Dubai-based international air carrier Emirates today announced that it will add 31 weekly services to India. This will lead the number of weekly flights to 163 by February 2009.

London  - A pilot for United Airlines was arrested in his cockpit shortly before take-off from London's Heathrow Airport on Sunday for alleged drunkenness.

Athens - Greek state carrier Olympic Airlines will cancel more than 70 domestic and international flights on Tuesday as air traffic controllers and flight crews join a nationwide 24-hour strike against government plans to privatize the airline.

The cancellations, which will affect Olympic and Aegean Airlines, will cover a total of 100 flights to European destinations such as London, Rome, Paris and Frankfurt, reports said. Some domestic flights would also be canceled.

Officials at Athens International Airport said that no aircraft will be allowed to land or depart for four hours starting at noon Tuesday, due to the strike.

Nearly 30,000 smoke detectors and sensors will be installed at the new terminals of the Indira Gandhi International Airport. A massive modernization plan is underway at the international airport.

In an attempt to lower down the operational costs, the Indian airlines is planning to cut down the salaries of the staff by 10% rather than resorting for large scale retrenchment. The decision is said to be taken under the pressure of political parties that see taking away of the jobs from the staff as not as a desirable measure to bring down one’s costs.

The Salary which accounts for about 15% of total operating costs of an Indian airline will be reduced and the contract with some of the foreign pilots and engineers will not be renewed. Same measure for at least a year has also been taken by the Jet Airways (India) Ltd and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd who grouped into an operational alliance last week.

Mumbai, Oct 18 : Vijay Mallya-promoted Kin