No 'middlemen' required for lounges, says Adani Airport CEO
The Adani Group currently operates the airports in Mumbai, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Mangaluru, Guwahati, Jaipur, and Thiruvananthapuram. It is also building the Navi Mumbai International Airport.
'Passengers across India can now access lounges directly through our platform in partnership with other lounge operators. This means no intermediaries – only seamless, a world class experience delivered directly to our consumers,' Adani Airport Holdings's chief executive Arun Bansal said on LinkedIn.
Bansal added that India is at the global forefront of digital innovation. 'UPl has transformed the lives of a billion Indians, revolutionising how we transact every day and accelerating our journey to becoming the third largest economy in the world. This fintech revolution has eliminated the need for middlemen across sectors, just as companies like Airbnb and Uber did several years ago.'
'We have now brought the same spirit of innovation to our own ecosystem, led by our outstanding Digital Lab team.'
Adani Airport's move to cut middlemen and increase accessibility of lounge services comes days after Dreamfolks Services CEO and Chairperson Liberatha Peter Kallat criticised two major Indian airport operators for using pressuring tactics to disrupt her company's business. Dreamfolks Services commands 90% market share in India's domestic lounge access market for debit and credit card programs, as per the company's website.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
15 minutes ago
- NDTV
Aviation Watchdog Warned Air India Express About Delay On Airbus Engine Fix, Forging Records: Report
India's aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India's budget carrier, Air India Express a subsidiary of Air India, in March for not timely changing engine parts of an Airbus A320 as directed by European Union's aviation safety agency, and falsifying records to show compliance, a government memo showed. In a statement, Air India Express told Reuters it acknowledged the error to the Indian watchdog and undertook "remedial action and preventive measures". Air India has been under intense scrutiny since the June Boeing Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad which killed all but one of the 242 people onboard. The world's worst aviation disaster in a decade is still being investigated. The engine issue in the Air India Express' Airbus was raised on March 18, months before the crash. But the regulator has this year also warned parent Air India for breaching rules for flying three Airbus planes with overdue checks on escape slides, and in June warned it about "serious violations" of pilot duty timings. Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group. It has more than 115 aircraft and flies to more than 50 destinations, with 500 daily flights. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2023 issued an airworthiness directive to address a "potential unsafe condition" on CFM International LEAP-1A engines, asking for replacement of some components such as engine seals and rotating parts, saying some manufacturing deficiencies had been found. The agency's directive said "this condition, if not corrected, could lead to failure of affected parts, possibly resulting in high energy debris release, with consequent damage to, and reduced control of, the aeroplane." The Indian government's confidential memo in March sent to the airline, seen by Reuters, said that surveillance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed the parts modification "was not complied" on an engine of an Airbus A320 "within the prescribed time limit". "In order to show that the work has been carried out within the prescribed limits, the AMOS records have apparently been altered/forged," the memo added, referring to the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Operating System software used by airlines to manage maintenance and airworthiness. The "mandatory" modification was required on Air India Express' VT-ATD plane, the memo added. That plane typically flies on domestic routes and some international destinations such as Dubai and Muscat, according to the AirNav Radar website. The lapse "indicates that accountable manager has failed to ensure quality control," it added/ Air India Express told Reuters its technical team missed the scheduled implementation date for parts replacement due to the migration of records on its monitoring software, and fixed the problem soon after it was identified. It did not give dates of compliance or directly address DGCA's comment about records being altered, but said that after the March memo it took "necessary administrative actions", which included removing the quality manager from their position and suspending the deputy continuing airworthiness manager. The DGCA and the European safety agency did not respond to Reuters queries. Airbus and CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric and Safran, also did not respond. The lapse was first flagged during a DGCA audit in October 2024 and the plane in question took only a few trips after it was supposed to replace the CFM engine parts, a source with direct knowledge said. "Such issues should be fixed immediately. It's a grave mistake. The risk increases when you are flying over sea or near restricted airpsace," said Vibhuti Singh, a former legal expert at the India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. The Indian government told parliament in February that authorities warned or fined airlines in 23 instances for safety violations last year. Three of those cases involved Air India Express, and eight Air India.
