'Need to have 5 big airlines': Civil Aviation Minister amid IndiGo crisis
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Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Monday said the ministry has continuously been working to encourage competition in the sector and encouraged more airlines to come to the industry with the government's help.
Speaking at the Rajya Sabha, Naidu said, "We have envisioned the demand to be growing at such a rate that we want to have more airlines in the picture... The demand that India is creating today, we need to have five big airlines, and that has been the effort from the ministry to encourage more airlines to join the industry."
Highlighting that the ministry has continuously been working to encourage competition, Naidu said, "There are the smaller airlines also, which we have encouraged in the last five, six years. We want more players to be in this industry. This is the time to start an airline in India."
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Monday said the ministry has continuously been working to encourage competition in the sector and encouraged more airlines to come to the industry with the government's help.
Speaking at the Rajya Sabha, Naidu said, "We have envisioned the demand to be growing at such a rate that we want to have more airlines in the picture... The demand that India is creating today, we need to have five big airlines, and that has been the effort from the ministry to encourage more airlines to join the industry."
Highlighting that the ministry has continuously been working to encourage competition, Naidu said, "There are the smaller airlines also, which we have encouraged in the last five, six years. We want more players to be in this industry. This is the time to start an airline in India."
'Not taking IndiGo issue lightly'
Naidu's remark comes amid the ongoing crisis in domestic-carrier IndiGo, which is facing flight disruptions due to a variety of reasons. The minister said the disruptions happened a month after the Flight Duty Time limitations (FDTL) rules came into effect.
"The airline was responsible for handling crew and rostering. Our role is to check whether FDTL rules are being followed, and there has been no compromise on that front. For an entire month, we closely monitored this. On December 1, we even held a meeting with IndiGo on FDTL, clarified their doubts, and they did not raise any such concerns. Everything seemed normal until suddenly, on the 3rd, this situation emerged," Naidu said.
He said the ministry is not taking this incident lightly, and an inquiry is underway. "There was a lot of difficulty that was faced by the passengers, and we are not taking this situation lightly. Any miscompliance or non-adherence by any airline, operator, or individual in civil aviation will face very strong action," he said.
The operations at IndiGo, India's largest airline, have been disrupted for the last few days, with the airline cancelling over 500 flights on December 5. The DGCA has asked the airline to respond to its show cause notice by 6 pm today and added that no more extensions will be provided.
The disruptions came as the FDTL rules expanded rest hours, limited night duties, and mandated 48 hours of weekly rest. However, amid growing issues, DGCA allowed relaxations to the airlines on Friday.
Safety topmost priority: Naidu
Noting that safety has been the Centre's topmost priority, Naidu said, "We care for the crew, we care for the pilots, and we care for the safety of the entire system. We care for the passengers. So from the ministry, we have made it very, very clear to all the airlines that they have to follow the rules."
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