National Civil Aviation Policy: Indian Middle Class can fly again

The much-awaited national civil aviation policy that pursues to reinforce regional connectivity and tap the Indian Aviation Sector’s growth potential was on Tuesday cleared by the Union Cabinet.

Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju called the policy a “game changer” and said that the country’s aviation sector is poised to develop into world’s third largest by 2022.

The new aviation policy is a turning point for India’s civil aviation sector as it frees the operators from the shackles of 5/20 rule for flying overseas.

The step would surely attract more investment in the aviation which in any case had become quite viable after a sharp correction in the fuel prices, said D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM.

The capping of the air fare would propel the regional connectivity and would provide an affordable alternate to the first class railways tickets which are not available on demand.

Source: ANI

Here are the ten major developments:

1. The policy restraints ticket cost at Rs. 2,500 for one-hour flights between smaller towns and cities as the government plans an ecosystem that will lead to an increase in air travel by making it affordable.
2. It aims at increasing connectivity to the country’s smaller towns and cities by offering sops and incentives to airlines to fly on these routes.
3. The new policy says the Centre will refund 80 per cent of the losses incurred by airlines due to the cap in fare on such routes.
4. The government hopes to see the 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.
5. Airlines will now be charged a cess on domestic routes to pay for subsidized flights.
6. According to the new policy, an airline can fly international if it has a fleet of 20 planes. It no more needs to have operated in the domestic sector for five years to fly abroad.
7. This will benefit new operators like AirAsia and Air Vistara. AirAsia group chief Tony Fernandes tweeted, “Initial reports on India is superb. Of course I think 20 aircraft is too many but thank you @narendramodi. Big day for indian Avaition (sic).”
8. A revival of old air strips as no frill airports, a single window system for all aviation related transactions and complaints by aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation or DGCA  are other important provisions in the new policy. It also proposes real time safety tracking.
9. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said the policy is a “game changer” and added that the country’s aviation sector is poised to become the world’s third largest by 2022. “NDA government clears India’s first ever integrated National Civil Aviation Policy. This will be a game-changer for the sector,” he tweeted.
10. Airline stocks – Jet Airways, InterGlobe Aviation and SpiceJet – jumped as much as 5 per cent after the Cabinet cleared the long-awaited policy.

Ten Point Story Source: NDTV