Mumbai: “Only the Sena can make such statements.” This is what civil aviation minister Ajit Singh had to say to the Shiv Sena’s threat of not allowing flights to take off from the Mumbai airport if national-carrier Air India shifts its headquarters to Delhi.
Explaining the rationale behind the move, Singh said that as Air India has a hub as well as a registered office in New Delhi with most of its subsidiaries are based there, it makes more sense to operate from there.
Also, as most of the stakeholders from the aviation industry —including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority and the civil aviation ministry, and environment and forests ministries — are based in the capital, it will be easier for the top management to keep in touch with them, Singh said.
18/03/13 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis
