The Centre has called a meeting of the heads of all airlines in the country on June 4 to review the performance of the aviation sector as part of the government?s quarterly review.
According to sources, one of the key issues that could be raised in the meeting would be the rising fuel prices and its impact on the financial health of the carriers. In its last meeting, the civil aviation ministry had asked the air carriers to stop referring to the surcharges that they take from the passengers as taxes since the government does not earn from it.
National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil), the entity formed from the merger of the erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines, is up for review on May 9 and 10 by the civil aviation minister Praful Patel. The new chairman and managing director of the national carrier Raghu Menon will meet Patel and present all the facts and figures of the progress of the national carrier.
Cabinet secretary KM Chandrashekhar has called on June 3 a review meeting of the progress on the modernisation of the Indira Gandhi International airport by Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) and the Chatrapati Shivaji International airport in Mumbai by the Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL).
Besides, the public investment board comprising mainly secretaries from various ministries will meet on May 31 to discuss the modernisation and infrastructure development programme for the Dum Dum International airport in Kolkata. After the board?s clearance, the Rs 2,000-crore proposal will go to the Cabinet for final clearance.
The meeting between the representatives of the ministry of civil aviation and state finance ministers and state representatives to discuss the future of taxes levied by the states on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) has been postponed from May 30 to the first week of June.
In the earlier meeting, the ministry had proposed that states implement an across-the-board sealing of 12.5% sales on ATF in order to help the civil aviation sector that is reeling from the huge losses due to high ATF cost in India.