Aviation Ministry may move Cabinet note to scrap "5/20" rules

As the Manmohan Singh Government enters the final lap, the Civil Aviation Ministry is planning to move a Cabinet note at the earliest seeking to scrap the present "5-year/20 aircraft" norms for Indian carriers to fly to international cities, official sources said.
The existing rules require domestic carriers to be in operation for at least five years and have a fleet of a minimum 20 aircraft to be eligible to fly on global routes.
"The Aviation Ministry is giving final touches to the Cabinet note seeking its nod for our proposal to amend the 5/20 rules, which is likely to be taken up by the Government for discussion this week itself," the sources said, adding the note is almost ready.

Election Commission is likely to announce the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls any day. Once the schedule is out, the model code of conduct will kick in, effectively debarring the Government from taking any important decisions.
The proposal, if cleared, will help budget carrier GoAir, besides the AirAsia India and Tata-Singapore Airline and also the the Kerala Government, which plans to launch an international carrier. The two new airlines from the Tata stable are expected to be airborne in the next few months.
The first demand to do away with the 5/20 rules came from Kerala's Oommen Chandy Government in 2011, when it announced plan to launch Kerala Airways for the benefit of millions of residents of the State working in the Gulf region.

Aviation Minister Ajit Singh had last month said the Ministry was in the process of framing a Cabinet note to seek the Government approval to "scrap" the 5/20 regulations soon.

The Nusli Wadia-promoted GoAir has already said it plans to hit the international skies and would be firming up route network in the next few months.
Aviation experts had been calling for a change in the norms to help boost the struggling sector.
"The 5/20 rules are an anachronistic, discriminatory and anti-competition policy that we have been opposing for the last several years. This rule works against the interest of local carriers. Today, a one-day-old airline registered abroad with one aircraft fleet can fly into India without any hindrance but a domestic carrier cannot do so," consultancy firm KPMG India partner and head for aerospace and defence Amber Dubey said in recent note.