Pvt airlines seek relief, will suspend domestic services 18 Aug.

Mumbai: The country's domestic carriers said Friday they had decided to suspend all domestic operations on 18 August, except international services, in a bid to draw government attention to their troubles. It is learnt that they will press for lower taxes and airport charges.

The decision to suspend operations was taken at a meeting of the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), the apex body of private air carriers at Mumbai.

The FIA said through a statement that they were not serving an ultimatum to the government but only seeking its help to overcome a crisis, which is being faced by the global aviation industry.