Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

The country's <keyword id="21969771" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="airport-industry" source="keywords">airport industry</keyword> is projected to report a <keyword id="20385116" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="profit-before-tax" source="keywords">profit before tax</keyword> of <keyword id="21969772" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="USD-1-3-billion" source="keywords">USD 1.3 billion</keyword> in the current financial year. The profit is anticipated to be Rs 256.1 (USD 3.1) per passenger in the fiscal ending March 2025, aviation advisory firm CAPA India said while giving projections at its <keyword id="21969773" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="aviation-summit" source="keywords">aviation summit</keyword> in the national capital on Friday. <br /><br /> In the current fiscal, <keyword id="21969774" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="passenger-throughput" source="keywords">passenger throughput</keyword> at Indian airports is estimated to rise to 404.9 million. Out of the total, 81.1 per cent will be domestic and 18.9 per cent will be international traffic, it said. <br /><br /> As per the report, the <keyword id="20006900" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airport-Authority-of-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Airport Authority of India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Airport Authority of India">Airport Authority of India</keyword>'s (AAI) profitability is likely to remain robust in FY2024 and FY2025. <br /><br /> "The topline will grow due to an increase in aeronautical revenue along with the receipt of revenue share from the recently privatised six non-metro airports, without having to incur any expense associated with it - resulting in higher profitability," it added. <br /><br /> The industry's profit before tax is expected to be USD 1.3 billion in this fiscal. <br /><br /> "India's airport operators are forecast to register Rs 359.8 billion (USD 4.3 billion) in revenue for FY2025, representing a growth of 14.8 per cent y-o-y from FY2024," CAPA India said. <br /><br /> Noting that airport infrastructure at metros and non-metros is ahead of demand, it said there is an ongoing USD 11 billion pipeline of investment, including in Tier 2 and Tier 3 airports.<br /><br /><b>SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/computex-2024-intel-debuts-lunar-lake-chips-with-focus-on-microsofts-ai-ambitions-for-pcs/articleshow/110745670.cms" target="_blank"></a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/computex-2024-intel-debuts-lunar-lake-chips-with-focus-on-microsofts-ai-ambitions-for-pcs/articleshow/110745670.cms" target="_blank">Computex 2024: Intel Debuts Lunar Lake Chips With Focus On Microsoft’s AI Ambitions For PCs</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/may-auto-sales-tata-motors-and-hyundai-continue-to-fight-for-the-second-spot-as-car-sales-grow-by-4/articleshow/110649713.cms" target="_blank"></a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/may-auto-sales-tata-motors-and-hyundai-continue-to-fight-for-the-second-spot-as-car-sales-grow-by-4/articleshow/110649713.cms" target="_blank">May Auto Sales – Tata Motors and Hyundai continue to fight for the second spot as car sales grow by 4%</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/upcoming-cars-and-two-wheelers-launching-in-india-in-june-2024/slidelist/110591467.cms" target="_blank"></a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/upcoming-cars-and-two-wheelers-launching-in-india-in-june-2024/slidelist/110591467.cms" target="_blank">Upcoming cars and two-wheelers launching in India in June 2024</a></b><br />

Airport industry to see profit before tax of $1.3 billion this fiscal

<p>The <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword> Security Administration has said that 1.6 million people were screened at US airports on Thursday, calling it the highest figure since March 2020.</p><p>It said that 2,555,342 passengers were screened on the same day in 2019 - before the pandemic - and 190,863 were screened on the same day in 2020, when the pandemic was more severely affecting the US.</p><p>TSA's New England branch said Thursday's figure was "the highest checkpoint throughput since the start of the pandemic."</p><p>Travel in the US has been growing in recent weeks given the increase in vaccinations and gradual reopening across the country.</p>

1.6 million people were screened at US airports on Thursday, the highest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

