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U.S. based Jet Airways Inc. not against India
By agencies
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Friday, 03 June 2005, 19:30 IST
WASHINGTON: The U.S. based Jet Airways Inc. which has opposed the entry of flights of Jet Airways (India) into American airspace citing national security reasons said it was not against India or any other Indian airlines in particular.
Jet Airways Inc. chief executive officer and president Nancy M Heckerman "welcomed" open skies agreement signed between the two countries in mid-April.
"This is a historic agreement between two great democratic countries of the world. This would definitely open new vista in the airlines history of the region. This is going to benefit both countries and its people," Heckerman said.
Reiterating her strong opposition to the entry of Jet Airways (India) because of its alleged links with the underworld Dawood Ibrahim and the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, she said: "I am not against India. I like India and its people. It is a great country with great culture and tradition. I have several staffs in my company from India. I would welcome any other Indian airlines, but not Jet Airways (India) which poses a grave threat to the U.S. national security."
Heckerman is the only one to have opposed the application of the Jet Airways (India) to the U.S. Department of Transportation seeking a "foreign air carrier permit" under the open skies agreement between the two countries.
In her petition, Heckerman, based on Indian media reports, had alleged that Jet Airways (India) and its chief Naresh Goyal had links with the global terrorist network.
Goyal and Jet Airways (India) have termed the allegations "defamatory and scurrilous" and urged the Department of Transportation to issue it with necessary permit so that it could go ahead with its Mumbai-Brussles-Newark flight launch from June 23.
The objections raised by Jet Airways Inc, which is yet to launch its commercial service, has resulted in slowing the application processing of Jet Airways (India) as the Department of Transportation is now reviewing the entire thing.