Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh in an exclusive Interview to CNBC-TV18 said that Kingfisher Airlines did not inform DGCA as per rules when it cancelled flights today. These cancellations left passengers at Kolkata and Mumbai airports stranded. However, he added that the government will wait till DGCA filed an official report on Kingfisher Airlines’ cancellations before taking any action against the cash-strapped airlines.
Kingfisher Airlines and other airlines in India are under financial stress, a reality that Ajit Singh said he was aware of and added that he knew that Kingfisher had been negotiating with banks for loans.
The company has been unable to pay several dues for some time now. The Civil Aviation Minister said that they, ( the government) are taking decisions to improve airline sector health which appears to be in deep financial trouble. The new bilateral policy, according to the minister would provide some benefits to private airlines. He added that Air India is not in a position to use bilaterals but due consideration would be given to the government airline which has been under serious financial trouble for quite some time now and has grown to rely on government bailout packages.
Passengers checking the status of Kingfisher flights at a screen at Bangalore International Airport in Bangalore on Monday as many flights of the airlines were cancelled. PTI
On the issue of ATF pricing Singh said, that several airlines were in touch with oil companies and in talks with private oil cos. The Minister confirmed that Indigo, SpiceJet, Kingfisher Airlines & Jet Airways have sought to fly overseas and the foreign investment in the airline sector will take some time.
Watch full video for more from the Interview
