Nacil requests Rs1,000 crore govt bailout

Mumbai/New Delhi: The National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, or Nacil, the entity into which state-run carriers Air India and Indian Airlines were merged, has sought a Rs1,000 crore financial package from the government to deal with integration costs. The package could come either as a soft loan or cash assistance to Nacil, which has posted a loss of at least Rs700 crore in the last fiscal year.
“We have written to the government for financial assistance to meet integration cost. The government is expected to reply to us shortly,” said a senior Nacil executive, who didn’t want to be named.
The request “is unprecedented”, said a senior civil aviation ministry official familiar with the process, but who did not wished to be identified.
“They have asked for support at such scale for the first time. We are considering the proposal.”
The civil aviation ministry is looking at the request because Nacil is in the process of a huge capital expansion programme, valued at about Rs42,000 crore. Nacil is buying 111 aircraft from Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS.
26/11/07 P.R. Sanjai and Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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