Pressure from different airline lobbies is pulling this government in opposite directions over the 5/20 rule for domestic airlines. A powerful lobby of incumbent airlines wants the rule to stay while another comprising new entrants wants it to be scrapped. Caught in the middle of a tug of war, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has wisely decided to hold more discussions over the matter. If this rule is eased, immediate beneficiaries will be the two Tata airlines - AirAsia India and Tata-Singapore Airlines.
So even though officials in the ministry agree that there is little reason to continue with the 5/20 rule, scrapping it still does not figure in the Ministry's list of top priorities. In fact, though 5/20 and its fate are being discussed at various levels, this matter does not form a part of the 100-day agenda of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The 5/20 rule mandates that every Indian airline must have completed five years of domestic operations and must have a fleet of at least 20 aircraft before it is allowed to fly abroad. At the fag end of his tenure, the previous Minister of Civil Aviation, Ajit Singh, had spoken of doing away with this rule all together. But no decision was taken, presumably because of the strong lobby of incumbent airlines which opposed its scrapping. Their argument is: Why should things be made easier for new entrants when they have had to wait for five years before being allowed to fly abroad?
14/07/14 Sindhu Bhattacharya/First Poist
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So even though officials in the ministry agree that there is little reason to continue with the 5/20 rule, scrapping it still does not figure in the Ministry's list of top priorities. In fact, though 5/20 and its fate are being discussed at various levels, this matter does not form a part of the 100-day agenda of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The 5/20 rule mandates that every Indian airline must have completed five years of domestic operations and must have a fleet of at least 20 aircraft before it is allowed to fly abroad. At the fag end of his tenure, the previous Minister of Civil Aviation, Ajit Singh, had spoken of doing away with this rule all together. But no decision was taken, presumably because of the strong lobby of incumbent airlines which opposed its scrapping. Their argument is: Why should things be made easier for new entrants when they have had to wait for five years before being allowed to fly abroad?
14/07/14 Sindhu Bhattacharya/First Poist
