Flying abroad rules for airlines to be sent for Cabinet approval soon

The 5/20 rule which mandates an airline to fly for a minimum 5 yrs and have at least 20 planes in order to fly abroad will soon be replaced by a credit-based system

The Union civil aviation ministry will send a note to the Cabinet next week for final approval to replace the present rule on allowing airlines to fly abroad with a credit-based system, sources said.

This present ‘5/20’ rule says an airline, to operate flights to outside India, must have done so within the country for a minimum of five years and have at least 20 planes.

According to the ministry’s original proposal, airlines will have to acquire credits based on the routes they fly here to earn international flying rights. Sources said comments have come from all stakeholders and the ministries concerned.

“We have incorporated a few minor changes to the original proposal. We have arrived at a broad consensus to the changes we had proposed,” said a senior ministry official.

Despite strong opposition from new airlines, the requirement to fly abroad will continue to be linked with the deployment of capacity in remote areas of India, sources said.

The ministry had proposed that airlines earn at least 300 domestic flying credits to fly on international routes of more than six hours. For flying shorter routes such as to the Gulf or Southeast Asia, they'd need at least 600 credits. These credits will be based on routes and distances airlines fly domestically, with higher points for flights to remote areas than to the metros. Credits will be lower on flights between metros and large cities and based on the number of seats offered, not on passengers.

Another proposal by the ministry was that airlines maintain at least 200 credits every year to retain their international flying rights. For incumbent airlines on international routes, credits will be allotted on the basis of their record.

The current rule allows Jet Airways, Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo to fly abroad. Vistara, the Tata-Singapore Airlines venture which started operations recently, and AirAsia India, operational since last year, will be benefited from the new proposal, as they'd not have to wait till 2020. However, the new airlines have been critical of the new proposals on other aspects. They've rapped any linking of international flying to the route dispersal guideline norms in regional and remote areas. They’ve also criticised the separate slabs for long-haul and short-haul destinations. AirAsia India has delayed its fleet expansion due to the uncertainty over the proposed rules.
NEW NORMS

• Civil Aviation Ministry to soon put proposed changes to 5/20 norm for the Cabinet approval
• Ministry has received comments on its proposal from all the stakeholders; proposal to be sent to Cabinet Secretariat next week
• New rule will be a credit-based system based on the routes and distance travelled domestically
• The new rule will link the requirement of flying abroad with the deployment of capacity in the remote areas