Startup airlines' plan to fly abroad hits NGO air pocket

NEW DELHI: The row over allowing start-up airlines to fly abroad, leading to a tussle between Jet Airways and Kingfisher, has gone to court. A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed against the new civil aviation policy by an NGO — Social Action Forum for Manav Adhikar — which had earlier fought the Priyadarshini Matoo case.

The NGO has submitted before the Delhi High Court that the civil aviation ministry's proposal to relax the existing norm for start-up airlines would lead to 'extremely undesirable' consequences for the aviation industry as well as passengers.

The PIL comes at a time when uncertainty prevails over civil aviation minister Praful Patel's proposal to allow airlines to fly abroad on a case-to-case basis rather than the current norm of five years of experience in the domestic sector. The Union Cabinet has referred the issue to a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee as some Cabinet ministers expressed reservations.

"Expansion by airlines would require additional technical manpower, which is already scarce in the country. This may put pressure on the government to increase working hours for pilots and engineers, leading to inefficiency of the personnel and hence, posing a threat to the safety of passengers," Ajay Veer Singh, counsel for Social Action Forum for Manav Adhikar, told ET. "In the past, many airlines have come up and disappeared. Hence, konly airlines having sufficient experience and deep pockets should be allowed to fly abroad."

Asked if the filing of the petition has any connection with any particular airline, Mr Singh said, "It’s merely a coincidence." Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal and Kingfisher chief Vijay Mallya are said to be on a collision course over the new civil aviation policy. While Mr Mallya wants Kingfisher to fly abroad, Mr Goyal is said to be of the view that new airlines should wait for five years like Jet did. While both tycoons are not saying anything on record, it is understood that both sides are pushing their case strongly.

As some Cabinet members, including Lalu Prasad and AK Antony, raised their objections to proposals contained in the new civil aviation policy, lobbying has intensified. The GoM has met once and the second meeting is expected to happen next month.Against this backdrop, the PIL assumes much significance. The civil aviation ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation are among those mentioned as respondents in the petition.