“It’s almost contradictory. They speak of cutting expenditure but flight tickets for Air India are more expensive. Earlier, we were allowed to fly on the cheapest ticket available. But now I had to go to Delhi via Mumbai because of flight timings — you end up spending half your time in transit,” Reddy said.

The All-India Defence Employees Federation has taken up the issue with the Ministry of Defence. “We have written to them on behalf of the association, asking them to exempt us,” Reddy said.

The central government employees say Pune is worse off as there is just one Air India flight from here. For everything else, they have to go to Mumbai. “One has to fly the previous evening, stay the night at a guest house or a hotel, and then take the morning flight. If the meeting is in the afternoon, then we have to take the evening flight back on the same day. But then again, there is the return leg of the journey to Pune,” Reddy said.

Another scientist added, “Who is to keep track of the lost man hours or the additional hotel expenditure incurred while we are waiting to take an Air India flight the following day?”

Till 2005, all central government employees could fly only Air India. The rule was relaxed thereafter with the employees allowed to book cheaper private airlines. In July this year though, the previous rule was reinstated. “But earlier, Air India had excellent connectivity to all the major cities from Pune, like Bangalore, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kolkata. Since then, they seem to have bartered these routes to the other airlines,” a central government employee said.

Compulsory Air India flying also means many officials are unable to attend ‘emergency’ meetings in other cities. “If they call us the previous evening, we have to refuse as there are no Air India flights in the morning. We are able to attend only those meetings that are planned well in advance,” a scientist said.

Air India sources said they could not quantify this early the rise in traffic because of central government employees. “We will be able to arrive at some conclusion only at the end of a quarter,” said a senior Air India officer. “However, the Pune- Delhi flight has been doing well.”