NEW DELHI: The five-year, 20-aircraft condition that airlines need to meet to fly overseas may finally go, but Vistara, AirAsia India and others may not get a free hand in deciding where to deploy their capacity.
The civil aviation ministry is holding discussions on removing the so-called 5/20 rule, and one of the options it is looking at is a condition that the airlines operate a certain percentage of their flights in the domestic sector, a senior civil aviation ministry official said.
"We seem to have agreed on removing 5/20 but there is a fear that this might bring a situation where the airlines will shift focus completely on international operations," the official told ET on condition of anonymity. "We are discussing a model, wherein we could ask the airlines to fly at least 25 per cent of their total capacity in the domestic sector post the removal of 5/20."
The intent is to ensure that the domestic air connectivity is not compromised as people get more options to fly international, the official said.
22/12/15 Mihir Mishra/The Economic Times
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The civil aviation ministry is holding discussions on removing the so-called 5/20 rule, and one of the options it is looking at is a condition that the airlines operate a certain percentage of their flights in the domestic sector, a senior civil aviation ministry official said.
"We seem to have agreed on removing 5/20 but there is a fear that this might bring a situation where the airlines will shift focus completely on international operations," the official told ET on condition of anonymity. "We are discussing a model, wherein we could ask the airlines to fly at least 25 per cent of their total capacity in the domestic sector post the removal of 5/20."
The intent is to ensure that the domestic air connectivity is not compromised as people get more options to fly international, the official said.
22/12/15 Mihir Mishra/The Economic Times
