Emirates has launched its first scheduled Airbus A380 service to India with the launch of A380 service between Dubai and Mumbai. 

“Mumbai was one of the first destinations on our route network when we launched in 1985. In the past 29 years, we have flown over 42 million passengers between India and the UAE and so it is quite fitting that the city becomes our 29th A380 destination," said Ahmed Khoory, Senior VP of Commercial Operations in the West Asia and Indian Ocean region for Emirates. 

Emirates flight EK500 departed Dubai at 21:55 on July 21st and arrived in Mumbai at 02:30 the 22nd. The return flight, EK501, departed Mumbai at 04:30 and arrived in Dubai at 06:00. 

Emirates contacted local artists and asked them to make a "Rangoli", a traditional Indian piece of artwork, which said "Hello A380". 

"We are delighted to welcome the arrival of Emirates’ first A380 to India in Mumbai. We are glad that passengers flying from Mumbai’s Terminal 2 to Dubai will now be able to enjoy the premium services of Emirates’ state-of-the-art Airbus A380. This is a momentous occasion for us as Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport. Mumbai is now the only airport in India to handle A380 aircraft operations for more than one international airline," said Naveen Chawla, VP of Aero Marketing, Mumbai Airport. 

Emirates currently has 50 Airbus A380's in its fleet with 90 more on order and is the largest A380 and Boeing 777 operator in the world. The A380 currently flies to 29 destinations throughout the Emirates global network.  

An aircraft cruising at approximately 33,000 feet does not just "fall out of the sky." While yes, it is possible, the odds of you being in such a scenario are extremely low. Most aircraft accidents and incidents happen while the aircraft is closet to the ground. And let's remember that it is called an aircraft, not a "groundcraft;" airplanes are built for the sky.

We know that the horrific loss of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was a criminal act, but let's also remember that no pro-Russian extremists or any kind of terrorist organization have come out and said that they take ownership of the loss. Terrorist organizations love to take ownership to their crimes. Think about it for a second: Why would they do it if they aren't going to get credit for it? And for them, taunting authorities is their form of an activity. 

In past tragedies involving terrorism, it could take more than a decade for the organization to take ownership to their crimes. But let's face it, if MH17 was in fact terrorism, the grisly truth is that it will be the worst act of terrorism since September, 11th. And if it was an organization of extremists or terrorists, wouldn't they want the immediate credit for it? 

A bigger question to ask in this tragedy would be, "What if it is more than terrorism or a pro-Russia seperatist group?" We have to consider that about four months ago we lost the same exact aircraft type and airline in Malaysia Airlines flight 370. There have been absolutely no traces of MH370. It could be a coincidence that two Malaysia Airlines 777-200ERs were lost in unfathomable events or could this be something more than a coincidence? You decide. 

We know it was foul play. As stated, an airplane just doesn't fall out of the sky due to a mechanical problem. In order for this to happen, the mechanical problem would have to be very major and most of these problems can be prevented or detected by the airline or aircraft. And in the extremely rare event that there is a mechanical problem such as that one, pilots will declare an emergency and squawk 7700 on the aircraft's transponder. In the case of MH17, no emergency was declared.   

The loss of 298 innocent lives is nothing less than a massacre. No innocent person deserves to lose their life in such a way that those aboard MH17 did. 

The tragic loss of Malaysia Airlines flight 317 is a day that will be remembered forever. It is something that may help us to improve our international security, but our first concern should be to seek justice for those lost aboard Malaysia Airlines flight 17. 

Follow our continuously updating timeline for the most up-to-date information. You can also follow us on Twitter at @AirlineGeeks. 

Please note that my opinions are my own.

*Photo via Wikimedia Commons 

On Thursday, July 17th, Malaysia Airlines flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was lost over the Russia/Ukraine border. The Boeing 777-200, said to registered as 9M-MRD, departed from Amsterdam at 12:30PM CEST and was scheduled to arrive at 5:59AM MYT (per FlightAware) in Kuala Lumpur. The aircraft lost radar contact somewhere over Russia or the Ukraine border. At this time, minimal details are available. We will continue to update this timeline as new information comes in. 

7/17/14 (12:15 PM EST): Currently, the only official details available are that radar contact was lost while the aircraft was flying at cruising altitude somewhere over the Russian/Ukraine border.

7/17/14 (4:00 PM EST): Local journalists, sources, and authorities say that wreckage has been found over a "10 mile debris field" from the crashed Malaysian 777-200. All major European, Asian, and  American airlines have terminated flight paths over the Ukraine. Also, President Obama has been briefed on the incident. There were 298 passengers and 15 crew members aboard. 

7/17/14 (5:10 PM EST): Sources and U.S. officials say that Malaysian flight 17 was hit by a surface to air missile. It is unclear as to who shot the missile at this time. We also have information on the nationalities of 259 of the 280 aboard. The nationalities consist of 154 Dutch, 27 Australian, 45 Malaysian, 12 Indonesian, 9 British, 4 German, 4 Belgian, 3 Filipino, and 1 Canadian. 

7/18/14 (4:40 PM): President Obama says that there was at least one United States citizen aboard Malaysia Airlines flight 17. We also have confirmation of one New Zealander that was aboard. Malaysia Airlines confirmed that the airliner flew at 33,000 feet when it was shot down. For optimum safety, the aircraft should have been flying at 35,000 feet. The aircraft was also carrying a significant amount of cargo. The cargo manifests can be viewed via these links:

• Cargo Manifest 1
• Cargo Manifest 2
• Cargo Manifest 3
• Cargo Manifest 4

*Photo via Wikimedia Commons