No stakes for foreign airlines in domestic sector

By P. K. Bhardwaj

NEW DELHI, APRIL 20. The Task Force on Infrastructure, headed by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr. K. C. Pant, today decided to drop the controversial proposal on participation of foreign airlines in the equity of the domestic airlines.

The issue had, in fact, been taken up at a recent meeting of the Union Cabinet which disapproved of such equity participation in domestic airlines. In view of the Cabinet decision, the Task Force was not inclined to take a different view at this point and left it at that when the matter came up for discussion.

Permission to allow foreign airlines in the domestic sector has been a bone of contention ever since the Government prevented Singapore Airlines from entering the sector through a joint venture with the States.

Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, Mr. Pant said a proposal mooted on the basis of the Integrated Transport Policy document to establish an independent regulatory framework for civil aviation for ensuring economic regulation in the sector was endorsed by the Task Force.

The Task Force gave the green signal for reviewing the status of different airports on merits. All the necessary parameters, including the traffic flow and scope for upgrading should be to be taken into account before clearing a proposal declaring an airport international. Some airports had already been declared international airports and a demand for a similar status for some other airports were pending consideration, Mr. Pant said.

There was a need for increasing the share of airport revenue emerging from non-aeronautical services not only for making airports viable but also for generating surplus for expansion and development. Air traffic services and ground infrastructure to accommodate technological developments had to be upgraded..

Main airports such as Delhi and Mumbai had to be upgraded to the world class standard with phased programme of modernisation.

The Task Force asked the Railways to index and rationalise the fare structure to reduce subsidies. It should regain its share in freight traffic through qualitative, capacity augmentations aided by corrective pricing policies and organisational changes. Even on saturated high-density routes, the capacity should be augmented by replacing overage assets and facilitating reduction in asset failure and improving productivity simultaneously while enhancing the safety of rail operations.

The Railways was asked to focus on the creation of rail hubs with sufficient warehousing capacity to accelerate containerisation. The Railway Minister, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, could not attend the meeting.

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