New Delhi, Jan. 3:
The plans of the father of low-cost air travel in India, G.R. Gopinath,
to re-launch a national airline and the Cochin Airport’s move to launch Air
Kerala could be non-starters, senior Government officials have said.
Gopinath sold Air Deccan to Kingfisher Airlines in 2007. The sale
agreement between the two airline promoters put a five-year restraint, which
expires this month, on Gopinath from starting a national airline.
While officially the Government is “considering” Gopinath’s proposal,
unofficially, senior officials point to a variety of reasons for not giving the
nod, including slowdown in the industry, which has seen a fall in the number of
passengers flown by domestic airlines, and the track record of the promoter in
other aviation ventures.
“This is an industry that requires deep pockets. In the current
scenario, a detailed analysis will have to be done to see whether another
national airline is required,” a senior Government official said. Gopinath was
not available for comment.
In the case of Air Kerala, the Government norms of an airline having to
complete five years of domestic operations and having a fleet of 20 aircraft
could derail the project. While earlier the Government was looking to tweak
these norms, that proposal seems to have been put on the back-burner for now,
sources said.
The Kerala Government was keen to start an airline that would operate
between the State and the Gulf, thereby providing a cheaper alternative for
people working in West Asia.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation K.C. Venugopal recently told
Parliament that Cochin International Airport Ltd had worked out a project for
starting Air Kerala as its subsidiary, as informed by the Kerala Government. He
added that no formal proposal had been received by the Ministry.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-economy/gopinath-project-air-kerala-unlikely-to-get-govt-nod/article4270361.ece
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