Hyderabad, Oct 16 : Air India on Thursday said that it is considering a plan to give about 15,000 of its staff a three-five years leave without pay.

Air India CMD Raghu Menon said, "We are planning to offer leave without pay for three to five years. We can consider it for about 15,000 employees."

However, he said, those who take up the offer to go on leave would be taken back if they desire so at the same seniority and last drawn pay.

Menon''s statement comes at a time when the country''s leading private carrier Jet Airways has laid off 1,100 jobs as the financial crisis in the aviation sector worsens.

Mumbai/Hyderabad, Oct. 15 : Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday warned that no Jet Airways flights would be allowed to take off from Mumbai if the airline continued with its policy of laying off employees because of the crisis affecting the aviation sector.

Thackeray''s warning came as the airline said that it would lay off 800 cabin crew and reduce services to cut costs.

Hyderabad : Airline barons Vijay Mallya and Naresh Goyal today quashed rumours of a merger between Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines.

"There is no equity swap. Our understanding is for purely commercial alliance," Mallya said on the sidelines of an aviation show here.

Justifying the coming together of the two airlines, which account for about 60 per cent of the market share, Goyal said that the break-even point for the aviation sector is at 90 per cent capacity utilisation whereas, "We are now operating between 60-70 per cent."

Hyderabad, Oct 15 : Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today opened the country''s first International Exhibition and Conference on Civil Aviation "India Aviation 2008" here today.

Inaugurating the exhibition at the Begumpet Airport here, Patel said India would need an investment of 200-300 million dollars in the next 10-15 years in the entire spectrum of the aviation sector, including procurement of planes and airport infrastructure.

''''Once aviation recovers in the world sector, India will be counted among the top 3-4 aviation countries in years to come,'''' he added.

He also said that some issues needed immediate attention with jet fuel prices being the primary one.

Hyderabad, Oct 15 : The country''s first International Exhibition and Conference on Civil Aviation “India Aviation 2008” will begin here today.

The four-day event is being jointly organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the FICCI, with the United States being the partner country.

The exhibition, to be held at city’s Begumpet Airport, will showcase the development of Indian Civil Aviation sector and a theme pavilion displaying rare photographs and models will highlight its past, present and future.