New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry plans to auction air routes which connect smaller cities to boost regional connectivity. Routes and airlines will be matched through competitive bidding.
“We plan to call an auction to select an operator for a particular route and the company that bids for lowest subsidy gets the route,” said a senior civil aviation ministry official, who did not want to be identified. “Talks are on with the planning commission, which is in favour of the proposal.”
A fund, Essential Air Services Fund or EASF, will be created for paying the subsidy. “The routes to be selected will be loss-making routes connecting smaller cities with lower passenger loads and airlines are averse to operating such routes because of low traffic. Basically, the plan is to provide connectivity to these cities through smaller planes,” the official said.
05/05/12 Mihir Mishra/Business Standard
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