"There were objections to the project from several parliamentarians, and the Tatas must understand that in such cases some delay is inevitable as the government must hear out all concerned," the minister said.

"I hope the airline project will be reconsidered," he added. A Tata group spokesperson, when contacted, did not wish to react on the finance minister's statement.

The Tatas had last week announced their withdrawal from the airline project citing inordinate delay on the part of the government to clear the project. The decision from the Tatas came days after group chairman Ratan Tata was invited to a panel of industrialists to advise the prime minister.

The Tatas had proposed setting up an airline with Singapore Airlines as an equity partner three years back. When a new civil aviation guideline was structured which did not allow foreign equity participation, the Tatas decided to go it alone. However, the project came under flak yet again for having Singapore Airlines as its technical partner.

Several trade union leaders and parliamentarians have come up with the suggestion that the future of Indian Airlines, the state-owned national domestic carrier, will be under threat if the Tatas are given the go-ahead.