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.
"Its vision to enable 300 million domestic ticketing by 2022, although ambitious, highlights the potential of the Indian aviation sector." In addition, aviation was among 15 industries in which foreign equity norms were eased in the year gone by. Moreover, India's passenger traffic demand grew at a stellar pace.
Official data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation showed that passengers carried by domestic airlines between January and November 2015 grew by 20.41 percent at 73,382,000. Sector-based experts pointed out that low crude oil prices helped to bring down fares which supported the rise in passenger traffic.
29/12/15 The Hans India
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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.
"Its vision to enable 300 million domestic ticketing by 2022, although ambitious, highlights the potential of the Indian aviation sector." In addition, aviation was among 15 industries in which foreign equity norms were eased in the year gone by. Moreover, India's passenger traffic demand grew at a stellar pace.
Official data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation showed that passengers carried by domestic airlines between January and November 2015 grew by 20.41 percent at 73,382,000. Sector-based experts pointed out that low crude oil prices helped to bring down fares which supported the rise in passenger traffic.
29/12/15 The Hans India
