Union Cabinet clears Civil Aviation policy to increase air travel
The Cabinet proposes a cap of Rs. 2,500 on one-hour flights.
The clearance came after several rounds of inter-ministerial discussions over the last 18 months. The draft policy was revised in October 2015.
With the policy, the government hopes to see sale of 30 crore air tickets per year in the domestic sector by 2022 and 50 crore by 2027. For international travel, the target is 20 crore by 2027.
Currently, only carriers that have been in the business for at least five years and own a minimum of 20 aircraft can fly abroad.
The policy also proposes increase in regional connectivity by offering sops to airlines.
The government has proposed a Rs. 2,500 cap for an hour's flight on such routes to ensure affordability. It says the centre will refund 80 per cent of the losses incurred by airlines due to such caps.
Revival of old air strips as no frill airports, single window system for all aviation related transactions and complaints by aviation regulator - Directorate General of Civil Aviation OR DGCA - and real time safety tracking are the other important decisions that the policy will take up.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.