Guidelines for airlines flying abroad

The civil aviation ministry has issued guidelines for scheduled carriers to launch global operations, making it mandatory for them to have at least 20 aircraft, five years of domestic operations and security clearance from the Union home ministry.

Under the guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the airlines eligible to fly abroad would also have to get approval of the Aircraft Acquisition Committee and have a valid Air Operators permit.

The government could ban any carrier from flying on a particular route for two years if it failed to fully use the rights granted for that route, an official statement said here on Tuesday.

The entitlements could be reviewed in case an airline reduced its domestic operations.

The guidelines come in the backdrop of government allowing private carriers Jet Airways and Air Sahara to fly on international routes, besides Air-India and Indian Airlines.

Ministry officials last week briefed representatives of the four carriers on the new guidelines and wanted them to give further details on certain issues like whether they have the required number and size of aircraft, details on pilots who will operate on foreign routes, arrangements of these operations, availability of slots and maintenance facilities at foreign destinations.

The four airlines have already submitted their operational plans for the ensuing summer season and the winter schedule.

Under the guidelines, allocation of traffic rights to scheduled airlines would depend on the availability of such rights to particular countries.

If the total entitlements fall short of the requirements projected by the eligible airlines, the allocation of entitlements would be made on the basis of the average seat per kilometres (ASKMs) deployed by the airlines on domestic routes over the last five years, the statement said.

The ASKMs in the domestic sector would be determined twice a year on January 1 and July 1.

The traffic rights alloted to a particular airline in a year would have to be utilised in the same period. The airline's failure to utilise traffic rights once granted would lead to a ban of two years on that route, it said.

Entitlements to a scheduled carrier may be reviewed if any of them reduced the domestic operations after obtaining the traffic rights on international routes, it said.

Notwithstanding these guidelines, the government would have the discretion to permit or deny allocation of rights in view of the preparedness of the airlines, viability of their operations and overall interests of the civil aviation sector in the country.

The Union Cabinet had on December 29 last decided to allow private carriers to fly to all international destinations, barring the Gulf and Saudi Arabia, and synergise IA operations with A-I. At present, the private airlines fly only to SAARC countries Nepal and Sri Lanka.