New Delhi: Ashwani Lohani, a Railway Service officer, took over as the new Chairperson and Managing Director (CMD) of national carrier Air India (AI). He took charge yesterday evening, an AI spokesperson said.

Lohani succeeded Rohit Nandan, who has now been appointed as secretary in the Union Ministry of Skill Development. An engineer-turned-bureaucrat, Lohani, is the first Railway Service officer to head the airline. Prior to his appointment as AICMD, Lohani was heading Madhya Pradesh Tourism Develo-pment Corporation in Bhopal.