New Delhi: The aviation ministry has forever run-and many say ruined-Air India. And now, even private airlines or those who plan to start one are no longer free to decide how many planes they should have in their fleet or if they should start a new airline. The aviation ministry takes these decisions for them.
While IndiGo has been allowed to import only five of the 16 planes it wanted to import this year, Captain G R Gopinath-the father of low-cost flying in India-is waiting endlessly to get licence to start a new airline. While moves like more planes or more airlines would have helped bring down fares that have defied gravity ever since Kingfisher troubles started last year, the ministry did just the opposite.Clearly, with his five Lok Sabha MP-strong Rashtriya Lok Dal supporting UPA-II, 72-year-old IIT Kharagpur alumnus Ajit Singh has become the virtual sarpanch of the aviation industry.
11/02/13 Times of India
