Fly with more choice

The number of years needed for domestic airlines to go global may be reduced.

You might soon have more options to choose from for flying on international routes. The Civil Aviation Ministry is contemplating reduction in the number of years to allow a domestic airline to start international operations. Hinting that the government might bring in a change in the current policy, Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel, informally told mediapersons in Delhi that a process to change the policy might be initiated soon.

Confirming the same, Civil Aviation Ministry Spokesperson, Maushumi Chatterjee, said, “Yes, there is a move to bring down the number of years to start international operations for domestic airlines, but decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis.”

“The decision, however, as to whether it will be three years or less will be a cabinet decision. The Ministry is contemplating amending the guidelines for allowing airlines to operate in the Gulf States as early as this month.”

Currently the policy allows a domestic airline operator to start international operations after it has completed five years of domestic operations and has a fleet of a minimum of 20 aircrafts.

This policy had allowed Jet and Sahara to start their international operations. It is believed that if the policy is amended, it would go in favour of Kingfisher Airlines which just completed two years of its domestic operation on May 9. Kingfisher had been reportedly lobbying for quite some time to get the guidelines amended.