Serbian investigators are reportedly probing an extraordinary accident in which Embraer 195 became airborne despite being badly damaged on take-off when it collided with navigation aid structures. State-owned television station RTS quotes Air Serbia as saying that the aircraft was operating flight JU324 from Belgrade to Dusseldorf on 18 February, but returned to Belgrade for “technical reasons”. But images circulating on social media, purportedly showing the aircraft involved, reveal substantial damage to the left-hand fuselage and wing root as well as the left horizontal stabiliser. Bosnian public broadcaster RTRS says the aircraft was operated by Greek carrier Marathon Airlines, on behalf of Air Serbia. It reports that the aircraft struck lighting infrastructure at the end of the runway.<br/>
unaligned
At least two planes from Israel's El Al Airlines suffered hacking attempts from "hostile elements," according to several Israeli news outlets. Both planes landed as planned, according to Mako, an independent Israeli news outlet. No group has claimed responsibility for the reported hacking attempts. Mako, part of the Keshet Media Group, wrote that senior El Al officials reported that the incidents took place over the Somali region and had nothing to do with Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which is receiving growing criticism from the international community for the mounting death toll among civilians. The Jerusalem Post reported that "hostile elements" tried to take over the communications network of an El Al plane flying from Phuket, Thailand, to Ben-Gurion airport in Israel on Saturday night. Hackers tried to divert the plane from its destination, giving crew members different directions, but the crew quickly changed means of communication and did not change the flight's route, the newspaper wrote. The plane to Thailand left on Sunday, while the other plane was returning to Israel today. The point of departure of the second plane was not specified.<br/>
AirAsia is looking to boost connectivity between Singapore and India, with passengers transiting at its hubs in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. At a media briefing in Singapore, the carrier launched is ‘fly-thru’ service for passengers travelling between the two countries, taking advantage of the AirAsia’s growing network on the subcontinent. AirAsia’s Singapore country manager V. Loganathan observes that AirAsia is the biggest non-Singapore carrier operating at Changi airport, with a flight every 2h to KL, and every 3-4h to Bangkok. Meanwhile, the low-cost carrier has greatly expanded its India network, particularly during the period when China was largely closed to international air travel during the coronavirus pandemic. From KL and Bangkok AirAsia serves 15 cities, including major destinations such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and New Delhi. Given the performance capabilities of AirAsia’s Airbus fleet, Logan says that flights through KL tend to focus on southern Indian cities, while flights through Bangkok Don Mueang tend to focus on northern Indian cities. The frequencies from Singapore to both Southeast Asian cities means that passengers can usually get on their connecting flight in 2h. Loganathan says that the connection is pitched to passengers who are price sensitive, but not time sensitive.<br/>