India regulator orders inspection of Boeing 787s

Members of Indian Army's engineering arm prepare to remove the wreckage of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from an airport in Ahmedabad, India June 14, 2025. (REUTERS)
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Updated 15 June 2025
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India regulator orders inspection of Boeing 787s

  • The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Britain’s Gatwick Airport began losing height seconds after take-off on Thursday and erupted in a fireball as it hit buildings below, in what has been the world’s worst aviation disaster in a

AHMEDABAD: India’s aviation regulator has ordered all Boeing 787s being operated by local carriers to be inspected after an Air India crash killed 270 people this week, the aviation minister said on Saturday, adding the authorities were investigating all possible causes.

The aviation regulator on Friday ordered Air India to conduct additional maintenance checks on its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines, including assessments of certain take-off parameters, electronic engine control tests, and engine fuel-related checks.

“We have also given the order to do the extended surveillance of the 787 planes. There are 34 in our Indian fleet,” Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told a media briefing in New Delhi.

“Eight have already been inspected, and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done.”

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Britain’s Gatwick Airport began losing height seconds after take-off on Thursday and erupted in a fireball as it hit buildings below, in what has been the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.

Air India operates 33 Boeing 787s, while rival airline IndiGo has one, according to data from Flightradar24.

In a statement, Air India said it is currently completing the one-time safety checks directed by the Indian regulator, adding that “some of these checks could lead to higher turnaround time and potential delays on certain long-haul routes.”

The planes, however, have not been grounded, but a source on Friday said the Indian government was considering that as an option.

Naidu also said the government will look at all possible theories of what led to the crash.

Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash, including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down, Reuters has reported.

At least 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash, said Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors Association at B.J. Medical College.

Only one of the 242 passengers and crew on board survived, while others were killed as the plane struck the medical college’s hostel as it came down.

The crisis has cast a shadow on Air India, which has for years struggled to rebuild its reputation and revamp its fleet after the Tata Group took over the airline from the Indian government in 2022. Tata’s chairman said on Friday the group wants to understand what happened, but “we don’t know right now.”

Naidu said a government panel was investigating the crash and will issue a report within three months.

“We are going to improve every necessary thing that is going to come our way, to improve the safety,” he said at the briefing, declining questions from journalists.

Dozens of anxious family members have been waiting outside an Ahmedabad hospital to collect the bodies of loved ones killed in the crash, as doctors were working overtime to gather dental samples from the deceased to run identification checks and DNA profiling.

Rafiq Abdul Hafiz Memon, who lost four relatives in the incident, said he was not getting any answers from authorities and was “very hassled.”

“We have lost our children ... we are not understanding anything. Please help us get information about our children. Tell us when they are going to release their bodies,” Memon said.

Another father was upset about not being able to get the body of his son, Harshad Patel, saying he was told by authorities it would take 72 hours for DNA profiling.

“The authorities are trying to help, but our patience is running out,” he said.

Most bodies in the crash were badly charred, and authorities are using dental samples to run identification checks.

Jaishankar Pillai, a forensic dentist, told reporters on Friday that they had the dental records of 135 charred victims, which can then be matched through reference to victims’ prior dental charts, radiographs, or other records.

Even for doctors, things are getting difficult, as the plane struck a hostel building of the B.J. Medical College, where many of the dead are undergoing identification checks.

“Most of us are struggling with our emotions and are mentally disturbed because of the loss of friends and colleagues,” said one doctor who did not wish to be named.

“The loss of so many colleagues and friends in this incident is difficult.”


Air India crash: Pilot groups push back against human error narrative

Updated 6 sec ago
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Air India crash: Pilot groups push back against human error narrative

  • Initial probe finds aircraft’s engine fuel switches were turned off, but does not specify by whom
  • Pilots reject report as ‘inconclusive,’ say it leads media and public to ‘jump to conclusions’

NEW DELHI: Associations of Indian pilots are rejecting claims that last month’s Air India plane crash that killed 260 people was due to human error, after a preliminary investigation sparked speculation implicating the flight crew.

The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in the western Indian state of Gujarat on June 12.

A report released over the weekend by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said that seconds after take-off, both of the plane’s fuel-control switches moved to the position stopping fuel from the engines.

It did not specify who turned off the switches, only citing the cockpit voice recording, in which “one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he cut off,” while “the other pilot responded that he did not do so.”

