on their way Kishanghat to defuse it. "It it currently not known if it is live or damaged."


Arjun Nath, a local, spotted the object and immediately informed Kishanghat Sarpanch representative Kalyan Ram, who then alerted authorities. Following this, teams from the local police and the Indian Air Force arrived at the scene, they said.


The object resembled parts of a drone that was launched by Pakistan on Jaisalmer on Thursday night around 10.30 pm.


On Thursday evening, the sound of massive explosions rocked Jaisalmer and a blackout was enforced in western Rajasthan districts bordering Pakistan, plunging the whole stretch into darkness, police said.


A top official confirmed a massive sound was heard in Jaisalmer. After a brief lull, the sound of explosions continued for nearly an hour.


Metal debris found in Bathinda, Hoshiarpur

Hoshiarpur/Bathinda: Debris resembling parts of a missile was found in a field in Hoshiarpur, while metal parts of some unidentified objects were discovered at two locations in Bathinda, officials said on Friday.


Some villagers in Bathinda also claimed they heard loud explosions and saw lights flashing in the sky on Thursday night, triggering panic in the area.


In Hoshiarpur, metal debris resembling parts of a missile was found on Thursday evening, SP (Investigation) Mukesh Kumar said.


Acting promptly, police informed the Indian Air Force (IAF) after cordoning off the area. A team from the IAF soon reached at the site and conducted a preliminary inspection, the SP said.


In Bathinda, debris of an unidentified object was found in a field in Tungwali village on Friday.


"Some objects fell on the field (on Thursday night) followed by a loud explosion, which damaged the windows, doors and a cattle shed of a nearby house," a villager said.


Another villager said a three-foot deep crater was created after the objects fell on the field.

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