Civil aviation minister Praful Patel talked tough on Saturday to tackle rebellion from private airlines, which have threatened to suspend all flights on August 18 if their long-pending demands with the government are not met.
The minister categorically told the airlines the government cannot be expected to help them out. “Why should the government help private airlines financially?” he asked.
He advised the airlines to call off their strike call and even went to the extent of threatening punitive action under regulatory powers vested with the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) if they inconvenience air passengers.
Patel also reiterated that state-owned Air India, which is not participating in the protest against the government, will operate additional flights on August 18 to minimise inconvenience to flyers. Patel said the government would even consider invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to bring the airlines on track.
He acted on his threat by shooting off a missive from DGCA to airlines asking them to refund August 18 tickets within 48 hours. The DGCA letter said: “In case of cancellation of flights, airlines are required to refund the full amount paid by them – passengers, (a) within seven days of cancellation if the ticket was purchased through credit card and (b) immediately if the ticket was purchased through cash transaction.”
The letter further said, “You are hereby directed to confirm compliance with the above Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs) within 48 hours. Any non-compliance with the above provisions may attract legal action as provided in the Aircraft Act/Rules and relevant regulations.”
Former DGCA Kanu Gohain explained that the Scheduled Operator Permit of each airline requires them to inform the DGCA about any changes in flight schedules and the reasons for making these changes.
“Aviation is no longer a luxury. It has become a common mode of transport. People book tickets, make travel plans and any suspension of operations by airlines is a public inconvenience. If the government thinks it is appropriate, it can suspend, withdraw or cancel the Scheduled Operator Permit of airlines,” he said.
Travel agents are at their wit’s end on Saturday. “I started getting phone calls from several people asking to cancel the tickets for August 18. And now for travel agents it is going to be a tough time to recover the money from the airlines and hand it over to clients,” said one travel agent.
Saturday also saw private airlines abandoning their rebellious posture to adopt a mellowed one.
Saroj Datta, executive director of Jet Airways, said: “we don’t expect to blackmail or threaten the government. We are just asking for help from it.”
He also said private airlines were not proposing to go on strike “but would not operate (flights) on one particular day to highlight their issues.”
A statement issued by the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), a representative body of domestic carriers, also had a softer tone to it: “FIA members will only be happy to enter into discussions with government and reconsider their unanimous decision to suspend operations on August 18, if their difficulties are addressed.”
The airline lobby organisation also said that Friday’s decision of private airlines to suspend operations on August 18 has been “grossly misunderstood.”
“The FIA wishes to clarify that this decision is neither a threat nor blackmail nor a desire to pressurise. It is not even intended to cause deliberate inconvenience to esteemed passengers of member airlines of FIA. They (FIA member airlines) are merely seeking to be treated fairly,” said the statement
The note clarified the private airlines were not seeking any charity or bailout from the government. “Even though governments in other countries have responded positively in providing financial assistance to airlines in such exceptional circumstances, members of FIA do not wish to burden the government with such demands,” it said.
Further, listing the woes of the domestic private carriers, the letter stated, “it is a fact that the Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices (including the high incidence of taxation in India) are much higher than countries abroad. In addition, member airlines are taxed heavily and are forced to accept high charges (unilaterally decided by airport operators) for airport, landing, parking and navigational services.”
Airlines have also been adversely hit by a weaker rupee against the dollar that pushed up their aircraft lease rentals and maintenance costs. Tumbling air traffic had further added to their difficulties and increased their losses.The airline industry lost Rs 10,000 crore in 2008-2009.
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