<ul class="summary-list"><li>US <keyword id="6354691" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Air-travel">air travel</keyword> hit a 10-week low on Tuesday, according to <keyword id="62795" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="TSA">TSA</keyword> data. </li><li>A TSA spokesperson said seasonal changes and typical <keyword id="6354692" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> patterns may be contributing to the drop.</li><li>Airlines and Airbnb have cited the Delta variant as a concern affecting upcoming fall bookings. </li></ul><p>The air travel industry has spent the first part of this year rebounding from lows during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword> Security Administration recorded a 10-week low for air traveler throughput, or individuals at airport security checkpoints.</p><p>The TSA screened 1,607,238 air passengers on August 17, a 28% decrease from a summer high, which clocked in 2,238,462 traveler check-ins at the start of August.</p><p>The change was noted in a tweet from TSA spokesperson, Lisa Farbstein, who added, "It's still important to #MaskUp when traveling."</p><p>Though the air travel industry is expected to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/air-travel-highest-level-nearly-one-year-transportation-security-administration-2021-3">remain below pre-pandemic levels in 2021</a>, several <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/travel-returning-boom-airlines-hotels-restaurants-spending-vacation-2021-3">signs pointed to a post-pandemic recovery boom</a> at the beginning of this year. Airline, hotels, and restaurants saw customers spend more on travel as businesses reopened in the spring and summer. Remote work also allowed people to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moniker-companies-corporate-retreats-office-spending-budgets-remote-working-2021-7">travel more</a> while staying connected to the office.</p><p>This trajectory seems to be slowing down for now as the summer leisure travel season comes to a close and people return to work and school. Business travel is expected to slowly but gradually pick up again as we roll into the fall. The count also reflects Tuesday travel numbers, which Farbstein told Insider traditionally sees slower travel than other days of the week.</p><p>The drop may also account for an increasing concern over the spread of the <keyword id="8764262" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid">COVID</keyword> delta variant, which is continuing to spread across the US and remains a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nih-director-says-unvaccinated-sitting-ducks-covid-surge-2021-8">continuing threat for unvaccinated populations</a>. </p><p><keyword id="65503" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Southwest-Airlines">Southwest Airlines</keyword> cited in financial filings that the impact of COVID Delta cases affecting a deceleration in bookings and a rise in cancellations in August. <keyword id="233818" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Frontier-Airlines">Frontier Airlines</keyword> also saw a "softening" in seasonal bookings directly related to an increasing COVID case load. Travel stay companies, like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-expects-bookings-to-fall-as-delta-variant-rages-2021-8">Airbnb</a>, also expect bookings to fall in the coming months due to the Delta variant.</p>

Air travel's return takes a hit as summer winds down, school is back in session, and the Delta variant continues to surge

