Mumbai: The ministry of civil aviation is considering a plan to relax the minimum requirements for Indian carriers to fly overseas and it will shortly approach the cabinet, according to civil aviation minister Ajit Singh.
Currently, Indian carriers must have 20 aircraft and five years of experience of flying locally.
If the norms are eased, GoAir, run by Wadia Group-promoted Go Airlines (India) Ltd, will be the sole beneficiary as all other scheduled carriers have completed five years of operations and started international services.
GoAir is looking at short-haul international destinations and had recently ordered 72 Airbus planes. However, it hasn’t sought permission to fly overseas.
Indian carriers were lobbying for this relaxation few years ago as other West Asian carriers, including Air Arabia and RAK Airways, had started flying to India immediately after inception.
Last week, the Indian government had permitted foreign carriers to invest as much as 49% in local airlines.
Talking to reporters in New Delhi, the minister said he is not certain whether Jet Airways (India) Ltd will qualify to get more foreign direct investment as its current promoter Naresh Goyal owns 80% stake through a holding company, Tailwinds Ltd, registered in the Isle of Man.
