The draft aviation policy, which is waiting to see the light of the day since long is likely to get delayed further, as certain provisions including easing of international flying norm for domestic carriers, are expected to be reworked. Prime Minister Narendra Modi after reviewing the draft has said that the financial aspects of various proposals being included in the civil aviation policy must be considered before making them a part of the policy so that the exchequer is not burdened.
In the meeting which was also attended by Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, among others, PM called for evolving a consensus among the various stakeholders before the government takes a final view on the 5/20 rule. The rule stipulates that a domestic airline must have completed five years of domestic operations and have a fleet of 20 aircraft before it is considered eligible to fly abroad.
An earlier version of the policy, launched in November last year, was unanimously opposed by the industry and couldn't be launched after much criticism. Now the aviation ministry has been asked to rework many of the provisions in the aviation policy draft, including the one relating to easing of 5/20 norm. While among the issues which could have a financial impact, include offering infrastructure status to the aviation sector which will ensure credit at lower rates of interest to the sector, and the issue of viability gap funding where the state will make funds available for airlines to operate on certain unviable routes.