India Today
18 minutes ago
- India Today
Lhamo La-tso: The sacred Tibetan 'life spirit' lake connected to Goddess Kali
Lhamo La-tso, revered in Tibetan tradition older than Buddhism, is believed to be the sacred home of the 'life-spirit' that embodies the soul of individuals and families. This lake, guarded by the goddess Pelden Lhamo, symbolises the lifeforce of Tibet, where any harm to it foretells disaster and suffering for the people connected to this spiritual Keith Dowman writes in his book 'The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide', it is the Tibetan belief, older than Buddhism, that every individual, every family and an entire country, possesses a life spirit, called a la. This la is embodied in natural phenomena, such as mountains, lakes, trees and so the place of residence of the la is damaged, the individual, family or the nation suffers directly. Thus, when a lake, that is, the home of a la dries up, this omen of death or disaster can inflict the terrible result that is presaged. The "life spirit" of Tibet is identified with Lhamo La-tso (The life-spirit-lake of the goddess), and the goddess is Pelden Lhamo, the Protectress of Tibet, also identified with the Indian goddess OF LHAMO LA-TSO Pilgrimages to Lhamo La-tso are undertaken by Dalai Lamas and regents to seek visions of future events, including details about reincarnations. Situated 5,300 metres above sea level, the lake is part of a significant pilgrimage route featuring temples, prayer flags and breathtaking landscapes. Today, it remains a vital spiritual destination for Tibetans seeking insight into the region's future and personal writes that the specific form of Pelden Lhamo at the sacred lake is Gyelmo Maksorma, and "the victorious one who turns back enemies". "Hence, the lake is also known as Pelden Lhamo Kalidevi, indicating that Pelden Lhamo is none other than Goddess Kali, the shakti (strength) of Lord Shiva's destructive mode. She is also known as Remati," he of the Dalai Lamas make at least one pilgrimage to Lhamo La-tso, usually after completing their geshe (a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks and nuns) examination and before assuming their functions in the political sphere, to foresee the events of their careers and the manner of their powers of the lake also provide detailed knowledge of the place and nature of the Dalai Lama's reincarnation, and Lhamo La-tso was visited by the Regent, whose task it was to search for the infant reincarnation. Even today, pilgrims from all over Tibet visit the lake to gain information about the future of the region and their fortunes.A SPIRITUAL JOURNEYThe pilgrimage to Lhamo La-tso, beginning at Chokorgyel near Chamsing mountain, is a spiritually significant journey through striking natural landscapes. After a three-to four-hour trek past the vivid red Lhamonying mountain, pilgrims reach the glacier-fed Yoni Lake, renowned for its diamond shape and sacred 5,300 metres, the ridge above the lake, known as the Dalai Lama's throne, was historically used for divination. Despite challenging terrain, pilgrims perform a korra, a circumambulation around the lake. The route connects to other sacred sites, including Daklha Gampo and Demchok Tso, enriching Tibet's profound spiritual says "the path to Lhamo La-tso leaves Chokorgyel on the northern side of the Chamsing mountain, turning north at the base of the red mountain called Lhamonying, which remains as a pregnant vision behind the pilgrim as one walks for three or four hours up the valley to the north"."Halfway along the route is Yoni Lake, a diamond-shaped pond fed by glaciers. At the top of the valley is a sharp cragged ridge upon which is built the Dalai Lama's throne, and from this eminence the divine rulers of Tibet once sat to gaze into the lake 150 metres below, and a kilometre in front, to divine the future," he was a temple dedicated to Maksorma at the eastern end of the lake and its site is now marked by prayer flags and pilgrims' offerings. The ridge upon which the throne is built is above the snowline for most of the stream that drains the lake is an effluent of the Nye Chu. The Nye Valley, passing Daklha Gampo, descends to Tsangpo, which can be reached in three days from Lhamo La-tso.A six-to eight-day korra in Dakpo, beginning and ending at Daklha Gampo, includes Lhamo La-tso, a lake sacred to Demchok called Demchok Tso, and twenty-one peaks and lakes belonging to the twenty-one forms of Drolma. One of these lakes lies just below the Gyelong La on its western side, Dowman says.- Ends
India Today
18 minutes ago
- India Today
Socialist Mamdani faces backlash over mother Mira Nair's $2-million house
