The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has refuted the allegations levelled by the promoter of Indigo Airlines, Rahul Bhatia, that it is tinkering with the aviation policies for favouring a select band of airlines in the country.
“It is (being) clarified that the government being the owner of Air India is well within its rights to promote the national carrier and prepare it for competition. Air-India was highly under-capitalised at the time of merger in 2007 and has therefore been provided support in the form of equity to correct the skewed debt equity ratio,” a MoCA release said. The Ministry also clarified that the private operators were not being provided with any financial support, directly or indirectly, but have been allowed to perform as per market forces. “There are no regulatory frameworks anywhere in the world allowing cancellation of the licence of airlines merely for failing to pay salaries to the staff,” the communique said.