The concerns of airlines that approvals for aircraft acquisition could slow down after change of rules under Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh seem to be turning true.
At the first meeting of the Aircraft Acquisition Committee after Singh made himself the final approval authority, IndiGo's proposal to import 16 aircraft was slashed to five.
Two officials familiar with the case said that IndiGo's proposal was cleared by the committee, but the minister okayed import of only five aircraft at a November-end meeting.
"The committee had cleared the proposal on three grounds — the airline was using these planes for international routes and also starting domestic flights to some tier II cities, plus airlines needed to add capacity to make up for the absence of Kingfisher," said a government source.
04/02/13 Mihir Mishra/Indian Express