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Patrick Fallon / Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Elon Musk</p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>The next step for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/the-boring-company">The Boring Company</a> is to show that it can send a large number of vehicles through a tunnel at high speeds, founder <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> said on Wednesday via Twitter.</strong></li><li><strong>"Next step for @BoringCompany Loop is demonstrating high throughput at high speed. Target is 4000 vehicles/hour at 155mph (250km/h)," he said.</strong></li><li><strong>Musk also said the company will offer vehicles in a range of sizes for passengers in its proposed underground tunnel system.</strong></li></ul><p>Elon Musk revealed what's next for The Boring Company in a series of tweets on Wednesday, a day after he demonstrated how the underground tunnels the startup is developing would operate in Los Angeles.</p><p>"Next step for @BoringCompany Loop is demonstrating high throughput at high speed. Target is 4000 vehicles/hour at 155mph (250km/h)," he <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1075468125221441536">said</a>.</p><p>Musk said the company will offer vehicles in a range of sizes for passengers in its proposed underground tunnel system.</p><p>"A variety of vehicles, like normal roads, from a small car to a densely seated bus. Must be seated &amp; belted for high speed safety," he <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1075469603503915008">said</a>.</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-inside-elon-musk-boring-company-tunnel-launch-party-2018-12">A rail-guided Tesla and flamethrowers: Inside Elon Musk's exclusive Boring Company tunnel launch party</a></em></p><p>Musk then said the company's vehicles could carry over 100,000 people per hour through one of its tunnels if the vehicles resembled "densely seated" buses, but said the company would instead focus on providing a range of vehicle options for customers.</p><p>"If all vehicles were densely seated buses, throughput in excess of 100,000 people per hour per lane is possible, but better to offer a range of vehicles &amp; let people decide what makes them happy," he <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1075470694568288256">said</a>.</p><p>The Boring Company, which was founded to dig tunnels for the proposed Loop and Hyperloop transit systems, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-inside-elon-musk-boring-company-tunnel-launch-party-2018-12">unveiled</a> its first test tunnel in Hawthorne, California, on Tuesday. The company has so far won a bid to build a tunnel for the Loop transit system in Chicago and has proposed building tunnels in Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. (Musk has suggested the company could also build a tunnel in San Francisco.)</p><p>The Boring Company has received approval to dig a 10.3-mile tunnel beneath Baltimore and begin preliminary work in Washington, DC.</p><p>Hyperloop, first proposed by Musk in a 2013 white paper, would carry passengers in pods at speeds of over 600 mph. Loop resembles Hyperloop but would be used for shorter distances that require slower speeds. Musk has said Loop pods would hold 16 people and travel at 150 mph. He has also said a Loop system could be accessed by dozens of small stations that would transport passengers underground and take up as much space as a parking spot.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more about The Boring Company:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-tesla-speeds-through-elon-musk-boring-company-hawthorne-tunnel-2018-12" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Watch a Tesla rocket through Elon Musk's new neon-lit Boring Company tunnel</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-investors-concerned-elon-musk-using-money-for-boring-company-2018-12" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Some SpaceX investors are reportedly concerned Elon Musk is using their money for his Boring Company venture</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-talks-plan-for-100-layers-of-boring-company-tunnels-in-la-2018-11" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Elon Musk lays out his plan for '100 layers' of Boring Company tunnels beneath the streets of Los Angeles</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-high-speed-chicago-tunnel-proposal-no-sense-2018-6" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Elon Musk's high-speed Chicago tunnel proposal makes no sense</a></li></ul>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/two-faced-truck-from-two-chevy-silverados-2018-11">This two-faced truck is made from two Chevy Silverados - here's what it looks like on the road</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Elon Musk said The Boring Company want to prove it can send 4,000 vehicles traveling at 155 mph through its tunnels every hour

At a time when world growth is projected to slow down further as the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> (Covid-19) epidemic spreads across continents, a new report has suggested that the prolonged duration of the outbreak will significantly set back the <keyword id="43661" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="airports">airports</keyword> in the Asia Pacific region from the previously forecast growth prospects and result in $3 billion revenue loss.<br /><br />According to the estimates of the <keyword id="113134" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airports-Council-International">Airports Council International</keyword> (ACI) Asia-Pacific, the region is suffering the highest impact, with passenger traffic volumes down 24 per cent for the first quarter of 2020, compared to the forecast traffic levels.<br /><br />Within the region, mainland China, <keyword id="2501193" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hong-Kong-SAR">Hong Kong SAR</keyword> and South Korea remain at the centre of the effects with sizable losses in traffic volumes, the global airport grouping said in its report, adding that with the sharp spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in several countries in the Middle East, the traffic volume has gone down 4.2 per cent, as travellers and airlines adjust their plans and seat offers for the coming days and weeks.<br /><br />"Against this gloomy background of sharp declines in traffic and passenger throughput, airports' aeronautical revenues and non-aeronautical revenues are rendering similar declines," ACI said.<br /><br />The ACI World Airport Traffic Forecasts 2019-2040 predicts $12.4 billion revenue for the first quarter in the Asia-Pacific region in the "business as usual" scenario. The impact of Covid-19 is projected to cause a revenue loss of $3 billion.<br /><br />The airport association has also urged regulators and governments to implement well-defined adjustments and relief measures tailored to suit the local level contexts.<br /><br />The shortfall in the number of passengers and the cancellation of flights leads to reduced revenues from airport charges such as landing and parking fees paid by the airlines, and passenger service and security charges paid by the travellers.<br /><br />While aeronautical revenues are under pressure, the cost base for airport operations remains unchanged as airports can neither close nor relocate their terminals amid the Covid-19 outbreak.<br /><br />Non-aeronautical sources of revenues usually serve as diversification of airport income streams, but they also provide an additional cushion during economic downturns. "To a large extent, the COVID-19 is impacting Chinese passengers, the world's largest and highest-spending outbound travel group, creating a wider worldwide effect on airports," ACI estimates have said.<br /><br />"Unlike airlines, who can choose to cancel flights or relocate their aircraft to other markets to reduce operating costs, airport operators manage immovable assets that cannot be closed down. They are faced with immediate cash flow pressures with limited ability to reduce fixed costs and few resources to fund capacity expansion efforts for longer-term future growth," said Stefano Baronci, Director General of ACI Asia-Pacific.<br /><br />"For privately-held airports, the situation is even worse as they do not benefit from relief measure but are obliged to continue paying concession fees to governments. The blanket application of proposals to reduce airport charges or to freeze the application of the 80/20 rule on airport slots globally should not be supported without passing an economic feasibility test and justification by objective evidence."<br /><br />Current slot allocation rules require airlines to use at least 80 per cent of their allocated slots under normal operations at an airport in order to keep them. The proposal for a global suspension of 80/20 usage recently made by the <keyword id="6407098" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-air-transport-association">International Air Transport Association</keyword> (IATA) is expected to give airlines the freedom to cancel flights to/from congested airports not necessarily linked to the COVID-19 outbreak, jeopardising the ability for countries to stay connected with the world, which in turn will have knock-on effects on their economies.

