New Delhi: In a bid to boost regional connectivity from 89 small towns that either have small airports or airstrips, the aviation ministry is planning to give upfront subsidies to airlines to put them on their networks. For this, the existing route dispersal guidelines (RDG) that mandate that airlines fly a certain percentage of their flights to the northeast, Kashmir and some other areas may be phased out in the next two to three years.
"We expect an annual subsidy of Rs 400 crore would be required for airlines for flying to these otherwise commercially unviable areas. To fund this, a reasonable cess of about Rs 50 will be levied on all domestic tickets. There will be a bidding process for the flights linking the small towns to bigger cities. Airlines with lowest viability gap funding would be given those routes," said a senior official.
The ministry has decided not to force airlines but 'nudge' them to provide regional connectivity through this route.
17/04/13 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
