PTI reports, V P Agarwal, a senior Board member of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), will take over as its Chief from January 1, 2009. As per official sources, the appointment of Agarwal, who will replace Dr K Ramalingam, has been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet. Agarwal has been Member (Planning) of the state-owned airports …

The National Security Guards (NSG) has finally received the go-ahead for its own fleet of dedicated aircraft. The decision comes after the Mumbai terror attacks where commandos of the elite force battled terrorists at three major landmarks and killed eight of them. The NSG will also change its tactics after having tackled terrorists in Mumbai, which follows a full debrief …

With the advent of the new 20mW 532nM green laser pointers, a dangerous trend is emerging in the skies. According the Civil Aviation Authority, at least five attempts have been made to dazzle pilots with laser pointers in the skies over Northern Ireland in the last six months. Unfortunately, this trend is not limited over the skies of Northern Ireland …

I came across this rather provocative article, and while I do not fully subscribe to the author’s views, it nonetheless raises some interesting questions about governance in a democratic system, and the tendency of politicians to subvert the democratic ideals in favour of vote-bank politics. Having spent a significant portion of my life outside India, in the US and in …

JetLite introduces a direct flight connecting Gorakhpur to Delhi five times a week with immediate effect. The flight operated by 50 – seater Canadian Regional Jet -200 Series will give connections to passengers from Gorakhpur to major metros like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Ahmedabad, via New Delhi. Flight S2 6125 will depart New Delhi at 1430 hrs and arrive Gorakhpur …

The United Kingdom Treasury Monday said it plans to increase air passenger duty rates by length of haul and class of service on Nov. 1, 2009, instead of its previous per-plane tax proposal. The United Kingdom said it is moving from two to four “distance bands” in efforts to “improve environmental signals.” The new air passenger duties, set to take …