Asian airports could lose $3 bn revenue due to Coronavirus

New Delhi, Nov 17 () With strong fundamentals, India's civil aviation sector is in its "golden age" and there is also healthy competition among domestic carriers, IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta has said.
<p> Interestingly, the country's civil aviation sector has been experiencing lower growth in traffic compared to previous years and there has also been softness in fares in October, according to industry experts.
</p><p> The traffic grew just 1.18 per cent in September, as per the latest available official data.
</p><p> IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation, is the country's largest airline with a market share of 48.2 per cent in September.
</p><p> While acknowledging that there are problems, including high taxes on jet fuel, Dutta said there are huge opportunities going forward.
</p><p> "We are in the golden age of Indian aviation and there are huge opportunities going forward... There are always problems, there are always issues and economic cycles. (But) The fundamentals are strong," he told  in an interview.
</p><p> According to him, tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) is 30 per cent higher than rest of the world.
</p><p> Bringing ATF under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been a long pending demand of the airline industry.
</p><p> "Then there are throughput charges for which we should be getting credit for taxes paid," he added.
</p><p> IndiGo has been aggressively expanding its operations and has started 11 overseas routes in the last one year. Recently, it placed an order for 300 more planes from Airbus and is also considering wide-body aircraft for long haul routes.
</p><p> On whether there is healthy competition among local carriers, Dutta replied in the affirmative.
</p><p> "We have a commonality of interests. Airlines around the world have commonality (of interests). It extends to ATF taxes, infrastructure issues. In terms of who gets which rights and who flies where, it is all fierce competition," he noted.
</p><p> He also made it clear that there are no plans for a loyalty programme for passengers.
</p><p> "We have studied it. We have rejected that option... It is too expensive. We are a low cost carrier and we have to keep our costs low," Dutta said.
</p><p> When asked whether passenger volumes could balance the costs arising out of a loyalty programme, the IndiGo chief replied in the negative.
</p><p> "We have the volumes already. The question is will the incremental volumes pay for it. Given the cost, the incremental volumes do not pay it," he noted.
</p> In September, the carrier flew 55.59 lakh passengers.  RAM  ABM
ABM

