Airlines may get to fly abroad before 5 years

New Delhi: The government is likely to do away with the mandatory norm that requires Indian airline companies to operate in the domestic market for at least five years before they fly abroad. The civil aviation ministry is of the view that each airline should be evaluated on its own merits instead of a blanket eligibility criteria.
The domestic airline industry is divided on this issue. While older private airlines like Jet Airways are in favour of continuing with the existing norms, newer entrants like Kingfisher, SpiceJet and Air Deccan want them to be relaxed.
The new thinking of doing away with the minimum experience criteria altogether comes at a time when a group of ministers headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee is deliberating on the national civil aviation policy. The policy includes among other things norms for domestic airline companies to fly abroad. The next meeting of the GoM is slated in the first week of September. The new move may pave ways for scheduled carriers such as Kingfisher and Air Deccan to operate internationally.
27/08/07 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Categories: Foreign Aug 2007, New Aug 2007