No Jet monopoly on Indian skies: Govt

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has allayed apprehension in the industry about Jet Airways gaining monopoly in the Indian skies following its takeover of Air Sahara.

Patel said mergers and acquisitions were becoming common practice and there was no need to fear.

"Mergers and acquisitions have become a common practice these days...This is going to happen but there is no need to fear about monopoly", he said on Friday night on the sidelines of a function "Mumbai Dialogue".

"Every airline starts in a small way and tries to expand its operations. We have been liberal in granting licences to private airlines. Already some have been permitted and applications of few others were being considered", he added.

Citing the instance of Indian (formerly Indian Airlines), the Minister said the domestic airlines once had 100 per cent share in aviation passenger traffic but its share declined considerably over a period of time.

To a question as to when would the approval be given to the Jet-Sahara merger, Patel said it depended on the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Company Law Board, which were the competent authorities.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has no role to play in this regard, he said, adding that the regulator would take stock of the situation once they receive a formal application from the management of Jet Airways.

Patel, however, reiterated that the Government was committed to develop infrastructure in the aviation sector not only with the restructuring and modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports but also with upgrading airports at Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and in other cities.

First Published: Jan 21, 2006 12:46 IST