Air-India for you — Don’t fly, don’t let others fly

*External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and Environment Minister T.R. Balu were stranded in Germany sinc...

*External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and Environment Minister T.R. Balu were stranded in Germany since Air-India doesn’t fly to Frankfurt anymore.

*Union Tourism Minister Ananth Kumar has attributed a 9-per cent drop in tourist traffic to the non-availability of flights.

*Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has asked Sharad Yadav to allow Malaysian Airlines to operate direct flights to Hyderabad and Bangalore.

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These are just a few of the letters the government keeps getting, asking it to grant permissions to more foreign airlines to fly in and out of the country. Since its very existence is being questioned, Air-India’s top brass is resisting plans to allow foreign airlines to fly more flights in and out of the country.

In a letter to Sanat Kaul, Joint Secretary in charge of A-I Deputy Chief of Mission in Berlin A.K. Pandey says: “The experience of the mission itself in making airline bookings for its personnel confirm the picture that no airline seats are available on demand and travel plans have to be made weeks if not months in advance for seats to be confirmed.” He then goes on to describe how the three ministers were stranded and “put to great inconvenience”. The letter was sent on September 14.

Says Union Minister for Civil Aviation Sharad Yadav: “What do I do they (A-I) do not have the capacity? Yet when I try to increase traffic in to India there are attempts to block it. I am trying to help the passengers”.

A-I’s attempts to play spoiler have also been pointed out by Naidu in his letter to Yadav. Naidu says: “Your clearance to Malaysian Airlines to operate flights connecting Hyderabad with the west coast of the USA …. the proposal is being resisted by Air-Inda… If A-I is not in a position to operate in this route, they may be advised not to prevent the Malaysian Airlines from operating these flights.” Naidu sent his letter on September 14.

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In fact, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, member, Planning Commission, threatened to take up the matter with the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, in a letter to the Civil Aviation Secretary A.H. Jung where he said that the aviation ministry’s responsibility was primarily to the country and thereafter the national carriers. He asks Jung in his letter of September 26 that the congestion in routes to Europe and USA where the load factor is 85 per cent at present — it should be 70 per cent — is indeed serious.