The Hindu : National : Five years' experience necessary, says Patel

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 30, 2004

National

National

Five years' experience necessary, says Patel

By Alok Mukherjee

NEW DELHI, DEC. 29. The Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel, today told the media that five years' domestic operational experience has been stipulated for all domestic airlines, as they would be Indian flag carriers when operating to foreign destinations and should have a minimum flying experience. Jet and Air Sahara had established themselves well and have between them almost 60 per cent of the domestic market, he said.

Mr. Patel said only Indian Airlines and Air India would operate in the Gulf region, including the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for the next three years. Private carriers would not be allowed to fly on these profitable routes during this period. Asked when the private airlines would fly abroad, Mr. Patel said it might come into effect within a month, once the Cabinet decision was notified.

On the issue as to how bilateral air traffic rights would be shared by private and public sector carriers for international operations, Mr. Patel said barring a few destinations like the U.K., the Ministry would have little role in deciding this issue. "We have an `open sky' with the ASEAN and SAARC nations. We will have a similar agreement with the U.S. when I visit there in January. We also do not have much problem in other European destinations," he said.

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