The decision of the Union Civil Aviation Ministry to issue six no objection certificates to applicants both in the national and regional sectors raises a few questions. Air Asia has just taken to the skies in India. The Tata-Singapore Airlines joint venture airline should become operational by the year-end, and Air Pegasus is likely to get the nod soon. India already has eight airlines, providing a dense network of flights linking different parts of the country, though not with a uniform spread. While the public sector Air India gets weighed down with social commitments and the burden of government or political interference, the private airlines get to run on more commercial lines. However, except for Indigo, which turns in a profit most of the time, all the airlines are running up losses, looking to the government to provide some relief or concessions. The charge of the public sector airline is that the government and the authorities are more helpful to the private airlines. Air India has been bleeding consistently, and the government has been injecting funds in small doses to help it survive. It has not been able to acquire all the aircraft it wanted, or reduce the burden of over-staffing. Some of the private airlines are run more efficiently and have unveiled plans to expand operations significantly.
At this critical juncture, does the country need another six airlines? Can they all survive in a hyper-competitive environment? Are the Aviation Ministry, the Airports Authority of India, and the State governments ready to improve the infrastructure and facilities at some of the smaller airports? Since outgo on aviation turbine fuel and staff constitutes the largest share of the operational cost of any airline, how are the new entities planning to manage their finances? No doubt, job opportunities will open up for young men and women, including qualified commercial pilots who have been without work for some time now. From the point of view of passengers, more airlines and lower fares may once again make air travel cheaper and within the reach of the common person. The Aviation Ministry may say it just issued an NOC for applicants, and it is up to the promoter to work out the economics of the operations and ensure that the new airlines remain viable. The Centre has also to take a call on the norms for allowing private or domestic airlines to fly international routes, because other than the domestic trunk routes the airlines earn their revenue from flights overseas. It is also time for the aviation regulator to get prepared and equipped for the critical task of monitoring the skies and the operators, as well as their aircraft.