Taking a serious view of the strike by a section of Air India employees, the government on Wednesday asked the management to take 'strong' and 'decisive' action against them as they have indulged in an 'irresponsible' behaviour causing inconvenience to travellers.
The government plans to formulate a separate set of policies for regional airlines, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Monday.
In a bid to allay the apprehensions of the Left parties and the trade unions, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Monday said the Delhi and Mumbai airports were not being privatised
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's plans to make India a maintenance, repair and overhaul hub for aircraft in Asia are set to crash. China, once again, has left India way behind. While over 300 MRO companies are in operation in China, only three have set up shops in India - Max Aerospace, Airworks and Indamer.
The runway length of Mangalore airport, which saw a major air crash a week ago that claimed 158 lives, will be increased from the present 8,000 feet to 9,000 ft to include a larger spillover area, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said.
The Centre will come out with a policy by next year that will prescribe guidelines to state governments, private investors and Airports Authority of India for building airports. This was announced by the Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel at an Assocham function to discuss the need for building aerotropolis (cities around the airport).
Jet Airways, Kingfisher and NACIL, which operates Air India, owe over Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) to the oil PSUs in unpaid fuel bills, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said.
Kingfisher will be permitted to fly abroad this year, following its acquisition of Air Deccan. Since Air Deccan will be eligible for the international arena this August, Kingfisher too will enjoy this right.
The new entity formed after the merger of state-run carriers Air India and Indian will be in place within four months, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel informed the Parliament on Friday.
According to the package, the dues will be cleared in six monthly instalments by March 2009. Current ATF purchases will get 90 days' credit, supported by bank guarantees. Also, jet fuel price revisions will henceforth happen every fortnight. Praful Patel on Thursday admitted in the Lok Sabha that it may take another two months to make the recently-opened third runway at the Delhi airport fully operational.
When members raised the issue of development fees being levied in privatised airports such as in Delhi and sought abolition of such fees, he said the government had already constituted the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority entrusted with the responsibility of deciding on the issue. Members pointed out that while it was the responsibility of private players to develop the airports, they were charging the passengers for the work.
The civil aviation ministry assured employees of state-owned carriers Air-India and Indian on Wednesday that the planned merger of the two would not involve retrenchment, cuts or losses in pay scale, perks or allowances.
The radar blip on the flight path of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special plane, which created a mid-air scare, was caused by an Indian Air Force aircraft and the incident cannot be considered a serious security lapse, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said. "Primary investigation has revealed that there was some mix-up in the signals," he said. The special aircraft carrying Prime MinisterManmohan Singh had the mid-air scare on Tuesday evening.
The minister said airlines must reciprocate the government's gesture to help the aviation industry, which has been been going through rough weather this year. State-run oil companies on Monday slashed jet fuel prices by over 11 per cent. ATF in Delhi was cut by Rs 4,208.37 to Rs 32,691.28 per kilolitre.
Speaking to reporters after inaugurating a Rs 50-crore (Rs 500-million) aviation turbine fuel pipeline of Indian Oil Corporation from Manali to Chennai, the minister said: "Air India will not sack employees but financial and organisational restructuring is on the cards."
India's Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said that he expects the country's newly regulated airline sector to boom 20 per cent annually over the next five years on the back of surging investment and traffic.
The minister said as the aviation industry has been growing at 18 per cent CAGR, the country needs up to 3,000 aircraft in 10 years.
The proceeds of the IPO are expected to be ploughed into activities like expanding the fleet of the airline, which was earlier merged with its sister carrier Indian.
The first thing that needs to be addressed is Air India's cost structure. If it were a private airline, Air India could apply for bankruptcy, but as a national airline that option is not on the table, says Vinay Bhaskara.
"There are approximately 52,042 employees working in the civil aviation sector in the attached/autonomous/public sector organisations under this ministry. There are no such proposals in the above organisations," minister of state (Independent Charge) for civil aviation, Praful Patel informed the Rajya Sabha.
The Congress leader is also being probed by ED in two separate money-laundering cases of Aircel-Maxis and INX Media.
Air India has been struggling after it posted an $875 million loss in the fiscal year ended March and sought a government bailout.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said that he will try to help the airlines in every possible way.
Aviation experts say the existing airports cannot be viable.
It turned out to be a starry affair as some of India's top current and former cricketers attended former union civil aviation minister Praful Patel's daughter Poorna's sangeet ceremony in Mumbai on Thursday.
Executive pilots of India's national carrier Air India called off their four-day-old strike on Wednesday after the government assured to look into their concerns.
The government's support is there for Air India, (but) it comes with a condition, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said. Air India must shape up, it should become leaner and trimmer, Patel said.
Government is considering setting up an airport economic regulatory authority to deal with tariff and service standards at airports, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel, has said that the government has plans to touch 100 operational airports by 2008 and was working to create at least 500 small and big airports across the country. Highlighting the oil sector, Patel said that the sector needs introspection. "Unless we work on our oil sector, we are not going to be a stable economic power in the long run," the ministry added.
India's ailing aviation sector can finally hope to get some relief. The Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Praful Patel has announced that a Group of Ministers (GoM) has been formed to look into the issues faced by the aviation sector.
That's a surprise since his protege Praful Patel has shouted down requests this week
The negotiations will be held in Mumbai on Tueday at the International Civil Aviation Negotiations Conference which will be inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil.
Strengthening the Indian Airlines and Air-India and putting in place a comprehensive civil aviation policy would be accorded top priority by the new government, Union Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel said on Monday.
It took 13 years to get environmental clearance for the greenfield international airport at Navi Mumbai.
The understanding was reached on Monday.
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