A decision to commence domestic flight operations of Air Kerala, the airline start-up conceived by the State government to provide Non-Resident Keralites (NoRKs) better connectivity to the Middle East at affordable fares, has been deferred.
The director board of Air Kerala that met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at the Secretariat on Friday decided to wait till a “clear picture” emerges on the move to amend the ‘5/20’ rule.
The move to commence domestic operations was intensified following reports that the Centre was reducing the stipulation to one year. Official sources said that there was no assurance from the Centre and that a decision would be taken at the next board meeting.
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The board was of the view that more studies were needed to commence domestic flight operations of Air Kerala. The decision has come when Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), which co-owns the airline company, is in the process of leasing an aircraft and to approach the Director General of Civil Aviation for its certification. The ‘5/20’ rule allows an Indian carrier to fly abroad only after it has completed five years of domestic operations and maintains a fleet of 20 aircraft.
Under the new proposals, a domestic carrier would be eligible to fly on overseas routes only after it has earned 300 flying credits in domestic operations. An airline can accumulate Domestic Flying Credits (DFCs) by deploying more capacity on regional routes, particularly those which are under-served.
The proposed rules stipulate that a new domestic airline will only be allowed to operate on those international routes which are more than six hours of flight with 300 DFCs. But they will be allowed on shorter international routes which are less than six hours of duration once they have accrued 600 DFCs.
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No assurance from Centre on ‘5/20’ rule
Next board meeting to take decision
Director board defers decision to start domestic operations