Aviation policy goes piecemeal

New Delhi: The ministry of civil aviation has now decided to take a piecemeal approach to tackle issues under the civil aviation policy, since a comprehensive policy has been hanging fire for quite some time.
The policy was referred to a Group of Ministers (GoM) in the previous UPA Government regime, but this GoM now stands dissolved since a new government has assumed office.
In the absence of a policy document, some rather significant sectoral issues such as a comprehensive ground handling policy, a separate cargo policy and permission to foreign carriers to pick up stake in Indian airlines remain unaddressed. Also, issues such as allowing Indian carriers to fly abroad without a mandatory five-year domestic operation clause and even the corporatisation of Air Traffic Control require redressal.
Official sources said that in its piecemeal approach, the ministry has already sent a Cabinet Note to lay down a new ground handling policy across all Indian airports from January 1 next year. This policy was in the works for two years, but has been facing stiff opposition from airlines who fear loss of passenger interface and revenues if only three designated agencies are allowed to handle passenger baggage.
An air cargo policy has also been in the works for many months. This policy is expected to project a vision for air cargo growth in India by the year 2020 and the ministry
has begun work on drafting this document after consultation with stakeholders.
28/12/09 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Dec 2009