Recent News

London, 31st August 2023: The acquisition of all shares in BlueBear is part of Saab’s continued international growth journey across key markets, which include the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and Germany. BlueBear is a world-leading provider of AI-enabled autonomous swarm systems for complex defence and security applications. BlueBear employs 65 employees at their site outside Bedford, England with a turnover of £8 million in 2022. The combination of Saab’s world-leading products, services and solutions, and BlueBear’s experience as an agile integrator of AI-enabled autonomous swarm systems will be a powerful driver of Saab’s future capabilities. BlueBear will contribute to Saab’s existing activities worldwide and Saab will benefit from BlueBear’s expertise in autonomy and swarming, as well as command and control systems. As emerging and disruptive technologies such as AI, machine learning and autonomous systems have the potential to reshape entire industries, Saab embraces a proactive strategy of selected acquisitions. By acquisitions and strategic partnerships with companies that specialise in new technologies, Saab‘s capabilities are enhanced, thereby increasing the comprehensive solutions offered for a wider range of defence needs. AI will enable Saab to further improve system capabilities and increase efficiency across our world-leading product portfolio. “This acquisition is another step in support of our international growth strategy as we seek to ensure Saab is well positioned in key markets and to sustain our competitive advantage. BlueBear, as world-leading provider of AI-enabled autonomous swarm systems for complex defence and security applications, is a good fit with our approach of leveraging emerging technologies in the fields of autonomous systems and AI,” says Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab. Within Saab, BlueBear will be a centre for Rapid Concept Development providing expertise and scaling-up innovation.“For BlueBear this is an important step in our journey as we now move forward as part of Saab. We see many enhanced opportunities around naval, air and land autonomy, payload integration, next generation command and control, AI-enabled defence clouds as well as next generation platforms,” says Dr Yoge Patel, CEO of BlueBear.

Bengaluru, 28th August 2023: Air India will shift its flight operations from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru from August 31, 2023. From 00:01Hrs of 31st August, all Air India operations, domestic and international, will operate to and from Terminal 2 of the airport except for AI176 from San Francisco, which will land at Terminal-1 on 31st August 2023 only. Air India is making every effort toensure the transition experience is smooth and convenient for its passengers. As part of its proactive initiatives, Air India is reaching out to its passengers through different communication platforms to keep them informed.

Singapore, 29 August 2023: dnata,air and travel services provider has partnered with logistics technology solutions provider Speedcargo to deliver cutting-edge cargo services to Etihad Cargo at Singapore Changi Airport(SIN). Speedcargo’s artificial intelligence (AI)-based Cargo Eye and Assemble solutions installed at dnata’s facilities will help overall logistical efficiency, digitisation and optimise cargo capacity for Etihad Cargo’s daily flights departing from Singapore. The roll-out of Cargo Eye and Assemble follows the airline’s decision to implement the technology in response to successful trials. Cargo Eye uses advanced, vision-based 3D technology to scan and capture a cargo’s exact dimensions, volume data, images, and labels, providing a comprehensive digital record. This information is then fed into Assemble which creates a digital plan, advising dnata’s highly-trained cargo handling teams of the optimal method of building a pallet. The innovative solutions ensure Etihad Cargo maximises cargo capacity, while becoming more efficient and sustainable. Both Cargo Eye and Assemble seamlessly integrate into dnata’s existing warehouse management system. Charles Galloway, dnata’s Regional CEO, Airport Operations – Asia Pacific, said: “dnata is proud to lead the digitisation of cargo processes through innovative technology solutions. Working alongside Speedcargo, Cargo Eye and Assemble will enable us to provide Etihad Cargo and its customers with digital audit trails of how their cargo has been handled, improving efficiency and providing a quality end-to-end service. We will continue to create value and enhance our service offerings through digitalisation.” Dr Krishna Kumar Nallur, Speedcargo’s CEO, commented: “This first step towards industry transformation will enable end-to-end optimization of cargo capacity, from booking to cargo hold. Our AI-powered solutions will help Etihad Cargo to maximize capacity across their fleet, and enable dnata Singapore to digitise their cargo handling, thereby improving their productivity and efficiency in operations.” Thomas Schürmann, Head of Cargo Operations & Delivery at Etihad Cargo, said: “With the launch of Speedcargo Technologies’ AI-powered solutions, Etihad Cargo is transforming airfreight operations and optimising cargo capacity as the latest step in the carrier’s digitalisation journey. Singapore was selected as the first station to go live with these state-of-the-art AI tools, which will boost efficiency, digitise and standardise cargo handling across Etihad Cargo’s network and enhance service levels for the carrier’s customers and partners. Following successful trials of the AI-powered cargo handling solutions, Etihad Cargo sought out a ground handling partner to deploy Cargo Eye and Assemble, and dnata was a clear choice, being fully aligned with Etihad Cargo’s commitment to utilising cargo-maximising technology to enhance air cargo operations.” dnata’s Singapore facilities are the first in its expansive global network to implement Cargo Eye and Assemble technology. Speedcargo is working with dnata to roll out the service at further global stations.

