Retired employees of the erstwhile Indian Airlines, now part of Air India, have blamed the Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and top officials of the merged airline for the mess.
Grouped in the All-India Airlines Retired Personnel Association (AIARPA), they have sent a letter detailing their charges to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Among the reasons thye gave for the present crisis were ‘disproportionate’ access to/from India to foreign airlines, allowing ‘favoured’ private Indian carriers international routes, ‘forcing’ the airline to lease Boeing 777, even though new ones were delivered, creation of Air India Express, ‘destroying’ the Indian Airlines brand to allow Jet Airways to dominate the domestic market and privatisation of profitable Airports Authority of India airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
The letter also questions the merger of AI and Indian Airlines and its timing. Plus favouritism in appointments and misuse of airline resources.
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