A two-hour flight from Sydney to London is a step closer to reality after the latest successful test Wednesday of hypersonic technology in the Australian desert. A joint US-Australian military research team is running a series of 10 trials. "It is a game-changing technology... and could revolutionise global air travel, providing cost-effective access to space," Australia's chief scientist Alex Zelinsky said. Scientists have said hypersonic technology could cut travelling time from Sydney to London to as little as two hours for the 17,000-kilometre flight. Hypersonic flight involves travelling at more than 5 times the speed of sound. Scientists involved in the programme -- called Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE) -- are developing an engine that can fly at Mach 7. <br/>
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French authorities have tightened security at Paris airports since last year's attacks in the city with thousands of border police officers, custom personnel, soldiers and private guards patrolling daily in the 3 airports serving the French capital. In addition to thousands of police, army and customs members, some 5,000 security guards working for private contractors are assigned to the Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, Orly and Le Bourget airports, according to Paris Aeroports, the authority in charge. These forces are responsible for ensuring security both in the airports' public areas and in reserved areas, such as boarding areas, baggage sorting sections and tarmac areas where only passengers with boarding passes and airport staff with special red badges are allowed. <br/>
Amid concerns over steep fluctuations in airfares, aviation regulator DGCA Thursday said discussions need to be held with airlines before any decision on fixing upper cap on ticket prices. "... if a capping (of airfares) is required, then we will have to have discussions with them (airlines)," DGCA director general M Sathiyavathy said. The DGCA would start making public from this month the highest fare bucket (or class) rates levied by domestic airlines. When asked if the regulator has noticed significant fluctuations in air ticket prices, she said, "It (the average rise) has been less than 1.5% or a maximum of 2% in high fare bucket for the month of April. We will be monitoring it every month." <br/>
Travellers looking to fly in southeast Asia can look forward to more competitive fare prices following an agreement which will allow airlines to launch unlimited flights in the region. Low-cost airline groups and manufacturers of smaller passenger aircraft will be among the main winners in Southeast Asia's open skies agreement when it finally came into effect last month. Ratification of the ASEAN open skies agreements by Indonesia and Laos in April lifts restrictions on capacity and competition, allowing airlines to launch unlimited flights from their home to any point in the region subject to airport slot availability. Hubs like Singapore, which have a clear expansion plan, could gain from an increase in air services, as will budget carriers which are ideal for a region where no two points are more than a few hours apart, say analysts. <br/>