Kolkata: Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today (Sep 24, 2004) warned that the Government would not allow disruption in normal air services and operations during Monday's (Sep 20,2004) mass casual leave by Airports Authority of India Employees' (AAI) Joint Forum, but said he would meet their representatives in Mumbai tomorrow (Sep 25,2004) in a bid to avert the stir.

''The Centre will not allow any disruption in normal air services on Sep 27,2004. I have already talked to the union representatives,'' Patel told reporters after a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee.

The mass casual leave call had been given by the AAI Employees Joint Forum to protest against the Union Government's decision to privatise Mumbai and Delhi airports.

"They are our people. They are very cooperative and I hope that they will understand our views. We will also hear their views as far as possible," Patel earlier said at the N S C Bose International Airport in Kolkata.

When the minister's attention was drawn to the unions' allegation that the AAI had a fund of about Rs 21,000 crore and the AAI engineers were capable enough to take up any modernisation plan for any airport in the country, he replied that there was some restriction on spending.