'Acche din' for air travellers! Cabinet clears new civil aviation policy, puts cap on airfares

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the much-awaited Civil Aviation Policy thereby unveiling a slew of passenger-friendly measures including capping of airfares at Rs 2,500 for an hour-long flight.

Under the new policy there will also be a cap of  Rs 1,200 for a 30-minute flight. Further the cabinet has abolished the 5/20 rule and replaced it with 0/20. This implies that airline companies will now be able to fly overseas with only twenty aircrafts without being in operation for a minimum of five years.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju tweeted:

#NCAP NDA govt clears India's first ever integrated National Civil Aviation Policy. This will be a game-changer for the sector. — Ashok Gajapathi Raju (@Ashok_Gajapathi) June 15, 2016

The policy aims to bolster the domestic aviation sector by tapping its high growth potential with provisions such as capping airfares at Rs 2,500 for a one-hour flight, auctioning of unilateral traffic rights, tax incentives for airlines, maintenance and repair works of aircraft besides mooting 2 percent levy on all air tickets to fund regional connectivity scheme and providing viability gap funding for airlines to encourage operate on regional routes.

Raju further tweeted:

#NCAP objectives - make flying affordable, safe, convenient; promote balanced regional growth, tourism, infrastr. and ease of doing business — Ashok Gajapathi Raju (@Ashok_Gajapathi) June 15, 2016

The Civil Aviation Ministry had sent the proposed policy to Cabinet for approval on June 3.

The NDA government had for the first time unveiled the policy draft in November 2014, subsequently replacing it with another draft in October 2015.

The aviation minister tweeted:

#NCAP India will be the 3rd largest civil aviation market by 2022. To achieve this, we need right intentions, vision, planning and execution — Ashok Gajapathi Raju (@Ashok_Gajapathi) June 15, 2016

Initially, the policy was expected to be finalised in the last financial year as certain proposals were to be implemented from April 1, 2016.

With PTI Inputs