Guwahati: The Centre and state governments of the Northeast should reduce operational costs of airlines to provide them incentives to fly in the region and make the skies "vibrant", Union minister for civil aviation P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju said here today.
"The government of India and the state governments in the region have to be aviation-friendly in order to make the sector vibrant. The Centre needs to upgrade infrastructure to make it affordable for airlines to serve the people. The states need to reduce taxation on aviation turbine fuel, which comprises 45 per cent of the operational cost of airlines," Raju said.
The taxation rates, as far as aviation turbine fuel is concerned, vary from state to state. "In some states, it is two per cent and in others it is over 30 per cent," he said.
Before his visit to the city, the Union minister, along with a team from the ministry, met representatives of the state government in Dibrugarh to take stock of the problems affecting the region's aviation sector.
"We had meaningful discussions but there are plenty of impediments to the sector's progress in the Northeast. Apart from improving connectivity by reaching out to the interiors and making air travel, including emergency services, affordable, there is a need to develop the cargo scene as the demand continues to be zero. Tourism also needs to be encouraged," Raju said.
31/01/15 Telegraph India
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"The government of India and the state governments in the region have to be aviation-friendly in order to make the sector vibrant. The Centre needs to upgrade infrastructure to make it affordable for airlines to serve the people. The states need to reduce taxation on aviation turbine fuel, which comprises 45 per cent of the operational cost of airlines," Raju said.
The taxation rates, as far as aviation turbine fuel is concerned, vary from state to state. "In some states, it is two per cent and in others it is over 30 per cent," he said.
Before his visit to the city, the Union minister, along with a team from the ministry, met representatives of the state government in Dibrugarh to take stock of the problems affecting the region's aviation sector.
"We had meaningful discussions but there are plenty of impediments to the sector's progress in the Northeast. Apart from improving connectivity by reaching out to the interiors and making air travel, including emergency services, affordable, there is a need to develop the cargo scene as the demand continues to be zero. Tourism also needs to be encouraged," Raju said.
31/01/15 Telegraph India
