New Delhi, Aug 19: Air India has no (no) plans to operate on domestic sector, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Rajiv Pratap Rudy informed the Rajya Sabha today. In a written reply, Rudy said that Airline Allied Services Limited (AASL), a subsidiary of Indian Airlines, has inducted four ATR-42-320 (Turbo prop-48 seater) aircraft on a dry lease basis for a period of five years for air connectivity in the north-eastern region.


He also said that a committee has been constituted to study and identify routes/aircraft for enhancing regional connectivity on non-metro routes within the country.

Agreements: Rudy said that India has concluded bilateral air services agreements/negotiations with 12 countries on the basis of balance of advantage and reciprocity to either side during the last one year.
The countries are Kenya (2120 seats), Sri Lanka (600 seats), Saudi Arabia (900 seats approx), South Korea (800 seats approx), Malaysia (3100 seats), Turkey (900 seats), Italy (seven frequencies), Gulf states (607 seats), Dubai (500 seats) Thailand (5795 seats), Ukraine (250 seats) and Slovakia (750 seats), he said.

Simulators: Air India Limited, Indian Airlines Limited and Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited have flight simulators of different aircrafts, helicopters operated by them for training of flight crew, Rudy said adding that these simulator are capable of creating different types of emergencies and pilots are trained to handle such situations.
Bureau Report