Govt back to drawing board on int’l ops of domestic carriers

  The government would also convene a meeting of chief executives of airlines to elicit their views on the draft aviation policy before putting it in place, Aviation Secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey told reporters on Monday. 

The proposed norms would be put in public domain for consultation by the <g data-gr-id="19">month end</g>, he said. He added that the Civil Aviation Ministry would also invite comments from the airlines on the scrapping of 5/20 rule, a proposal which is being opposed by the airlines umbrella organisation Federation of India Airlines (FIA). 

FIA comprises Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir. 

Terming the erstwhile UPA’s aviation policy as “opaque,” the government had brought out a fresh draft last November, recommending listing of state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) and chopper firm Pawan Hans on stock exchanges and steps to beef up Air India operations, hinting at its stake sale too. 

Alongside, it has also put in process tweaking of 5/20 norms to provide a level-playing field.  The existing rules allow a domestic airline to fly abroad only if it has completed five years of domestic operations and a fleet of 20 aircraft.