Airlines cancel 267 of 1910 slotted winter flights: Govt

As many as 267 of over 1900 flights approved for this winter season have been cancelled, including 175 by Kingfisher Airlines, forcing aviation regulator DGCA to annul the slots alloted to the air carriers, Lok Sabha was informed today.

Kingfisher cancelled 175 out of 418 flights alloted to it for the Winter Schedule which came into operation on October 30, Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said in reply to a question. The schedule is operational till March 31.

"All the slots for non-operational flights have been cancelled," he said, adding that the cash-strapped Kingfisher Airline is operating only 243 flights that were approved.

Out of a total of 1910 flights approved for this peak season, 1643 flights are actually operational.

No-frill carriers SpiceJet and IndiGo did not operate 33 and 32 flights which were approved, he said, adding that while Air India did not fly seven flights, Jet Airways and JetLite together did not operate 20 services.

In reply to a question on the comparative price of jet fuel in India and in other countries in the neighbourhood, Ravi said the cost of aviation turbine fuel was much above that prevailing in Southeast Asia and the Gulf nations.

While a kilolitre of ATF in Mumbai cost Rs 60,733.64, it was between Rs 41,000 and Rs 43,000 in cities like Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai, Sharjah and Kuala Lumpur. The lowest price in India was in Delhi which stood at Rs 57,528.32 and the highest was in Kolkata at Rs 68,769.64.