[New Delhi]5/20 Jinn Still In Cage: Centre To Domestic Airliners
Govt has not taken any decision on on fate of 5/20 rule:
The government today conceded the demand of the promoters of old airlines for a “patient” hearing on the issue even as it said no decision has been taken on the fate of the regulation.
At a meeting, chaired by Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, the promoters contended that relaxing of the norms will have negative impact on domestic connectivity and services and may lead to rise in airfares.
The meeting comes at a time the Civil Aviation Ministry is preparing a draft note on the new aviation policy to take it to the Cabinet for its approval.
The decade-old regulation requires an Indian carrier to have a minimum five years of domestic flying experience and a fleet of at least 20 planes to fly overseas.
The meeting was attended by
Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal,
IndiGo promoter Rahul Bhatia, its
President Aditya Ghosh and
SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh, among others.
A controversy had been triggered when the Civil Aviation Ministry held a meeting with two Tata Group-promoted startup airlines — Vistara and AirAsia India — to discuss the proposed aviation policy as part of the stakeholders’ consultation on the draft civil aviation policy.
The FIA, which comprises Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir, and claims to represent more than 90 per cent of the domestic airlines industry, took strong objection to this “one sided” confabulations which had also included discussions on international flying norms for domestic carriers, popularly known as “5/20 norm”