NEW DELHI: Tata-Group-owned Air India announced the appointment of Jayaraj Shanmugam as head of global airport operations. Shanmugam will assume his role on April 15 and will report to chief operations officer Klaus Goersch, said the company in an official statement.

Shanmugam joins Air India from Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), where he served as the chief operating officer, overseeing the operationalisation of the new Terminal 2. With a distinguished career spanning over 25 years in the airline, airport, and telecom industries, Shanmugam has previously worked with renowned companies such as Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Jet Airways.

Announcing Shanmugam's appointment, Goersch said, "Jayaraj has distinctive expertise in driving excellence in customer experience and airport operations, redesigning and improving services. We look forward to significantly enhancing our airport operations with his leadership and achieving many milestones in our Vihaan.AI transformation journey."

In another development, Air India's chief executive officer Campbell Wilson announced that the annual appraisal cycle is currently underway and will be effective from April 1.

"Our Finance and HR colleagues are busy compiling the numbers which will, amongst other things, determine increments and, once the counting, reporting, auditing and board approvals are complete in a few weeks' time, we'll share the news and ensure that changes are made effective from April 1," he said in the letter.

He said the airline is moving towards becoming "a world-class, global airline with an Indian heart." The airline has on boarded the first batch of cadet pilots who will soon start their ground training in the US.

The cabin crew has "cleared the backlog of training batches, which will mark the addition of its 4,000th crew member since privatisation. These new colleagues join our great group of experienced leaders and mentors, and together, with an average age of 28, they will personify the new Air India around the world," he added.