'Golden age' for Indian aviation sector; fundamentals strong: IndiGo chief

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Reagan National Airport.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/amazon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon</a>'s new <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/amazon-hq2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HQ2</a> is expected to bring 50,000 employees to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-hq2-long-island-city-photos-background-2018-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Long Island City</a> in Queens, New York, and Arlington, Virginia just outside of Washington D.C.</strong></li><li><strong>According to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/tsa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TSA</a> administrator David Pekoske, his agency is already planning for the influx of new passenger traffic created by the new Amazon facilities.</strong></li><li><strong>The four airports most affected by HQ2 are Reagan National and Dulles International Airports in the Washington D.C. area as well as LaGuardia and JFK International Airports in New York.</strong></li></ul><p>After months of waiting <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-announces-hq2-new-york-virginia-2018-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon finally confirmed on Tuesday that its new secondary global headquarters or HQ2</a> will be split between Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York and Arlington, Virginia. </p><p>Each of the two HQ2 sites are expected house half of the 50,o000 employees expected to the staff the facilities. According to Amazon, the first wave of employees will begin to arrive in 2019.</p><p>As a result, local airports will likely have to boost manpower and bolster infrastructure to handle the influx of employees, their families, and increased business traffic.</p><p>With security lines a notorious bottleneck at airports around the country, the potential for HQ2-related congestion has long been on the Transportation Security Administration's radar.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?id=tag%3Areuters.com%2C2016%3Anewsml_RC1DB4764E50%3A290393936&amp;search=all%3Alaguardia%20airport">Reuters/Andrew Kelly</a></span></p><p class="caption">LaGuardia Airport in New York City</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span>"We've already been looking at this issue no matter which city or cities Amazon selected as their HQ2," TSA administrator David Pekoske said in a press conference on Tuesday. "</span></p><p><span>Pekoske noted that his agency is evaluating what impact Amazon's new facilities will have on TSA screening operations at Reagan National and Dulles International Airports in the Washington D.C. area as well as LaGuardia and JFK International Airports in New York.</span></p><p><span><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-airlines-in-the-world-for-2019-airlineratings-2018-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The 10 best airlines in the world for 2019</a></em>.</span></p><p><span>"What we do is, is we look at projected passenger throughput levels well in advance - very carefully coordinated with the airlines and the airports,  and then make our staffing adjustments well in advance of when we expect to see additional passengers arrive through the airports," Pekoske added. </span></p><p><span>In addition to staffing, Pekoske believes infrastructure improvements such as the newly rehabilitated security screening lines at Reagan National Airport will help soften the blow from the influx of new airport traffic. </span></p><p><span>LaGuardia Airport is also in the midst of a major $ 4 billion revamp complete with a brand new Delta Air Lines terminal. </span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-nfl-league-usfl-sued-tweet-three-dollars-2017-9">Trump once won a lawsuit against the NFL - but the result was an embarrassment</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Airports near Amazon's new HQ2 sites are already gearing up for the influx of people coming to their cities

