Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi on Friday said he would
talk to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to get cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines some financial assistance to help it come out of the major trouble as hundreds of its
flights were being grounded and pilots quitting en masse.
HOW THE KINGFISHER STOCK FARED TODAY Ravi went out of his way to provide support to the troubled private airline as he promised to put in a good word with his colleague in the finance ministry for liquor baron
Vijay Mallya's company.
"Not only Kingfisher, the entire civil aviation industry is in crisis. Fuel prices have gone up and proportionately fares have not increased," Ravi said talking about the problems faced by various airlines.
Will Mallya's move to shut down Kingfisher Red pay off? "Mallya met me more than once... explained the situation. Whether it is a private carrier or Air India is immaterial. It affects the common man. So, as a minister I will take up the cause," he said, adding, "I believe he (Mallya) has not been able to get enough finances from bank. So I agreed to put in a word with the finance minister."
Urging the state governments for their help in fighting the crisis, Ravi said: "Fuel prices are the biggest problem. We request state governments to pitch in and reduce the sales tax. They are anyway getting a central share in the fuel taxes."
The minister said that he would find out from the
Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the airlines as to how bad the situation has been.
Courtesy: Headlines Today 
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