The aviation ministry’s plan to boost regional air connectivity has got support from three states. According to ministry officials, West Bengal, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have agreed to provide financial aid to regional flight operators if the passenger traffic falls below a certain level.
This means that if a regional airline is not able to get a load factor of a certain percentage, the state government might either partially or fully pay for it. The amount of such compensation would be finalised only after the new route disbursal guidelines are formulated.
?Some of the states, including Gujarat, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, have agreed to support regional connectivity through various concessions and subsidies. We are working on a new route disbursal policy and all these concessions would be worked out under that. Meanwhile, we hope more states will come forward,? said a senior official in the ministry on condition of anonymity.
The ministry also proposes to set up a regional connectivity fund to help flight operators avoid major financial losses.
The proposal has been approved by the Planning Commission. The ministry is now in the process of appointing a consultant to examine the feasibility of creation of such a fund, its source, management and how would the fund be utilised.
?Most of the regional operators shut because of financial woes. We want to avoid such situation through such corpus. The source of money would be decided only once the consultant submits its report,? the official said.
Aviation minister Ajit Singh has already announced the government’s plan to increase the air connectivity in North Eastern Region, Tier-II and III cities.
As part of the plan, the aviation ministry is going to make changes in the present route disbursal guidelines and aircraft acquisition norms, which would make it mandatory for the airlines to fly or tie up with regional operators for smaller areas.
The new consultant will have to prepare a report identifying the areas that needs immediate air connectivity, the infrastructure requirement and the kind of exemptions from duties/taxes, charges, fees and other levies that would be needed to promote regional operators in the country.