Video: Behind the scenes at Finnair's network control centre

Finnair has always marketed itself as an airline offering fast connections. In India they target the India to US traffic, while from the far and near east they offer fast connectivity in to Europe. To achieve this, the airline needs a state of the art network control centre (NCC) that monitors developments across the world that may affect flight operations, both within the airline and external factors. Below are two videos that offer a brief glimpse of the many people who work behind the scenes to ensure smooth and trouble-free operations.

As with any connection based airline, Finnair needs to have all its flights landing and departing in a fixed time frame to ensure passengers can change their flights and connect. The second video shows how the Finnair NCC works through the night to handle the 'rush hour' traffic of the early morning at its hub and home airport in Helsinki.

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Indian Government expands visa on arrival scheme to 11 countries

The Indian Government is expanding its Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVOA) scheme, first introduced in 2010 to the nationals of 11 countries, Japan, Singapore, Philippines, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia. The TVOA facility is only available for arrivals at the four metro airports, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

The government has also expanded the purpose of visit from tourism and visiting friends and relatives (VFR) to include business and medical treatment, where trips are sometimes required at short notice.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, has detailed the guidelines of the TVOA scheme.

Eligibility

• The scheme can be availed by nationals of eleven countries namely Japan, Singapore, Philippines, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia.
• The scheme can be availed by foreign nationals visiting India for tourism, medical treatment, casual business or to visit friends/relatives, etc.
• TVOA shall not be granted to foreign nationals who have permanent residence or occupation in India and to holders of Diplomatic/Official passports.
• The foreign nationals must hold a passport with minimum validity of six months and a re-entry permit, if required by the law of his country.
• The foreign national must be a person of assured financial standing.

Validity, extension, and restrictions

• Under the scheme, a foreign national may be granted a single entry visa for maximum period of
• 30 days.
• The TVOA visa cannot be extended or converted in India.
• A visa on arrival can be obtained for a maximum of two visits in a calendar year and there should be a minimum gap of two months between two visits.

Fees

• The visa can be obtained on submission of prescribed application form, one passport size photograph and Indian Rupees equivalent to US Dollars 60.

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