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://code.fb.com/connectivity/aquila-s-successful-second-flight-another-step-forward-in-bringing-the-world-closer-together/">Facebook</a></span></p><p class="caption">An image of one of Facebook's Aquila drones.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Facebook quietly tested plane-mounted experimental lasers that can provide high-speed internet in the skies above California.</strong></li><li><strong>An academic paper reveals photos of the equipment and details about the test.</strong></li><li><strong>Facebook was able to create a 10gbps wireless link between the plane and a station on the ground nine kilometers away.</strong></li><li><strong>After Business Insider reported earlier this week on upheaval at the Aquila project, Facebook announced it was scrapping its planes to build giant drones.</strong></li></ul><p><br /><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/fb-stock">Facebook</a> conducted successful airborne tests of lasers capable of beaming wireless internet in the skies of California - and it points towards the future of the company's connectivity efforts following the closure of its high-profile drone program.</p><p>The American technology giant mounted experimental hardware it developed with a German supplier to a Cessna jet, according to an academic paper seen by Business Insider, and it was able to use lasers to achieve a rapid 10 Gbps data transfer speed between the plane and a ground station nine kilometers away. </p><p>The details of the tests were disclosed in an academic journal in February 2018 but have not otherwise been reported. They provide fresh insight into how exactly Facebook planned to utilize the Aquila drone it was developing, a solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle with the wingspan of a 747 that was intended to provide wireless internet to the developing world, and underscore the advances Facebook has made in wireless technology.</p><p>On Tuesday, following <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-internet-drone-boss-leaves-redesign-new-mexico-drone-base-2018-6">a Business Insider report on upheaval at the Aquila project</a> (including the departure of its head and earlier potential plans for a redesign), <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/aquila-facebook-scraps-plans-build-its-own-internet-drones-2018-6">Facebook announced it was scrapping plans to build its own aircraft altogether</a>.</p><p>But while Facebook has bowed out of the drone market, its resources and engineering talent make it a powerful player in the race to develop next generation high-speed wireless technology, a field in which it will increasingly bump up against rivals like <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/goog-stock">Google</a> as well as established telecommunications companies like <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/vz-stock">Verizon</a> and <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/t-stock">AT&amp;T.</a></p><p>Indeed, Facebook stressed this week that it is still committed to the goal of building next-generation aerial communications infrastructure, focusing on various wireless broadband technologies instead of building the aircraft themselves (which it will leave up to other companies). </p><p>As such, the tests in the academic paper provide a valuable new window into one of Facebook's most ambitious shuttered projects in years - and indicates how it has built a wealth of technical expertise that can be applied to other areas.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/10524/105241F/Test-results-of-error-free-bidirectional-10-Gbps-link-for/10.1117/12.2306191.short">SPIE Digital Library</a></span></p><p class="caption">The laser ground station used in the tests.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>The laser test was a success, researchers say</h2><p>Facebook's connectivity team has explored a number of avenues for providing wireless internet over the years, including lasers and millimeter wave, known as MMW, technology. </p><p>Earlier this week, Facebook revealed <a href="https://code.fb.com/connectivity/high-altitude-connectivity-the-next-chapter/">it had managed to achieve 40Gbps MMW links</a> between the ground and aircraft, and has <a href="https://code.fb.com/connectivity/connectivity-a-building-block-approach/">achieved previously speeds of 80gbps for lasers in the laboratory</a>.</p><p>The tests disclosed in the academic paper, <a href="https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/10524/105241F/Test-results-of-error-free-bidirectional-10-Gbps-link-for/10.1117/12.2306191.short">"</a><a href="https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/10524/105241F/Test-results-of-error-free-bidirectional-10-Gbps-link-for/10.1117/12.2306191.short">Test results of error-free bidirectional 10 Gbps link for air-to-ground optical communications,"</a> illustrate how Facebook experimented with laser technology in the real world, and how its tests worked in practice. (The paper was published in February 2018, but it's not clear exactly when the tests took place.)