The Hindu Business Line : Govt may extend ban on pvt carriers flying to Gulf

Big gulf
At present, only two private sector airlines, Jet Airways and Air Sahara, are eligible to fly abroad as per the Union Cabinet decision of December 2004.

New Delhi , Aug. 5

THE ban on private sector Indian carriers flying to the Gulf region could be extended by another two years, that is, till 2010.

Official sources told Business Line that there was a thinking in sections of the Government that the two state-owned airlines — Indian and Air India and their subsidiaries — should be the only designated carriers from India to operate to the Gulf region for some more time.

A final decision on extending the ban and the time frame would be left to the Union Cabinet, said senior Government officials. The issue could come up when the Cabinet takes up the civil aviation policy for consideration shortly, officials indicated.

"The state-owned airlines have been rendering humanitarian service during the latest crisis in Lebanon and even earlier and need to be looked after. Whenever such exercises are undertaken, their flights schedules go awry and they lose revenue," said an official.

Two eligible to fly

At present, only two private sector airlines, Jet Airways and Air Sahara, are eligible to fly abroad as per the Union Cabinet decision of December 2004.

At that time, the Government decided to allow the private sector domestic airlines that had completed five years of operations and had a fleet strength of 20 aircraft to operate flights to all international destinations, except those in the Gulf region. It was also decided that the moratorium on private airlines flying to the Gulf region would be in place till January 2008.

Therefore, only Air India, Indian and their subsidiaries were eligible to operate flights to the Gulf region, including United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Since the Cabinet decision, at least one new carrier from India, Air India Express, the low-cost subsidiary of Air India, has started services from various cities here to points in the Gulf, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The airlines offers fares that are 15-30 per cent less than what is charged by other airlines. AI and Indian also operate to various cities in the Gulf, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Sharjah, Dubai and Muscat.

The Gulf routes are considered important for the state-owned airlines as a bulk of operational revenue and profits of both accrue from these routes.

Kerala plan in jeopardy?

A further extension of the ban could also put a question mark on the proposal of the Kerala Government to set up a low-cost airline to operate between the State and the Gulf region.

Kerala has been keen on the low-cost airline in order to facilitate Keralites working in the Gulf region to return home at least once a year.

While the Government is not permitting Indian private sector airlines to operate to the Gulf region till at least 2008, there has been a steady increase in the number of airlines from the Gulf operating flights to India.

Last month, Jazeera Airways, a low-cost airline from Kuwait, launched services to Delhi and Mumbai, while another low-cost airline, Air Arabia, recently started regular operations from Sharjah to Kochi and Jaipur.

The Government has also concluded several bilateral air services agreements with countries in the Gulf that has seen a huge increase in the number of seats available for passengers.

In December last year, India and the UAE exchanged an air-services agreement that saw the entitlement of the Dubai-based Emirates Airlines increase by 8,000 seats a week. The increase was in addition to the 10,400 seats that the airline was already allowed to operate between Dubai and various points in India.

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