Bangalore, August 03: Failing to put up a united front in the face of a tough-talking government, private airlines, which carry more than one lakh domestic passengers daily, have put their August 18 strike “on hold”.
The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) issued a statement on Sunday evening, saying, “In view of the agitated public sentiment and potential inconvenience to thousands of passengers and government’s willingness to enter into dialogue, the FIA has decided to put on hold its decision to suspend flights on August 18.”
And just so that the statement was not misinterpreted as the strike being called off, the FIA followed it up with another small note: “All private airlines have suspended the strike. It has been put ON HOLD, Pls note.”
However, an industry source said the fight was losing steam with most private airlines withdrawing support. “The FIA is trying to save face by not admitting that it was calling off [the strike],” he said.
The FIA had announced on July 31 that private carriers will suspend their operations on August 18 if the government didn’t do anything to rationalise sales tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and reduce airport charges.
But with the government warning them of stern action, IndiGo airlines was the first to break ranks, announcing that it won’t join the strike. It was followed by its low-cost rival SipiceJet on Sunday.
Sanjay Aggarwal, CEO of SpiceJet Ltd, said, “We continue to take bookings for August 18. We are mindful of the inconvenience the strike will cause to our customers. We are optimistic that we will operate flights on August 18 and will be able to resolve issues with government.”
New Delhi-based regional airline MDLR Airlines told DNA it was never part of the strike and was opposed to it from the beginning. Business carrier Paramount Airways and state-owned Air India also kept away from the strike.
So, that had left only Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and GoAir.
“They are (aviation industry’s) big brothers but they do not have the clout to carry off the strike on their own. They have been forced to give in,” said a senior executive of airline.
Now, the airlines are looking to begin talks with ministry of civil aviation to push for their demands.
SpiceJet’s Aggarwal said private airlines want to resolve issues by having a “meaningful dialogue with ministry of civil aviation”.
Even FIA’s statement said it “hopes that constructive dialogue with government will lead to redressal of the problems faced by the aviation industry”.
–Agencies–