New Delhi, 11th August 2023: Digi Yatra facility will be launched at 6 more airports namely Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Jaipur, and Guwahati airports in the month of August 2023. The implementation and installation of Digi Yatra infrastructure at these airports will take place in a phased manner. Since its launch by Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel Shri Jyotiraditya on December 1, 2022, at three airports, New Delhi, Varanasi, and Bengaluru, Digi Yatra has been implemented at four more airports, Vijayawada, Pune, Hyderabad, and Kolkata increasing the number of Digi Yatra airports to seven. With the addition of the aforementioned six airports, the total number of Digi Yatra-enabled airports will become thirteen. By August 10, 2023, Digi Yatra has been used by 34,60,454 passengers. By the same date, the Digi Yatra mobile application user base was 1.29 million. Digi Yatra is a mobile application-based facility conceived to achieve contactless, seamless processing of passengers at airports based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). It helps travelers pass through various checkpoints at the airports through paperless and contactless processing using facial features to validate their identity and travel details. In the Digi Yatra process, there is no central storage of passenger’s Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data. All the passengers’ data is encrypted and stored in the wallet of their smartphone. It is shared only between the passenger and the airport of travel origin, where the passenger’s Digi Yatra ID needs to be validated. The data is purged from the airport’s system within 24 hours of departure of the flight. The data is shared by passengers directly, only when they travel and only to the origin Airport.

New Delhi, 10th August 2023: The expansion of airports including the upgradation of infrastructures/ facilities at airports, is a continuous process, which is undertaken by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) or the concerned Airport Operators depending upon operational requirements, traffic, demand, commercial feasibility etc. AAI and other Airport Operators have embarked upon a Capex Plan for more than Rs. 98,000 crore including around Rs.25,000 crore by AAI during 2019-24 for development/ upgradation/ modernisation of various brownfield airports and developing Greenfield Airports to meet the growing demands. AAI has undertaken development/ expansion of Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Vijayawada and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, Itanagar and Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh, Dibrugarh in Assam, Darbhanga and Patna in Bihar, Safdarjung in Delhi, Goa in Goa, Dholera, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara in Gujarat, Leh in Ladakh, Kalaburagi in Karnataka, Calicut in Kerala, Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur and Rewa in Madhya Pradesh, Juhu, Kolhapur and Pune in Maharashtra, Imphal in Manipur, Bhubaneswar in Odisha, Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy and Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, Agartala in Tripura, Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Muirpur and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Dehradun in Uttarakhand and Kolkata in West Bengal. The upgradation endeavors encompass several enhancements, ranging from the construction of terminal buildings and ATC tower cum technical blocks to the expansion of civil enclave, extension, strengthening, and re-carpeting of runways, as well as the creation of aprons, parking bays, and other associated infrastructure improvements. The Government of India has also formulated a Greenfield Airports (GFA) Policy, 2008 for development of Greenfield airports in the country. As per the policy, if any developer including the State Government desires to develop an airport, they are required to identify a suitable site and get the Pre-feasibility Study conducted for construction of airport and submit a proposal to the Central Government for ‘Site Clearance’ followed by ‘In-Principle’ approval. So far, Government of India has accorded ‘In-Principle’ approval for setting up of 21 new Greenfield Airports. Out of these, 12 Greenfield airports have been operationalised. The upgradation of airports to meet International Standards/Norms specified by International Organizations such as International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), International Air Transport Association (IATA) etc. is undertaken by AAI or the concerned Airport Operators taking into account various considerations, including the commercial aspect, traveler requirements, land situation and airline preferences. Declaration of an airport as International Airport depends upon traffic potential, demand from airlines for operation of international flights and bilateral Air Services Agreement. It also includes provision of Ground Lighting facilities, Instrument Landing System, runway length, Immigration, Health and Animal & Plant Quarantine services etc. At present, there are 30 international airports in the country. This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen. (Dr) V. K. Singh (Retd) in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.