New Delhi: Domestic airlines Tuesday asked the government to consider doing away with airport landing and parking charges for aircraft having less than 80 seats at 11 privatised airports like those at Delhi and Mumbai.
The airports operated by public sector Airports Authority of India (AAI) do not charge the airlines for small aircraft like ATR turboprops, official sources said.
The issue was among several others taken up by top airline officials at a meeting chaired by Civil Aviation Secretary V Somasundaram here. The meeting was convened to get the views of stakeholders on the proposed civil aviation policy which the government plans to finalise soon.
The 5/20 rule for allowing Indian carriers to fly abroad also came up for discussion, the sources said, adding that the government was intending to have a relook at the issue.
Under the current policy, a domestic airline is allowed to fly abroad only after it has flown domestic for five years and has 20 aircraft fleet.
The government's plans to review this have been protested by the existing players. Any dilution or removal of the norms is likely to benefit new entrants like AirAsia and the soon to be launched Vistara, the full service joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, according to the existing players.
At the meeting, the airline officials also sought granting of infrastructure status to the aviation industry, a move which would make it easier for it to raise funds.
The airline officials also pointed towards problems faced by them during the fog season, particularly in north India, as on several occasions equipment at alternate airports where flights get diverted do not function properly.
The meeting was attended among others by Air India CMD Rohit Nandan, GoAir CEO Giorgio De Roni and SpiceJet Associate Vice President Debashis Saha.
