With Jet Airways suspending its operations temporarily, as many as 440 slots are vacant at Delhi and Mumbai airports. There are 280 vacant slots at Mumbai and over 160 at the Delhi airport. The Civil Aviation Ministry in a statement has said that allocation of the slots of grounded Jet Airways at various airports around the country is purely temporary and is being allocated to airlines inducting additional aircraft. The ministry said that vacant slots have been allocated for a period of three months to reduce the inconvenience of passengers and facilitate induction of additional capacity. It further said that the historic rights of Jet Airways, as per provisions of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s guidelines for slot allocation, will be protected. The slots will be made available to Jet Airways as and when it revives operations. The government said that to ensure the slots are allocated in an equitable and transparent manner, it has set up a committee of representatives from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India, private operators and slot coordinators.