</p><p>These laser tests<a href="https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/10524/105241F/Test-results-of-error-free-bidirectional-10-Gbps-link-for/10.1117/12.2306191.short"></a> were conducted with the assistance of Mynaric Lasercom, a German company that builds tech to "[send] high-speed internet down from satellites and airborne networks to the most remote and inaccessible parts of the planet."</p><p>The experimental hardware consisted of two components: A "airborne laser communication terminal" that was mounted on a plane, and an "optical ground station" that tracked and communicated with it from back on solid ground.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>SPIE Digital Library</span></p><p class="caption">The aircraft-mounted laser equipment.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The test took place using a Cessna light aircraft just north of Los Angeles, California, with the ground station based on a rooftop in the neighborhood of Woodland Hills.</p><p>"Since the Aquila program has not yet supported stratospheric flights with payloads, low altitude flights with a conventional aircraft were carried out," the researchers wrote.</p><p>Passenger planes fly at far lower altitude than Facebook's Aquila drones were designed to fly at (around 12-15,000 feet, compared to 60-90,000 feet), and presented other challenges - like far greater vibration from the engines than a solar-powered drone would put create.</p><p>The paper highlights another technical challenge that comes with working at high altitudes: The low stratospheric pressure makes it difficult to regulate the equipment temperature, forcing the team to build a special liquid cooling system.</p><p>Despite all this, the paper says it was almost a complete success. "In the context of Facebook's Connectivity Lab effort, a bidirectional 10 Gbps air-to-ground link system has been successfully demonstrated," the researchers concluded.</p><p>"Compared to the stratospheric target platform, this intermediate step on a conventional Cessna aircraft can be considered as more demanding in terms of platform vibrations, atmospheric turbulence and angular velocity profiles."</p><p>In terms of performance, "the uplink worked flawlessly and achieved 100% throughput all the time. On the downlink side, the data throughput occasionally dropped to about 96%. Analysis of the flight data showed that this was caused by a non-ideal software parameter in the CPA control loop, which can be tuned easily."</p><h2><span>'Important enablers of the next generation of broadband infrastructure'</span></h2><p>Facebook's Aquila project was incredibly ambitious and part of its mission to make the world more connected - by physically building the network infrastructure to connect billions of people in developing countries to the internet for the first time.</p><p>There have been bumps along the road though, notably when Facebook failed to disclose to reporters that its Aquila drone crashed and damaged its wing when landing after its first test flight.</p><p>Earlier this week, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-internet-drone-boss-leaves-redesign-new-mexico-drone-base-2018-6">Business Insider reported on big changes afoot at the project</a>. Its founder and long-time leader left in May 2018, and it had previously been briefing partners on a potential redesign of the drone. Facebook subsequently <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/aquila-facebook-scraps-plans-build-its-own-internet-drones-2018-6">announced it would stop building aircraft altogether</a>, and was laying off 16 employees.</p><p>Moving forward, Facebook says it will focus on other parts of the connectivity ecosystem, and suggested that its developments will be utilized elsewhere in the provision of high-speed wireless internet.</p><p><span>"Facebook continues to focus on developing high-rate millimeter wave, optical (laser) satellite cross-link and feeder-link, and high altitude communications technologies that can beam connectivity through the atmosphere, stratosphere and space," a spokesperson said in a statement. </span></p><p><span>"</span><span>We believe these types of technologies will be important enablers of the next generation of broadband infrastructure, making it possible to bring broadband connectivity to rural regions where internet connectivity is lacking or non-existent."</span><span></span><span></span></p>  <p class="tagline">Visit  <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/">Markets Insider</a> for constantly updated market quotes for individual stocks, ETFs, indices, commodities and currencies traded around the world. <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/">Go Now!</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-people-get-wrong-about-superfoods-nutrition-health-acai-goji-turmeric-quinoa-2018-6">What people get wrong about superfoods</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Facebook tested plane-mounted lasers that fire super high-speed internet over California - here are the photos

