New Delhi, 18/07/2012
In the midst of reports that some airlines are planning to withdraw their services from Agartala there is some good news. Ajit Singh, Minister of Civil Aviation, Govt. of India has said that the government is in the process of providing air connectivity to remote and interior areas of the country including the North Eastern Region and Tier-II and Tier-III cities. He said this while addressing the members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation in Bengaluru yesterday. Singh said that a new policy - Route Dispersal Guidelines is under consideration. It includes creation of Essential Air Services Fund (EASF) for providing direct subsidy to encourage domestic airlines to fly on these routes. He informed that the Ministry is also in the process of enhancing the present operations of helicopters and construction of heliports at various places to improve the connectivity of smaller places, including places of religious and tourist importance with bigger cities. He added that the Ministry would soon modify guidelines for acquisition of aircraft so that Indian carriers become bound to acquire smaller aircraft needed for providing connectivity to these smaller cities. Singh underlined the need to develop India as an international hub for the passengers. He said that the Ministry has initiated action in this regard, which includes revisiting the policy regarding bilateral air service agreements with different countries and also rationalisation of all bilateral and traffic entitlements on international routes to Indian carriers. The Ministry is also working on rationalisation of air traffic on domestic routes, he added.
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