Indian Airlines Oppose Regional Connectivity Plan

Indian domestic airlines have voiced opposition to a Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) draft policy on regional and remote connectivity that permits nonscheduled (charter) companies to fly regular service to remote destinations under code-share arrangements with scheduled carriers. Under India’s Route Dispersal Guidelines, domestic airlines must to fly 10 percent of their capacity to identified underserved areas.

In a meeting called by MOCA to debate the draft policy, airlines plan to suggest establishing a regional connectivity fund in line with international practice. The plan would involve charging every passenger a fee, used for subsidizing airline operations for flights to 87 destinations mentioned under the guidelines clause.

A new proposal from DGCA seeks to ease up regional air travel

New Delhi: If what aviation regulator DGCA has proposed is accepted by the Government, Non-Scheduled Operator Permit (NSOP) holders will be allowed to become Scheduled Commuter Services for domestic flights.

An NSOP holder is an operator who is not allowed to publish a flight schedule and needs permission before mounting each flight. Typically, NSOs are people who offer charter flights and sometimes offer services to corporate honchos for flying but by their very definition these people cannot offer regular flights like commercial airlines since they cannot publish schedules.