The recent announcement by Ashwani Lohani, the chairman and managing director of Air India, that the airline was in discussions with representatives of 16 State governments and Union Territories to put smaller towns and cities on the aviation map, is nothing more than a case of old wine in a new bottle.
Regional connectivity was on the agenda nearly two-and-a-half decades ago when it designated Vayudoot to enhance connectivity to smaller towns and cities. A little later the India Shuttle plan was mooted as a part of the turnaround plan for Air India. It was intended to get 40 aircraft for regional connectivity to places that could be covered in one hour of flying time.
While Vayudoot’s plans fell by the wayside, possibly because of lack of traffic and the fact that it expanded way too fast for its own good, there are many who now believe that the ‘new’ idea is nothing more than the India Shuttle plan in a new avatar.
The recent announcement is riddled with many problems. First, the civil aviation policy is in the last stages of being finalised after a delay of at least two months. The general thinking is that regional connectivity should form part of the policy instead of being discussed separately so that the policy document becomes a comprehensive one covering all aspects of civil aviation in the country.
01/06/16 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line
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Regional connectivity was on the agenda nearly two-and-a-half decades ago when it designated Vayudoot to enhance connectivity to smaller towns and cities. A little later the India Shuttle plan was mooted as a part of the turnaround plan for Air India. It was intended to get 40 aircraft for regional connectivity to places that could be covered in one hour of flying time.
While Vayudoot’s plans fell by the wayside, possibly because of lack of traffic and the fact that it expanded way too fast for its own good, there are many who now believe that the ‘new’ idea is nothing more than the India Shuttle plan in a new avatar.
The recent announcement is riddled with many problems. First, the civil aviation policy is in the last stages of being finalised after a delay of at least two months. The general thinking is that regional connectivity should form part of the policy instead of being discussed separately so that the policy document becomes a comprehensive one covering all aspects of civil aviation in the country.
01/06/16 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line
