The government has removed the country’s top aviation regulator Prabhat Kumar.?While he has not yet been informed about his redeployment, Kumar is likely to revert to his home cadre of Uttar Pradesh.
As director general of civil aviation (DGCA), Kumar had reviewed the financial health of the low-cost airline SpiceJet earlier this month and initiated a series of steps, including cancellation of the airline’s 186 flying slots in the face of frequent cancellations and grounding of flights.
The delicate relation between DGCA and the nodal aviation ministry became quite apparent on December 16, with the latter asking the regulator to relax restrictions on advance booking imposed by it on SpiceJet.
The decision to remove the DG was conveyed on Tuesday via fax by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) headed by prime minister Narendra Modi himself.
"The decision has been taken," an official source confirmed to Financial Chronicle.
While the reasons of his removal could not be immediately verified, multiple sources told this paper that there were complaints against him from airline operators. Several aviation analysts had earlier disapproved of the DGCA order terming them unfair.
30/12/14 Nirbhay Kumar/mydigitalfc.com
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As director general of civil aviation (DGCA), Kumar had reviewed the financial health of the low-cost airline SpiceJet earlier this month and initiated a series of steps, including cancellation of the airline’s 186 flying slots in the face of frequent cancellations and grounding of flights.
The delicate relation between DGCA and the nodal aviation ministry became quite apparent on December 16, with the latter asking the regulator to relax restrictions on advance booking imposed by it on SpiceJet.
The decision to remove the DG was conveyed on Tuesday via fax by the department of personnel and training (DoPT) headed by prime minister Narendra Modi himself.
"The decision has been taken," an official source confirmed to Financial Chronicle.
While the reasons of his removal could not be immediately verified, multiple sources told this paper that there were complaints against him from airline operators. Several aviation analysts had earlier disapproved of the DGCA order terming them unfair.
30/12/14 Nirbhay Kumar/mydigitalfc.com
