The Hindu Business Line : Cabinet to consider allowing private airlines to fly abroad

THE proposal for allowing private sector scheduled airlines to operate in the international skies is likely to be considered by the Union Cabinet on February 4.

In an informal chat with newspersons, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Rajiv Pratap Rudy, said that the proposed Cabinet meeting is likely to examine the civil aviation policy, which will consider a variety of issues including connectivity and making the sector more affordable.

However, the crucial issue of increasing the foreign direct investment (FDI) level in the domestic civil aviation sector will not be taken up at the meeting, the Minister said. "The issue of FDI requires some more deliberations with other Ministries. It is only then that the issue will be taken up," Mr Rudy said.

Senior officials said that only those domestic airlines that have been operating in the Indian skies for at least the past two years would be allowed to operate abroad.

The division of the unutilised bilateral of Air India and Indian Airlines is to be done on an "equitable basis" based on the `Available Seat Kilometres' operated by an airline in the country. In effect, what this would mean is that the more an airline has been operating in India the more it will be in a position to seek rights from the authorities to operate in the international arena. The private sector scheduled airlines will be allowed to operate to any part of the globe except for the Gulf region.

Official sources said that if the proposal gets the Cabinet nod, the domestic airlines could start operating in about a week. "There is no need for any notification to be issued to allow the airlines to fly abroad. All it will require is clearance from the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation," officials said.

Besides, the Cabinet is also expected to take up a proposal to follow a liberal open sky policy for international airlines during the peak season for the next three years.

The Minister stressed that there were no differences among the various Ministries on any of the proposals, which had been mooted by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.