Under criticism from several MPs over the Jet-Etihad deal, government on Monday said it had "no role to play" in the sale of Jet's slots at London Heathrow airport to the Abu Dhabi-based airline.
The Civil Aviation Ministry came out with a detailed note on the matter, saying "Government or any other Civil Aviation Institution in India has no role to play". It further termed the charges of irregularities in sale of three slots by Jet to Etihad as "absolutely baseless and false".
"This is purely a function of Airport Coordination Limited of Heathrow Airport and the concerned airlines," it said.
It also maintained that Air India, which had four slots at Heathrow, was currently using only three and the remaining one was leased to Delta Airlines of the US.
A slot, or landing and departure time, are permissions to use a runway or airport infrastructure which is given by the airport to the airlines as per procedure.
23/07/13 PTI/Business Today
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The Civil Aviation Ministry came out with a detailed note on the matter, saying "Government or any other Civil Aviation Institution in India has no role to play". It further termed the charges of irregularities in sale of three slots by Jet to Etihad as "absolutely baseless and false".
"This is purely a function of Airport Coordination Limited of Heathrow Airport and the concerned airlines," it said.
It also maintained that Air India, which had four slots at Heathrow, was currently using only three and the remaining one was leased to Delta Airlines of the US.
A slot, or landing and departure time, are permissions to use a runway or airport infrastructure which is given by the airport to the airlines as per procedure.
23/07/13 PTI/Business Today
