Age bar may lead to freeze in air pacts

New Delhi: The government may put a brake on further liberalisation of bilateral traffic rights. The civil aviation ministry has said that if the Centre does not relax the five-year domestic flying eligibility criteria for domestic carriers wanting to fly abroad, it may be forced to freeze further negotiations on bilateral traffic rights.
Claiming that more access to foreign airlines would lead to their dominance in international air traffic to and from India, the ministry said this would make it difficult for domestic carriers to compete when they become eligible to fly abroad. The submission was also made to the group of ministers (GoM) deliberating on the draft civil aviation policy in its last meeting.
“If domestic carriers are not allowed to operate internationally without serving five years in the domestic market, foreign airlines would gain an unfair edge and expand their wings here. The domestic carriers could be rendered uncompetitive when they are eligible to fly abroad,” a civil aviation ministry official said.
If the GoM headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee doesn’t decide in favour of startup airlines to fly overseas, the official warned that “there could be a freeze on further liberalisation of bilateral traffic rights”.
20/06/08 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Categories: Foreign Jun 2008, Indian Aviation- In General Jun 2008