New Civil Aviation Policy to be sent to Cabinet in 2-3 weeks

The Civil Aviation Ministry will send the new policy draft to the cabinet in the next two to three weeks, aviation secretary R N Choubey said, according to an alert by Bloomberg TV.

The ministry has been working on the new civil aviation policy for some time now, with disagreements over the 5/20 rule holding it back for months. 

The current 5/20 rule mandates airlines to fly domestic routes atleast for five years and have a fleet of 20 aircraft before they can fly international routes. The industry is divided on the fate of the rule with most listed airlines against doing away with the rule which "will give undue advantage to new players in the field" according to carriers like SpiceJet and IndiGo. 

However, new airlines like Vistaara, AirAsia are in favour of removing the rule. The government has not taken any stance on the issue yet, but the sources in the civil aviation ministry had recently revealed that the 5/20 rule may be set to go.

The new civil aviation policy draft was first revealed in October last year and since then the government has held extensive consultations with various stakeholders including ministries, airlines, airport operators, ground handling agencies, among others during this period.

The new policy will also concentrate on improving regional connectivity and a cap on domestic fares.