The Hindu Business Line : Pvt airline flights to Asean to be delayed

PRIVATE sector domestic airlines will have to wait a bit longer for flying to destinations in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) member countries.

Official sources, while confirming that the private sector airlines would be given permission to fly to Asean destinations, refused to hazard a guess on when the permission would be forthcoming.

"We will allow them to the Asean region. It will be next. It will not be very long before they start flying to the Asean region. But it is very difficult to say by which date the permission will be given," a senior Government official told Business Line.

Confirming the development, a senior official of a private sector airlines said although no date has yet been indicated for starting flights, they have been asked to be ready for starting operations to the Asean region.

The private sector airlines, which operate a wide variety of Boeing 737 aircraft should not have much problem in launching flights to the region. The official Web site of Boeing indicated that the Boeing 737-700,800,900 aircraft, which are operated by the airlines should be able to undertake flights from any part of India to many of the popular Asean destinations including Singapore, Bangkok and Malaysia.

Meanwhile, sources added that the PMOhad given the nod for the Ministry to implement what had been announced by the former Prime Minister, Mr Vajpayee, at the Indo-Asean Summit in Bali late last year.