Air India opposes MoCA proposal of abolishing 5/20 rule

Air India Ltd. has opposed the proposal of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India to abolish the five-year, 20-aircraft eligibility norm for domestic carriers planning to operate on international routes.

"We believe that the eligibility norms should not be completely abolished. You can bring down from the current five years and 20 aircraft, but they should not be abolished. Any airline that flies international should be required to prove it in the domestic skies first," said a senior Air India executive, as per a report by Mihir Mishra in The Economic Times.

MoCA allows airlines to invest up to 26% in Navi Mumbai airport

Mumbai: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India has allowed Navi Mumbai airport, which is being built through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, to raise up to 26 per cent of its equity from airlines, but has said investing airlines will not have any representation on the airport’s board.

Airlines are currently allowed to invest up to ten per cent of the equity of PPP airports, up from five per cent a few years ago. Mumbai’s second airport in Navi Mumbai, being built by City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd. (CIDCO) sought clearances from the Ministry to allow this to be raised to 26 per cent, Mint’s Tarun Shukla reported.

No joy rides for the minister and bureaucrats of the ministry of civil aviation

No joy rides for the minister and bureaucrats of the ministry of civil aviation as the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has rejected their request for a trip in inaugural direct Air India flight to Moscow.
Air India on Monday had its formal launch at Domodedovo International Airport (DME) Moscow. As per the ministry's plan, the first direct Dreamliner Flight that took off from Delhi on Saturday to Moscow was to carry the minister for civil aviation A Gajapathi Raju, MoS GM Siddeshwara, Secretary Ashok Lavasa and three joint secretaries from the ministry.
The ministry had written to the PMO seeking a political clearance for the trip. The letter went to the PMO about a fortnight ago. However, two days before the tour, top sources said, the PMO denied the political clearance.

Government allocates 11.4 % hike for Civil Aviation Ministry

New Delhi: Government today announced a new scheme to develop airports in metros and non-metro cities   through public-private partnership to enhance air connectivity   and hiked allocation for the Civil Aviation sector by over 11.4 per cent to Rs 9,474 crore in the budget.

"Despite increase in air connectivity, air travel is   still out of reach of a large number of aspirational Indians. Scheme for development of new airports in Tier I and Tier II   (cities) will be launched for implementation through Airport Authority of India and PPPs," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his Budget speech.

Aviation Ministry working on quick boost to the sector

New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry is working on a short-term strategy to re-energise the sector.

“We feel that Aviation, as a sector, is nowhere near its potential. We are setting some goals to realise it,” Ashok Gajapathi Raju, the newly appointed Civil Aviation Minister, said at a press conference called to announce the entry of Air India into Star Alliance. The Minister, however, declined to get into specifics, saying these will be laid out in the next few days.

Last Saturday, the Minister was present at a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi where issues relating to infrastructure, including aviation, were highlighted. He said while a number of issues, including Air India, came up at the meeting, no decisions were taken.

Modi to revamp aviation industry, not keen on privatising Air India

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government is planning revamp of the aviation industry. The Civil Aviation Ministry has made several proposals to the Prime Minster during a presentation last week to bring changes to the ministry.
Though according to sources, the ministry is not keen on privatising the ailing Air India, it wants to improve its performance. The PM reportedly, is concerned over the huge debt burden on the aircraft carrier. The PM has also stressed on priority being given to improve safety standards.

Civil Aviation Min meets PM, briefs him about sector's problem

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Saturday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on crucial issues facing the aviation sector like building of airports at non-metro cities, slashing of taxes on jet fuel and turning around the ailing Air India.

A detailed presentation is understood to have been made on the issues which also included downgrade of India's safety ranking by US regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and review of the rule requiring an airline to have flown domestic for five years and having a 20-aircraft fleet, before it could be allowed to fly abroad.

Super-saver Gajapathi Raju puts ministry in power-save mode

New Delhi: His job may be to take care of Indian skies, but aviation minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju's has shown equal concern for mother earth. The erstwhile royal of Vizinagaram in Andhra Pradesh is getting a master power switch installed in his office chamber at the ministry headquarters, Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, so that the minute he walks out, this is turned off and no lights remain on inside unnecessarily.

The minister wants to set an example for others and the move is going to be replicated in offices of all departments that come under the ministry nationwide. "We have seen that people are in the habit of keeping lights, ACs, TVs, computers and other electronics switched on even when they are not in their rooms or when they are not required.