MUMBAI: Loss-making national carrier Air India plans to mop up Rs 700-800 crore by selling over 70 residential and commercial properties spread across the country, a senior airline official said Thursday.

This fresh bid is a part of the airline's real estate assets monetisation plan approved by the then UPA government in 2012.

Air India on Sunday grounded its chief of operations Captain AK Kathpalia after he allegedly failed to clear pre-flight alcohol test. Kathpalia was to operate the airline’s London-New Delhi flight on Sunday afternoon.

Sources said that Air India had to call another pilot to replace him and operate the flight (AI-111) which departed after a delay of 55 minutes, causing inconvenience to passengers.

More than 30 flights operating through the Mumbai airport were delayed by 2-6 hours after about 400 employees of Air India’s ground handling unit struck work since Wednesday night.

Flights were delayed between 11 pm Wednesday and 12 pm Thursday, said multiple people aware of the situation. There were, however, no cancellations, they said.

New Delhi: Due to a strike by transport workers of Air India, several flights from Mumbai’s Chattrapathi Shivaji International Airport have been delayed, according to a report. The contractual ground staff of Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL) at Mumbai airport are on a strike since last night to protest against sacking of some workers.

State-owned Air India Saturday announced the launch of red-eye flights to some of the domestic destinations, including Goa, starting next month end.

A red-eye flight departs generally late at night and arrives early morning. Because of their low fares, these flights are quite popular abroad, especially in the US and Europe.

Air India’s market share plunged to an all-time low of 11.8% in September even as the government-owned carrier grapples with a financial crunch, reports Arun Nayal in New Delhi. In January 2014, the carrier commanded a share of 19.8%. Although the domestic passenger market is growing at robust pace, the near-bankrupt Air India has slipped to the number four position behind low-cost carrier Spicejet, which repo-rted a 12% market share.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines and the acquisition of 111 aircraft for alleged money-laundering during the UPA-1 era, The Indian Express reported on Saturday. The ED probe has come more than a year after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began investigating the deals.

Financially-stressed full-service airlines in the country are slashing their sales and distribution costs by renegotiating contracts, but such measures could compromise their market reach.

On Sunday, state-owned Air India selected UK-based Travelport as its exclusive ticket-distribution service provider in the country.

A 53-year-old air hostess suffered serious injuries after falling off an Air India aircraft which was getting ready for departure for New Delhi from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here, a source said on Monday.

The incident happened on Air India flight AI 864 operating on Mumbai-Delhi route, according to the airline source.

MUMBAI: A Dubai-bound Air India Express Boeing 737 aircraft was diverted to Mumbai for an emergency landing hours after it was discovered that the underside of the plane had been badly scraped when it hit the airport compound wall while taking off from Trichy.

Although the plane was damaged and the wall broke when the wheels of the aircraft rammed into it during take-off, the pilot continued to operate the plane saying the systems were operating normally.

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