A delegation of top private Indian airline executives under the banner of Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) met union minister Jitendra Singh and sought their concerns be addressed before finalising the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), which was first announced in November 2014 but has since been under consultations.
The deligation requested the government to refrain from raising the foreign ownership limit in local carriers. In the memorandum the executives raised their voice against foreign airlines taking control of some Indian airlines; it said that 'No other country in the world allows substantial ownership and effective control of its airlines to be taken over by foreign airlines. India has permitted some airlines to operate despite being effectively controlled by their foreign parent.' India allowed foreign airlines to buy as much as 49% in local carriers in 2012.
The airlines said the government’s move to abolish the 5/20 rule, which requires an airline to have five years of domestic flying experience and 20 aircraft in its fleet before it can fly to overseas destinations, will be an “injustice”. The airlines alleged that the new airlines will not be required to serve on underserved and remote routes as is requirement by all the airlines at present under the route dispersal guidelines of the government.
The memorandum also referred to the proposed clause relating to the availability of seats for a healthy and balanced growth, including backward and remote areas, where these existing airlines have been operating, but the new airlines may not be expected to fulfill this requirement. The airlines also expressed reservations against the proposal for auctioning of bilateral rights on the ground that no country in the world auctions its sovereign right to others.
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