Clearing the air, the civil aviation ministry said today that IndiGo airlines did not comply with the guidelines of the new Aircraft Acquisition Committee (AAC) and hence the approval for the acquisition of only 5 planes was given as against the proposal of 16 Airbus 320s.
At the first meeting of new Aircraft Acquisition Committee in November, 2012, the ministry was earlier rejecting IndiGo’s proposal for the acquisition of 16 aircraft. However, permission was granted to the carrier as IndiGo cited financial trouble in case, it did not acquire 5 aircraft. Moreover, IndiGo informed the ministry that it required only 5 aircraft for the time being, said a senior government official.
The civil aviation ministry is about to come out with new Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) in February. When IndiGo applies again, we will obviously consider its request, the official added.
04/02/13 Disha Kanwar/Business Standard
