Mumbai: Air India has reportedly approached aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA) to get its flying permit renewed which is about to expire in the month of June amid the fact that the airline is bound for a disinvestment and the government trying to fix a match with a potential buyer for the carrier, sources said.

According to some reports, the about to be sold national carrier said that the DGCA has already renewed the Scheduled Operator Permit (SOP) of Air India’s international budget arm Air India Express recently.

“In the case of Air India, it has applied to the DGCA for renewal of its flying permit and the documents pertaining to renewal are being processed,” the official told Press Trust of India.

The DGCA has already renewed the SOP of jet carrier Air India Express, he added.

As per the norms of DGCA, Air India’s permit for flying is under validity till June this year, while Air India Express SOP was about to expire on 21^st of this month.

Expression of Interest ( EoI) was sought from potential bidders by the Ministry of Civil Aviation for a stake of 76 per cent sale in Air India alongside the divestment of two of the carrier’s subsidiaries, a move that has faced opposition by the airline’s unions on the fact that it may end up causing massive job losses.

The aviation ministry came out with the preliminary information memorandum on march 28 over Air India’s strategic disinvestment.

The government is of the intention to offload 76 per cent equity share capital of the national carrier and also wants the transfer of the management control, the memorandum says. The transaction so-proposed would involve Air India along with its low cost arm Air India Express and Air India SATS Airport Services which is considered to be an equal joint venture between the national airline and Singapore-based SATS.

Employee Unions of Air India has written to the Prime Minister Modi over the issues relating to the disinvestment and have demanded an alternative reviaval.

And as everyone in the eight unions fear that there might be huge job losses after the privatization, they have written the matter in the letter which was signed by representatives of the eight unions.

Air Corporation Employees Union, All India Service Engineers’ Association, Air India Employees Union, Aviation Industry Employee Guild, Air India Aircraft Engineers’ Association, All India Aircraft Engineers’ Association, Air India Engineers Association and United Air India Officers Association are the ones who have written the letter.

If taken altogether, the strength under the unions represent more than 10,000 Air India employees.

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