Member (Planning) Sudhir Raheja has been given the additional charge of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman after R K Srivastava’s tenure was curtailed suddenly by the government.

Sudhir Raheja (AAI Chairman)

• This is the second time Raheja has been entrusted with the task of heading the national airport company.
• In August 2014, Raheja was given the additional charge following the repatriation of the then acting Chairman Alok Sinha to his parent cadre, Uttar Pradesh.
• Raheja took over the additional charge of the post left vacant by the sudden exit of R K Srivastava, a 1984 batch Jharkhand-cadre IAS officer, was removed from the post by the government, nearly 15 months after he was brought at the helm for a five-year term.
• AAI manages a total of 132 Airports, including 24 International Airports, 7 Customs Airports, 78 Domestic Airports and 26 Civil enclaves at Military Airfields.
• It also provides air navigation services. Set up under an Act of Parliament, AAI came into being in April 1995 by merging erstwhile National Airports Authority and International Airports Authority of India.

AAI:

• The Airports Authority of India (AAI) (Hindi: भारतीय विमानपत्तन प्राधिकरण) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India.
• It provides Air traffic management (ATM) services over Indian airspace and adjoining oceanic areas.
• It also manages a total of 132 Airports, including 24 International Airports, 7 Customs Airports, 78 Domestic Airports and 26 Civil enclaves at Military Airfields.