The Indian Commercial Pilots Association and the Airline Pilots’ Association of India have issued statements after the release of the initial findings — and the first media and online reactions to it — rejecting speculative narratives and presumptions over the guilt of the pilots.

Capt. Kishore Chinta, an ALPA member and accident investigator, told Arab News that both associations have “raised red flags on the selective release of information” by the AAIB, which has “left the scope of ambiguity for people to jump to conclusions” and for the media to spin narratives.

“We are left defending those pilots who are not there to defend themselves,” he said. “The Western media has been painting them as if they actually committed suicide-murder.”

The London-bound flight was carrying 242 people — 230 passengers, two pilots and 10 crew members. Only one person, sitting in an emergency exit seat, survived the crash. Another 18 people were killed on the ground as the aircraft fell on a B. J. Medical College and hostel for students and resident doctors of the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.

Investigators at the crash site recovered both components of the black box — the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, days after the crash. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said at the time that the final report was expected within three months.

The early release of preliminary findings has shaken the Indian aviation community, for which it was unacceptable that experienced pilots who have flown thousands of hours would have turned off the fuel supply.

“Definitely a malfunction caused the disaster — poor maintenance or a hardware/software glitch,” said Sandeep Jain, an Indian aviator based in the US.

“Dead pilots are always the easiest target. They don’t bite back. No litigation, no shareholder value erosion.”

The Federation of Indian Pilots is planning to raise the consequences of the preliminary report with the government.

“We will be taking it up with the government no doubt. We will not let it go quietly. The report should not be open-ended,” Capt. C.S. Randhawa, the federation’s president, told Arab News.

“It is inconclusive. So many things are not answered properly. The report does not say that the pilots have moved the fuel control switches, that is why it is inconclusive, and it is leading to speculations.”


Ukraine’s prime minister Shmyhal resigns

Updated 47 min 20 sec ago
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Ukraine’s prime minister Shmyhal resigns

  • Zelensky nominated First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko for the post

KYIV: Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday he had filed a resignation letter, as a part of a major governmental reshuffle expected this week.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday nominated First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko for the post.


Philippines to strengthen migrant workers’ protection in labor deal with Oman

Updated 46 min 13 sec ago
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Philippines to strengthen migrant workers’ protection in labor deal with Oman

  • Philippines, Oman plan to sign new MoU on labor cooperation in January
  • Muscat also wants to boost ties beyond labor, explore business opportunities

MANILA: The Philippines is strengthening labor cooperation with Oman to protect the rights and welfare of Filipino workers, its Department of Migrant Workers said following a meeting with the Omani labor minister in Manila.

The majority of over 2 million overseas Filipinos live and work in Gulf countries. 

While most are based in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, some 50,000 are in Oman, contributing over $340 million in annual remittance inflows to the Philippines. 

Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi and Labor Minister Mahad bin Said Ba’awin were in the Philippines earlier this week to discuss ways to further relations.  

In a meeting with Philippine Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac on Monday, they held talks over a new agreement on labor cooperation. 

“A key highlight of the meeting was the pending Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Labor Cooperation, set to be signed by January 2026,” the department said in a statement. 

“The MOU establishes safeguards for Filipino workers through ethical recruitment standards, fair employment terms, joint dispute resolution mechanisms, and regular monitoring through a bilateral Joint Committee.” 

According to the DMW, Oman is “actively seeking Filipino domestic workers technicians, port staff, and other skilled professionals,” which could mean new employment pathways for Filipino migrant workers who are qualified. 

The Philippines is also seeking to incorporate technology to streamline recruitment and deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Oman. 

“By forging digital partnerships with host countries like Oman, we can make recruitment faster, more transparent, and more worker-friendly. Tech solutions can ensure every step is secure, accountable, and focused on protecting OFWs,” Cacdac said.

While labor relations have been a key aspect of Philippine-Omani ties, the Gulf state is now seeking to also explore business and investment opportunities with Manila. 

“For many decades, Oman has been a popular destination for overseas Filipino workers, who have found not just employment but a second home in our country,” Al-Busaidi said at the inaugural Oman-Cebu Investment Forum over the weekend. 

“Beyond the labor relations that have long defined our relations, we now open our arms to the business communities and investors of both our nations.”

