CITU Opposes Open-Sky Policy

THE CITU has opposed the permission granted by the central government to private domestic airlines to fly on the international air routes saying this will adversely affect the national carriers, Air India and Indian Airlines, in that important and most revenue-earning sector.

The CITU secretariat in a statement on December 30 charged that this decision was intended to boost the profits of private airlines, Jet Airways and Air Sahara. “The NDA government had already opened the skies of SAARC countries to the private sector airlines. The decision of UPA government clearly indicates that it is continuing the same NDA government’s open skies polices evolved by Naresh Chandra Committee Report”, stated the CITU.

The private sector airlines in India have already developed ties with foreign airlines and the Jet Airways and Air Sahara would be able to snatch away a good chunk of market share from Air India and Indian Airlines due to purposeful delay on the part of the government of India to sanction the purchase of new aircrafts by the public sector companies while the private airlines were augmenting their fleet capacity in an aggressive manner, felt the CITU. The move to open, after three years, even the Gulf sector for the private airlines would put the public sector companies in a competitive disadvantage, it stated.

Charging the government of taking this step deliberately in order to weaken the public sector airlines, the CITU said it was also a violation of the CMP commitment. It demanded the government to immediately reconsider its decisions to open overseas skies to Indian private airlines.

The CITU appealed to the working class to resolutely oppose the policies of open- sky policy of the government of India, which is detrimental to the public sector and the national economy. (INN)