(a) whether the Union Government has received any request from the Government of Kerala to relax some of the conditions regarding the international flights to start a budget airline; and
(b) if so the details thereof and the action taken by the Union Government thereon?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION (SHRI PRAFUL PATEL)
(a) and (b): Yes, Sir. The Government of Kerala have requested this Ministry for exemption to their proposed budget international airline from the stipulated conditions relating to fleet size and the length of operation in the domestic sector for an airline to be considered for international operations. This request was not considered as the existing provisions of minimum fleet size of 20 aircraft and experience of 5 years continuous operations in domestic sector for permiting an Indian scheduled carrier to operate international services, are considered to be essential for safe and reliable operations on international routes.