The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the Civil Aviation Policy 2016 to boost the domestic aviation sector and provide passenger-friendly fares.
This is for the first time since Independence that an integrated Civil Aviation Policy has been brought out by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).
The policy’s mission is to provide safe, secure, sustainable and affordable air travel for passengers and air transportation of cargo with access to various parts of India and the world.
Civil Aviation Policy 2016 aims at
- Make India 3rd largest civil aviation market by 2022 from current 9th position.
- Increase domestic ticketing to 30 crore by 2022 from 8 crore in 2015.
- Increase airports having scheduled commercial flights from 77 in 2016 to 127 by 2019.
- Increase cargo volumes to 10 million tonnes i.e. by 4 times by 2027.
- Under Regional Connectivity Scheme, enabling Indians to fly at Rs. 2,500 per hour at unserved airports.
- For starting international operations, requirement of 5 years of domestic flying removed.
- Liberalized and Flexible ‘open skies’ and ‘code share’ agreements.
- Incentives to Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) sector in order to develop India as hub for South Asia.
- Ensure availability of quality certified 3.3 lakh skilled personnel by 2025.
- Development of green-field airports and heliports
- Enhancing ease of doing business through simplified procedures, deregulation and e-governance.
- Promote ‘Make In India’ in Civil Aviation Sector
Areas covered in the Policy (i) Regional connectivity, (ii) 5/20 Requirement for International Operations (iii) Safety (iv) Air Transport Operations (v) Route Dispersal Guidelines (vi) Bilateral traffic rights (vii) Code-share agreements (vii) Fiscal Support (ix) Aviation security, Immigration and Customs (x) Airports developed by State Governments, Private sector or in PPP mode (xi) Air-cargo (xii) Aeronautical ‘Make in India’ (xiii) Aviation education and skill development etc.