Bangalore: The Civil Aviation Ministry is considering a new policy instrument to encourage domestic airlines to fly on remote and interior routes, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has said.
Addressing the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Civil Aviation here yesterday, he said the new policy, Route Dispersal Guidelines is on the anvil and it included setting up of Essential Air Services Fund (EASF) that would provide direct subsidy to encourage airlines to operate flights to remote and interior areas.
He said the Ministry has plans to provide air connectivity to remote and interior areas of the country. He said that North Eastern Region and Tier II and Tier III cities will have airports in the near future.
Mr Ajit Singh said the Ministry was also in the process of enhancing the present operations of helicopters and construction of helipads at various places to improve the connectivity of smaller places, including places of religions and tourist importance with bigger cities.
The Ministry would also soon modify guidelines for acquisition of aircraft so that Indian carriers become bound to acquire smaller aircraft needed for providing connectivity to these smaller cities.
Mr Ajit Singh said there was need to develop India in to international hub for the passengers and the Ministry has initiated action in this regard, which includes revising the policy regarding bilateral air service agreements with different countries and also nationalism of all bilateral and traffic entitlements on international routes to Indian carriers and rationalisation of traffic on domestic routes.
To realise this ambitious plan, the Ministry is contemplating to give more functional autonomy to the existing Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) by establishing Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) under an act of Parliament which will soon be given a final shape.
Besides, there is a proposal to restructure the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and to constitute a dedicated security force which will soon see the light of the day, Mr Ajit Singh added.
The Ministry has also proposed to set up a National Aviation University, as a measure to safeguard the skill augmentation and to produce the next generation of aviation professionals, a National Aviation University will be established for creation of aviation training hub in the country to meet the requirements of other countries in the region. (UNI)