November 9: East West Airlines (EWA) plans to revive its operations by January and is negotiating with `foreign partners' for taking on lease two Boeing 737-400s to start with.``We have worked out a revival plan and hope to operate with five such aircraft by March,'' a spokesman of the airline said.The airline had already renewed the `no objection certificate' from Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) a few months ago for import of aircraft, but permission would be given after the necessary manpower to operate aircraft were put in place, a DGCA official said.The spokesman said plans ``are to keep minimum requirement of labour, and a clear picture will emerge in the next 15 days.''He said the airline, which had more than 2,500 employees on its rolls, has been left with only 40 to 50 employees now. ``We have submitted a detailed revival policy to Civil Aviation ministry,'' he added.He said EWA had a financial liability of Rs 150 crore, but it had been brought down and general liabilities were now less than Rs 22 crore. A financial package was also being put in place, he added.EWA, the first private airline to take off in early 1992, closed down a few months after the gunning down of its managing director Thakiyudeen A Wahid on November 13, 1995.In a statement on Saturday, EWA chairman A W Nasir said assassins of Wahid were yet to be arrested.
