New Delhi: In a bid to reduce inconvenience to air passengers, the Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday said it would allot some of the slots vacated by Jet Airways to other airlines as a temporary measure.
“To reduce inconvenience of passengers and facilitate induction of additional capacity, it has been decided to allot some of the slots vacated by Jet to other airlines purely on a temporary basis, for a period of three months,” the ministry said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
The ministry, however, assured Jet Airways of protecting its historic slots as per the applicable norms and regulations. The ministry’s move comes after the abrupt closure of Jet Airways last Wednesday left thousands of passengers high and dry.
“The historic rights of Jet Airways, as per extent ministry guidelines for slot allocation will be protected. These slots will be made available to Jet as and when they revive their operations,” the ministry said.
It also said that a committee has been constituted by government comprising regulator DGCA, the Airports Authority of India, joint venture/private sector airlines and slot coordinators to ensure that slots are allocated in the most equitable and transparent manner.
Rival SpiceJet said it would start 28 daily flights connecting Mumbai and Delhi with other cities on its domestic network from April 26.
However, the government authorities are in the process of allocating the airport slots, amid efforts to increase capacity to meet peak season traffic.
The Jet Airways stock reacted positively to the developments and surged nearly 10 per cent on Tuesday, ending a three-day losing streak. The scrip jumped 9.90 per cent to close at Rs 169.90 on the BSE.
