Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh today said that changes are being made in the Route Dispersal Guidelines to promote regional air connectivity in the country. Addressing the Economic Editors Conference in New Delhi, he said provisions are being included in these guidelines to make it mandatory for all Indian airlines to operate on socially-important but financially unviable routes in the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Minister said that to promote connectivity to Tier-II and Tier-III cities, the Aircraft Acquisition Policy is also being amended to nudge the Indian carriers to buy smaller planes to operate to smaller cities.
Mr Singh said consultants have been appointed for the changes in the route dispersal guidelines and their report is expected in two months.
Briefing on various aspects of the civil aviation sector, the Minister said the government has undertaken a series of initiatives to further the growth of the sector. He said, it has approved creation of 15 greenfield airports and work on three of them — at Mopa (Goa), Navi Mumbai and
Kannur — is likely to begin by the end of this fiscal. A total of Rs 24,132 crore would be made available for airport development in the 12th Plan period, including 17,500 crore rupees investment in the central sector. The Minister said that other measures initiated by the government include allowing foreign airlines to invest FDI upto 49 per cent in Indian carriers, allowing airlines to directly import jet fuel, seeking rationalisation of taxes on it, modernising a large number of airports in metros and non-metros, initiating steps to establish a Civil Aviation Authority, a separate Air Accident Bureau and Civil Aviation Security Force.
Regarding high ATF prices which account for 45 to 55 per cent of an airline's total operational cost, he said, talks are being held with other concerned Ministries to declare aviation turbine fuel as a notified item and to bring its pricing under the ambit of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board.
