MINISTER OF STATE(INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION ( SHRI PRAFUL PATEL )
(a) & (b): Yes, Sir. Indian scheduled carriers having continuous operations of at least 5 years in the domestic sector and having a minimum fleet size of 20 aircraft have been permitted to operate on international routes except UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
(c): Gulf sectors have been kept reserved for Air India and Indian Airlines for a period of 3 years as most of their operational revenue/profit out of international operations are generated from these routes.
(d): As per their requests, following private scheduled carriers have been permitted to operate on international sectors:-
Jet Airways: Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, UK, Belgium, USA, Malaysia, Singapore Air Sahara: Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, UK, Malaysia, Singapore
(e): Government will not directly earn any revenue as a result of permitting private airlines to fly to overseas destinations. However, the increased international connectivity to/from India will have a beneficial impact on trade, commerce and tourism sectors in particular and the national economy as a whole.
(f): Due consideration is being given to the operational plan of Air India and Indian Airlines before allocating routes to other eligible scheduled carriers. Gulf routes have been kept reserved for Air India and Indian Airlines for a period of three years as most of their operational revenues/profit from international operations are generated from these routes. On other routes entitlements have been granted to Air India and Indian Airlines based on the requests received from them and only the balance entitlements left thereafter have been allocated to the private airlines.
