New Delhi: The government has permitted Air India to fly to Oman, offering the ailing airline a fresh source of revenue.
“These routes are profitable and the government wants Air India to earn as much revenue as possible to keep it going. According to our estimates, more than 7,000 people travel to and fro from Oman on a weekly basis. The idea is to tap these flyers,” said a senior Air India official.
IndiGo had also considered starting flights to Oman, but the government withdrew its rights. IndiGo confirmed that the right to fly to Muscat had been withdrawn by the civil aviation ministry. “This is the first time this has happened, but we will manage in the other sectors. This does not worry us much,” said a senior IndiGo official.
In January, the then civil aviation minister Praful Patel had given IndiGo an in-principle right to fly to Muscat from Delhi and Mumbai.
Though some analysts has cried foul over barring IndiGo, the government claims it has acted within its rights to promote the national carrier.
05/08/11 Karan Choudhury/The Telegraph
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