New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry and the Federation of Indian Airlines, the apex body of existing carriers, have crossed swords over a new policy that seeks to change route dispersal guidelines.
While the two had earlier disagreed over a plan to scrap the rules for flying abroad, the proposed changes in the route norms have snowballed into a major row.
In a letter to the ministry's top brass, including minister Gajapati Raju, the FIA director criticised the route dispersal guidelines, saying "the changes in the policy penalises existing airlines, while benefiting new airlines. New entrants will be allowed to start operating on more lucrative long-haul international routes, deploying just 3-4 aircraft on profitable domestic routes and two aircraft on remote routes.
"Thereafter, they will have no further obligation other than to maintain some cosmetic capacity in the domestic market. They will be free to expand to any number of long-haul destinations with any number of aircraft and no further commitment to the domestic market."
Under the new route dispersal guidelines, which the government is likely to notify soon, around eight cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Patna, Jaipur and Panjim are listed as Category 1, or trunk routes. Category II, or remote area flights, will include destinations such as Dehradun, Shimla, Kulu and Dharamshala.
06/03/15 Jayanta Roy Chowdhury/The Telegraph
While the two had earlier disagreed over a plan to scrap the rules for flying abroad, the proposed changes in the route norms have snowballed into a major row.
In a letter to the ministry's top brass, including minister Gajapati Raju, the FIA director criticised the route dispersal guidelines, saying "the changes in the policy penalises existing airlines, while benefiting new airlines. New entrants will be allowed to start operating on more lucrative long-haul international routes, deploying just 3-4 aircraft on profitable domestic routes and two aircraft on remote routes.
"Thereafter, they will have no further obligation other than to maintain some cosmetic capacity in the domestic market. They will be free to expand to any number of long-haul destinations with any number of aircraft and no further commitment to the domestic market."
Under the new route dispersal guidelines, which the government is likely to notify soon, around eight cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Patna, Jaipur and Panjim are listed as Category 1, or trunk routes. Category II, or remote area flights, will include destinations such as Dehradun, Shimla, Kulu and Dharamshala.
06/03/15 Jayanta Roy Chowdhury/The Telegraph
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