Monday, December 28, 2015

Aviation Waited in Wings for a New Policy

New Delhi:  If the revival of an airline and return to profitability of some others marked the highlights in 2015 in Indian aviation, the year also went by without the government spelling out its long-awaited policy for the sector.

All that the civil aviation ministry managed in the last 19 months was to come up with a draft national civil aviation policy (NCAP) which, nonetheless, has some far-reaching implications.

Among the proposals is one to scrap the 5/20 norm, which stipulates a minimum five years of operations and a fleet of 20 aircraft for oversees flying rights, and to peg a minimum tariff of no more than Rs.2,500 per ticket for each flying-hour.

The grand scheme, however, still hangs in the balance and awaits the union cabinet's approval.

"Draft NCAP has contemplated many interesting proposals to promote growth in the aviation sector," Amber Dubey, partner and head of aerospace and defence at global consultancy KPMG, told IANS.
28/12/15 New Indian Express
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