New Delhi: The government may looking at easing norms for domestic airlines to operate international services without restrictions in fleet size and operational experience ahead of the launch of two start-up ventures - Tata-SIA Airlines and Tata-AirAsia.
Existing rules require Indian carriers to be in operation for at least five years and have a fleet of 20 aircraft to be eligible to fly on international routes.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh today said the ministry is in the process of framing a cabinet note to seek the government’s approval to “scrap” the regulations within the coming month and ease norms for flying international.
The move will benefit Tata-SIA and AirAsia, both of whom are expected to take to skies in 2014. GoAir too stands to be a beneficiary from the abolition of the regulation as it would help the airline in improving fleet utilization.
GoAir CEO Giorgio de Roni had told Business Standard the airline is looking to fly international upon receiving regulatory approvals
Aviation advisory firm Centre for Asia pacific Aviation (CAPA) in a recent report described the 5/20 rule as “the most damaging and discriminatory”. According to CAPA, the financial health of Indian airlines would have been much stronger had they been allowed to commence international operations earlier.
Read News In Full 14/01/14 Sharmistha Mukherjee/Business Standard
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