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Landing at an American airport is a bit like time-traveling into the past. Outdated design, outdated technology, and outdated regulations are crippling many U.S. air hubs.</p><p>Aviation was born in the U.S., and very quickly, American airplanes and American-trained pilots formed the backbone of global aviation. North America remains the world's largest aviation market today, yet U.S. air transport is no longer the envy of other nations.</p><p>America ranks a mediocre number 30 in the world for quality of air infrastructure, as measured by a survey of executives-and 127 in ticket taxes and airport charges (meaning they're too high). The country ranks an even lower (131) in carbon dioxide emissions per capita.</p><p>There are greater worries ahead: the American Society of Civil Engineers argues that a failure to invest in aviation could represent an estimated cumulative loss of $313 billion by 2020-translating into 350,000 fewer jobs-and a whopping $1.52 trillion by 2040.</p><p>The U.S. system is characterized by crowded skies; price competition among airlines and resulting low profitability; competition among airports, leading to congestion in some places and wasted capacity in others; outdated ground facilities; a dearth of intermodal links such as air-to-train connections; high fuel utilization and air pollution; slow technological uptake; and dependence on outdated intergovernmental agreements for access to foreign markets.</p><p>The U.S. is falling short and falling behind. That's true even on the cargo side: Hong Kong has already replaced Memphis as the world's number one air cargo hub. Today, international travelers represent 11 percent of total U.S. airline passengers.</p><p>They contribute more than $116 billion in direct spending and another billion in indirect spending annually. For all of that, they are being underserved: the World Economic forum ranks the U.S. 121<sup>st</sup> out of 180 countries in terms of the burden of its visa requirements.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393246809/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0393246809&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=thebusiinsi-20&amp;linkId=TFLRSZEGUMCPO35O"></div><p></p></div></div>While the aviation industry has figured out how to lift millions of pounds of aluminum, fuel, cargo, and passengers 35,000 feet into the air-a technological feat in and of itself-its technology is in desperate need of modernization. Ticket agents are often part-time coders, untangling software written in the early 1960s. Cockpit controls look like museum installations when compared to the iPads passengers are using.</p><p>Information empowers. Empowered pilots in empowered aircraft can empower passengers-or at least enlighten them. Real-time decision-making can reduce costs and minimize delays. The FAA estimates, for instance, that two-thirds of weather delays are avoidable.</p><p>Superior weather information would make it possible to predict airspace and route availability, as well as delays, diversions, and tarmac risk. With greater forecast accuracy for pilots, control towers, and operations centers, airlines could carry less contingency fuel, and flight planners could better anticipate ground holds, deicing, and capacity changes.</p><p>The costs of fuel-burn while taxiing amount to $25 per minute; diversions cost about $15,000 to $100,000 per aircraft; and an FAA tarmac delay penalty runs to about $27,500 per passenger. These numbers can add up to millions of dollars on a full flight</p><p>Technological innovations provide new hope for U.S. aviation. The Weather Company is growing a service that helps airlines use weather data to change <keyword id="6354692" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Travel">travel</keyword> paths to avoid turbulence, delivering a smoother, safer, faster, and more efficient travel experience.</p><p>The FAA is allowing trial use of iPads to in the cockpit. Airlines are exploring glide-path landing to reduce fuel use and noise during descents. Yet, the barrier to progress is often the burdensome and bureaucratic process of regulatory approval. Modernized oversight is needed to speed up adoption of newer and better technologies.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Industry associations have called for a national strategy to make America's air transport system better for everyone who uses it. Imagine flying with pilots empowered by technology to make better decisions for passengers. Imagine next-generation air traffic control generating quintuple wins: greater safety, lower costs, fewer delays, lower carbon emissions, and seamless connections.</p><p>America's air traffic control entity should be made independent-free from the short-term Congressional budget cycle-and the FAA and Department of <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword> should collaborate on moving promising technology forward faster.</p><p>Being able to fly with fewer delays won't be enough if there are also major delays in getting to and from airports with shabby facilities. American institutions operate in silos too often, while airlines fly above them all. If the American public demands an upgraded national air strategy, it can be done.</p><p><em>Rosabeth Moss Kanter's latest book is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393246809/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0393246809&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=thebusiinsi-20&amp;linkId=G6KAFU5ZNARDVX73">MOVE: Putting America's Infrastructure Back in the Lead</a>. She is a professor at Harvard Business School.</em></p>

You Searched For "passenger throughput" and got 9 results

Airport industry to see profit before tax of $1.3 billion this fiscal

PTI

1.6 million people were screened at US airports on Thursday, the highest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

Sinéad Baker

Air travel's return takes a hit as summer winds down, school is back in session, and the Delta variant continues to surge

Francis Agustin

Elon Musk said The Boring Company want to prove it can send 4,000 vehicles traveling at 155 mph through its tunnels every hour

Mark Matousek

Asian airports could lose $3 bn revenue due to Coronavirus

IANS

'Golden age' for Indian aviation sector; fundamentals strong: IndiGo chief

PTI

Airports near Amazon's new HQ2 sites are already gearing up for the influx of people coming to their cities

Benjamin Zhang

Facebook tested plane-mounted lasers that fire super high-speed internet over California - here are the photos

Rob Price

Airports in America are awful compared to the rest of the world

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, "Move"

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides