Aviation regulator will be toothless in absence of policy: Experts

New Delhi: The Indian government may have cleared the deck for a new regulator for the aviation industry - the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) - but in the absence of a new civil aviation policy, its efficacy remains a question, say industry trackers.India’s proposed aviation policy, which seeks some far-reaching changes in regulations governing the sector, is already delayed by five years, and runs the risk of getting delayed even further with six states going to the polls this year, followed by parliamentary elections early next year, says Marc Martin, senior adviser for aviation at global accounting firm and consultancy KPMG.
“I don’t see the new aviation policy taking shape,” Martin said. “How AERA has to be brought effectively on ground level is again a big task ahead. AERA has to partner with the industry,” he said.
A former regional director of the Airports Authority of India too said AERA would not materialise in the near future.
“It (AERA Bill 2007) is yet to get presidential consent. A notification has to be issued after that; this will be followed by a process for enactment of the regulator at the ground level. All this will take time,” he said. A committee set up under former civil aviation secretary Naresh Chandra had prepared a blueprint and set the ground rules for the entire aviation sector in November 2003.
But the draft policy had to be deferred as the country went to the polls in early 2004. The new aviation policy has been on hold since then.
09/11/08 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Nov 2008