The Professor’s Minute Minute — November 16

 

A way to think of the future.

Amsterdam’s 109-year-old airport looks forward to its next century of operations — and the report is a masterclass in infrastructure renewal, long-horizon planning, and what happens when governments, airlines, and operators actually think 50 years ahead.

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/infrastructure/our-insights/amsterdams-109-year-old-airport-prepares-for-its-next-century

RED FLAG WARNING.

A proxy-vote executive order that could let political actors influence trillions of dollars of index-fund holdings? This is the kind of regulatory earthquake that will eventually hit airlines, travel, tourism, sustainability, and ESG disclosures. It’s bad.

https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/trump-executive-order-proxy-index-fund-votes-638f396e

KSA is becoming a real player.

If you want to understand Saudi Arabia’s travel future, follow this company. Almosafer + Amadeus strengthening their AI partnership is a major marker for how the Kingdom is structuring its digital travel ecosystem.

https://www.ttnworldwide.com/ArticleTA/330407/-Almosafer,-Amadeus-strengthen-AI-travel-partnership

Space is not a good place for fraud.

A man who raised money for a “space technology” company that didn’t exist has been found guilty. A reminder that hype cycles always produce more scammers than innovators.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/man-who-defrauded-investors-sham-technology-company-found-guilty-wire-fraud-and-money

Pay attention. This cutback is staying in place.

The FAA will keep a 6% reduction in domestic flight volumes — even after funding approval. The impacts will trickle into schedules, connectivity, pricing, and delays through peak seasons.

https://www.gatechecked.com/faa-to-keep-6-cutback-on-domestic-flights-despite-federal-funding-approval-11024

Quirky: Yup, they screw up too.

China lost four spy satellites. A rare reminder that even the most sophisticated systems occasionally face glorious operational face-plants.

https://www.intelligenceonline.com/asia-pacific/2025/11/13/beijing-loses-four-key-spy-satellites%2C110559176-art

Image Description (for generation)

A Picasso Blue-Period, Cubist-style landscape in cool blues and muted grays. Symbolic elements: a future-airport skyline with geometric terminal forms; a fractured red warning triangle for the proxy-vote risk; an abstracted KSA desert motif with a rising AI-themed arc for Almosafer; a tumbling satellite to represent the fraud conviction; a truncated aircraft silhouette showing reduced domestic capacity; and fragmented satellite shapes falling across the canvas for the quirky item. No text, no logos, max two subtle brand-colour hints.

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