https://www.scmp.com/rss/522979/feed Shukor Yusof: He is the founder and primary analyst at Endau Analytics, an aviation consultancy based in Singapore and Malaysia. He has over two decades of experience, having previously worked as a Standard & Poor’s analyst and a correspondent covering aircraft and airport financing. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Julia had a plan: spring break, Kuala Lumpur’s skyline, then a long-overdue reunion in the jungles of Sarawak. What she got instead was a travel booking screen showing €3,000 (US$3,440) flights and a cascade of cancellation alerts. “I just can’t afford that,” the 22-year-old Romanian told This Week in Asia. Her original Emirates itinerary had her transiting through Dubai or Abu Dhabi, but the US-Israel war on Iran upended her plans after the carrier warned of disruptions and two-week... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3347358/visit-malaysia-2026-meets-iran-war-crisis-it-never-planned?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3347358/visit-malaysia-2026-meets-iran-war-crisis-it-never-planned?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:08 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji Airspace closures across the Middle East have left tens of thousands of travellers stranded and forced airlines to divert routes, threatening to derail the fragile recovery in Asia’s tourism and aviation sectors, as the conflict involving the US and Israel against Iran continues to escalate. Major transit hubs, including Dubai and Doha, remain shut or are operating at reduced capacity for a third straight day, upending Europe–Asia connections that depend heavily on Gulf airspace. Airlines are... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3345150/asias-travel-sector-rattled-iran-attacks-fears-domino-effect-slowdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3345150/asias-travel-sector-rattled-iran-attacks-fears-domino-effect-slowdown?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 09:53:17 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India’s largest airline is experiencing its toughest crisis in years after cancelling thousands of flights amid a severe pilot shortage – a result of its failure to hire enough staff to meet new government rules designed to combat pilot fatigue. Analysts say the turmoil at IndiGo highlights the structural challenges faced by a fast-growing aviation market currently dominated by just two carriers. About 3,000 IndiGo flights were cancelled last week, including more than 1,000 on Friday, accounting... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3335742/indigo-flight-chaos-exposes-risks-indias-aviation-duopoly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3335742/indigo-flight-chaos-exposes-risks-indias-aviation-duopoly?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 04:00:09 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji An initial probe into last month’s deadly Air India crash has raised alarm among pilot groups, who warn that preliminary findings hinting at human error are premature and risk unfairly blaming the flight crew before the investigation is complete. A report by India’s Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), released on Friday, found that fuel supply to the aircraft’s engines was abruptly cut off just after take-off on June 12, moments before the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a college... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3318149/was-pilot-error-blame-air-india-crash-groups-urge-transparency-amid-bias-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3318149/was-pilot-error-blame-air-india-crash-groups-urge-transparency-amid-bias-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jul 2025 09:20:33 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji When nearly 300 lives were lost in a fiery crash outside Ahmedabad earlier this month, the future of Air India – and faith in Indian aviation itself – was thrown into turmoil. Now, Tata Group’s chairman has assumed direct command of the embattled airline’s day-to-day operations, determined to chart a path out of the crisis following one of modern aviation’s deadliest disasters. On June 17, just five days after the crash, Natarajan Chandrasekaran stood before 700 sombre Air India employees in New... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3316135/tata-takes-helm-air-indias-fight-rebuild-trust-after-deadly-crash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3316135/tata-takes-helm-air-indias-fight-rebuild-trust-after-deadly-crash?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Jun 2025 07:30:08 +0000