Patna: Union Civil Aviation Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain on October 16 scotched off the speculation of disinvestment or privatisation of Air India and Indian Airlines.

''There is no chance of disinvestment or privatisation of the two leading airlines in the near future,'' Hussain told reporter on the completion of his one-year tenure in the Civil Aviation Ministry.

''I am not against the disinvestment policy and I was the first who decided to sell 'Modern Food' when I was minister for food processing,'' he said adding the privatisation of some international airways had led to grounding of their fleets.

He said his ministry had already decided to privatise airports in the four metros and upgrade them to match the standard of model airports elsewhere in the world. Besides 10 more airports in the country had been identified to make them model ones.

He said his ministry had prepared a draft for the new civil aviation policy and it was being processed for approval of the Union Cabinet.

Hussain said that Airport Authority of India (AAI) had acquired the land from Bihar government and the railway for the expansion of Patna airport and work would start soon. He, however, rejected the Bihar government proposal to shift the Jay Prakash Narayan Airport to Bihta.

He said all the safety hazards as pointed out by the director general of civil aviation report into the crash of the Alliance Airline in 2000 here would be kept in mind while expanding the airport.

PTI