A “new chapter” of Philippine-Oman relations is possible thanks to the connections created by Filipino migrant workers, he added, while urging Philippine and Omani businesses to collaborate. 

“Together, we can craft a future where the thousands of people to people connections created by the overseas Filipino workers can serve as a foundation for a flourishing economic partnership, and a new era of mutual investment,” Al-Busaidi said. 

“I invite you all to seize this opportunity and make it a beautiful and rewarding new chapter in the story of Oman and the Philippines.”


UK says thousands of Afghans brought to Britain under secret resettlement program

Updated 15 July 2025
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UK says thousands of Afghans brought to Britain under secret resettlement program

  • The government now plans to close the secret route
  • About 36,000 more Afghans have been relocated to the UK under other resettlement routes

LONDON: Thousands of Afghans including many who worked with British forces have been secretly resettled in the UK after a leak of data on their identities raised fears that they could be targeted by the Taliban, the British government revealed Tuesday.

The government now plans to close the secret route.

Defense Secretary John Healey said a dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to come to Britain after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was released in error in 2022, and extracts were later published online.

That prompted the then-Conservative government to set up a secret program to resettle the Afghans. The government obtained a court order known as a superinjunction that barred anyone from revealing its existence.

The injunction was lifted on Tuesday in conjunction with a decision by Britain’s current Labour Party government to make the program public. It said an independent review had found little evidence that the leaked data would expose Afghans to greater risk of retribution from the Taliban.

“I have felt deeply concerned about the lack of transparency to Parliament and the public,” Healey told lawmakers in the House of Commons.

About 4,500 people – 900 applicants and approximately 3,600 family members — have been brought to Britain under the secret program, and about 6,900 people are expected to be relocated by the time it closes, at a total cost of 850 million pounds ($1.1 billion).

About 36,000 more Afghans have been relocated to the UK under other resettlement routes.

British troops were sent to Afghanistan as part of a deployment against Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. At the peak of the operation there were almost 10,000 British troops in the country, mostly in Helmand province in the south. Britain ended combat operations in 2014.


‘Existential hour’ for Palestine at 30-country conference in Colombia

Updated 15 July 2025
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‘Existential hour’ for Palestine at 30-country conference in Colombia

  • UN special rapporteur: ‘The time has come to act in pursuit of justice and peace’
  • Participants will lay groundwork for implementing UNGA motion calling for end to occupation

LONDON: A 30-country conference aimed at ending Israel’s occupation of Palestine is one of the most significant political developments of the past 20 months, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has said.

The two-day event starts on Tuesday in the Colombian capital Bogota, and will be attended by representatives from countries including China, Spain and Qatar.

Albanese will announce that the conference comes at “an existential hour,” The Guardian reported on Tuesday.

Participating countries will use the event to lay the groundwork for implementing a UN General Assembly motion calling on member states to pressure Israel into ending its illegal occupation of Palestine.

The motion included a deadline of September for putting into action the International Court of Justice’s 2024 opinion that found Israel’s occupation of Palestine to be unlawful.

The court’s advisory opinion last July called on Israel to end its occupation “as rapidly as possible.”

UN member states also have an obligation “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory,” it found.

Conference host Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s president, said the meeting will demonstrate a global will to move from condemnation to collective action against Israel.

In an article for The Guardian last week, he said: “We can either stand firm in defense of the legal principles that seek to prevent war and conflict, or watch helplessly as the international system collapses under the weight of unchecked power politics.”

The Hague Group behind the conference was initially established by Colombia and South Africa, but now includes Spain, Qatar, Indonesia, Algeria and Brazil.

The group met in January at a nine-country conference and agreed to implement the ICJ’s provisional measures.

Albanese will tell the Bogota meeting: “For too long, international law has been treated as optional — applied selectively to those perceived as weak, ignored by those acting as the powerful. This double standard has eroded the very foundations of the legal order. That era must end.

“The world will remember what we, states and individuals, did in this moment — whether we recoiled in fear or rose in defense of human dignity.

“Here in Bogota, a growing number of states have the opportunity to break the silence and revert to a path of legality by finally saying: enough. Enough impunity. Enough empty rhetoric. Enough exceptionalism. Enough complicity.

“The time has come to act in pursuit of justice and peace — grounded in rights and freedoms for all, and not mere privileges for some, at the expense of the annihilation of others.”