Government to check books to let Indigo, SpiceJet fly abroad

Low-cost carriers SpiceJet and IndiGo will have to assure the government of their financial capability and operational preparedness to get the nod to fly abroad, a civil aviation ministry official said Monday.
'The government cannot freely offer licenses to any airlines which wishes to fly abroad. We have to look into other aspects like the financial viability of the airline as well so that it can sustain international operations even when the demand is low,' said the official, who asked not to be named.
'This is being done given the experience we had in the past when domestic airlines like Air India, Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways had either discontinued many flights to international destinations or rationalised their services following the global meltdown. This is something serious which the government cannot ignore,' he added.
According to the official, the norms for issuing licenses for overseas operations has been made stricter.
The ministry has asked aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), to conduct a check of the airlines' preparedness to fly abroad.
While IndiGo Airlines has 25 aicraft and expects few more deliveries this year, SpiceJet has 19 aircraft and will take 9 more deliveries this year. SpiceJet meets the stipulated five years of domestic operations in May this year. For Indigo, it is August next year.
29/03/10 IANS/Sify

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Foreign Mar 2010, IndiGo Airlines Mar 2010, New Mar 2010, spicejet Mar 2010