With the government talking tough and the regulators deadline to comply with its directive getting nearer,private airlines tonight buckled under pressure and put on hold their decision to go on strike on August 18. In a written statement,the Federation of Indian Airlines said that FIA secretary-general Anil Baijal had been able to impress upon private airlines,including IndiGo,to put on hold their decision to suspend flights on August 18. Citing agitated public sentiment,potential passenger inconvenience and government emphasis on a dialogue,the FIA said constructive dialogue with Government will lead to redressal of the problems faced by the aviation industry. The airlines,set to suffer losses of around Rs 10,000 crore this fiscal,had demanded certain relief measures from government,citing falling passenger traffic and high aviation fuel costs in the country. There was a split in the associations unanimous stand taken earlier with low-cost carrier IndiGo on Saturday pulling out of the proposed strike. By late Sunday afternoon, Spice Jet too expressed its unwillingness to suspend flights. Private carriers carry about 80 per cent of the domestic passenger traffic. The private airlines gave in after the government cracked down and regulator Director General of Civil Aviation asked the airlines to give reasons for the strike and issued notice to refund the full ticket amount to passengers booked for travel on August 18. The airlines were asked to report compliance by Monday. Only seven airlines Jet Airways,Kingfisher and their respective low-cost arms Jet Lite and Kingfisher Red,IndiGo,Go Air and Spice Jet had decided to participate in the strike earlier. Paramount,MDLR and state-run Air India chose to stay away. In fact,Travel Agents Association of India,the largest travel agents association,told The Indian Express that the body had not received any communication from private airlines to either suspend booking for flights on August 18 or to refund booked tickets for the same date.
