Kingfisher gets govt nod to fly abroad

Kingfisher Airlines, promoted by flamboyant businessman Vijay Mallya, has secured permission to fly abroad starting with flights to London.     

The Civil Aviation Ministry granted the traffic rights to Deccan Aviation, in which Kingfisher Airlines merged in 2007, to operate services to London and other global destinations.     

The airline, which has already firmed up plans to launch its Bangalore-London (Heathrow) flight from the first week of September, would be starting its international services on the rights granted to Deccan Aviation on the India-UK sector.     

The Ministry yesterday conveyed its approval to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for granting traffic rights to Deccan Aviation, an official spokesperson said here today.     

Traffic rights of seven services per week have been granted with effect from August 26 between Bangalore and London and the airline permitted to utilise a large aircraft, Airbus A-330 for the long-haul operation.     

The Ministry has also advised DGCA to grant operating clearance to Deccan Aviation after due diligence of the airline's ability to operate on the long-haul sector, the spokespersons said.     

This would make Deccan Aviation the second major private Indian airline after Naresh Goyal's Jet Airways to launch international operations.     

According to guidelines an Indian carrier can fly abroad only after serving the domestic market for five years and having a fleet of 20 aircraft.     

Kingfisher Airlines was merged into Deccan Aviation with the sanction of the Karnataka High Court. Following this, all the 43 aircraft on the Scheduled Operators Permit (SOP) of Kingfisher were transferred and endorsed on the SOP of Deccan Aviation with the approval of the DGCA.