With only four months remaining until New York City elects its new mayor, the race is hotting up. While at least three other candidates are in the fray, Zohran Mamdani, born to parents Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, both of whom have Indian roots, is under particular scrutiny due to his socialist stance, which many deem "radical". Now, critics are pointing to Mamdani and his family's wealth to point out that the politician is too privileged to harp on the latest instance, The New York Post reported that his socialist stance has come under public notice, drawing attention to both his policy proposals and family background. Mamdani's mother, Mira Nair, is an award-winning Indian-American filmmaker, and his father is a renowned author and a professor at Columbia including MAGA activists like Laura Loomer and Meghan McCain, have labelled him a "nepo baby", pointing to his elite education and family wealth, with posts on X estimating his parents' net worth between $2 million and $10 million. The 33-year-old Democratic socialist and New York State Assembly member from Astoria, is a prominent contender in the 2025 New York City mayoral race, and has been in the limelight for advocating for sweeping changes to address economic inequality in the city. Among his radical plans is a hefty tax on the candidacy could mark a milestone: he could be New York City's first Muslim mayor, and one who has roots in PRIVILEGED IS MAMDANI?The scrutiny surrounding Mamdani's socialist stance stems from his privileged background, which critics argue undercuts his working-class mother, acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair, known for films like Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake, owned a high-end loft at 420 W. 25th St. in Manhattan's West Chelsea from 2008 to 2019, purchased for $1.375 million and sold for $1.45 million, with a current estimated value of $1.9 million, according to realestate firm loft, featuring 12-foot ceilings, a Schiffini-designed kitchen, and a spa-like en-suite bathroom, contrasts with Mamdani's narrative of advocating for the economically disadvantaged, his critics Mamdani owns a 4-acre plot in Uganda, valued at $150,000-$250,000, acquired in 2012, according to his 2024 New York Legislative Ethics Commission perception challenges his authenticity as a socialist advocating for wealth PRIVILEGED UPBRINGING NOW IN FOCUSMamdani's socialist principles may invite scepticism due to the tension between his personal circumstances and his public family's wealth and property ownership, particularly in a high-value Manhattan neighbourhood, could be seen as contradictory to his calls for taxing the rich, prompting accusations of argue that his privileged upbringing, marked by elite schooling and a culturally prominent family, distances him from the working-class struggles he his radical policies, such as fare-free buses and city-run grocery stores, have been criticised as unrealistic by both moderates and conservatives, who view them as pandering to progressive voters rather than offering practical disconnect fuels doubts about whether Mamdani's socialism is a genuine commitment or a strategic political these criticisms, Mamdani's campaign has resonated with younger, progressive, and immigrant communities, particularly New York City's Muslim population, which exceeds 350,000 registered viral social media presence has amplified his message of affordability and who lives in a rent-stabilised one-bedroom apartment in Queens (estimated rent: $2,500/month), positions himself as a champion of the working class, distancing his personal lifestyle from his family's campaign's success, raising $8 million with significant public matching funds, underscores his grassroots ARE MAMDANI'S SOCIALIST PROPOSALS?Mamdani has proposed rent freezes, affordable housing, and a property tax overhaul to shift burdens from lower-income outer-borough homeowners to wealthier Manhattan campaign focusses on rectifying the city's skewed property tax system, which he argues unfairly benefits owners of high-value properties in affluent proposal seeks to lower taxes for homeowners in neighbourhoods like Jamaica and Brownsville while increasing rates for upscale properties, such as those in Manhattan's wealthiest also champions freezing rents on stabilised units and building 200,000 units of publicly owned housing over the next decade, funded by taxing the rich and Mamdani rode his popularity and promises to emerge as the democratic candidate for the NYC mayoral election, he faces a major challenge as his privileged upbringing and his family's wealth are being used to label him a "hypocrite".- Ends
