Union Cabinet Approves Civil Aviation Policy, Know What It Is All About

The Union Cabinet today passed the much-awaited new Civil Aviation Policy that has some brought passenger-friendly measures. According to the policy, airfares for One-hour flights will be capped to Rs 2,500. It has also set new norms for airlines to fly overseas.

With the new policy, India’s Civil Aviation Ministry hopes that it will encourage more people to fly in the country.

Along with capping of hour-long flights to Rs 2,500, half-an-hour flights will also cost no more than Rs 1,200. The new policy also proposes that the Centre will refund 80% of the losses airlines may incur because of the fare caps.

Airlines will now be charged a cess on domestic routes to pay for subsidized flights.

The policy also does away with the 5/20 rule of flying overseas. Till now, an airline was allowed to fly abroad only if it had 20 aircraft and had flown on domestic routes for fives years. This rule will be replaced by 0/20 rule, where an airline having 20 aircraft can fly abroad.

The Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma first mentioned about this proposal in Lok Sabha on May 3.

The cabinet has also shot down the proposed 2 per cent cess on all flights, except Mumbai-Delhi flights.

The Logical Indian welcomes the decision taken by the government to cap airfares. However, there is a possibility of increasing the 2 percent cess in the near future. We have to wait and watch whether this regulation of capping airfares actually benefits the people and are more encouraged to choose air travel.