CAPA terms civil aviation policy a 'disappointment'

The national civil aviation policy announced by the Narendra Modi-led NDA Government doesn't provide the sector with the institutional infrastructure required for long-term growth, according to Sydney-based aviation think-tank.

Noting that the policy shows a clear "missed opportunity" and is a significant "disappointment" given the civil aviation ministry spent almost nearly two years in drafting the new policy, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) today said it was expecting a more structured and well-thought outcome in the form of final policy, After releasing two draft documents after nearly 20 months, the Government finally unveiled the new civil aviation policy yesterday, which caps airfares at Rs 2,500 for one hour flights on unserved and under-served routes, a "small levy" on air tickets to fund the regional connectivity and scrapping the controversial 5/20 norms, which required airlines to have served the local market five years and operate at least 20 aircraft before they can go international, among other provisions.

"India needed an aviation policy which is strategically aligned and supportive of PM's bold and inspiring vision for the Indian economy. Unfortunately, NCAP doesn't provide the sector with the institutional infrastructure required for long term growth. CAPA was expecting strategic shift given the time and effort spent on the policy," Kapil Kaul, the India head of Sydney-based aviation think-tank CAPA, said.

There are clearly some positive elements in the NCAP but at this stage, these are directionally well intended but key details and implementation plan is missing which is expected in next few days, he said.

On the other side, not addressing key and structural issues is a big disappointment, Kaul said adding the national civil aviation policy is ambitious about growth but has not focused on creating structures for managing growth.

"Without a clear infrastructure plan in place - don't know how job creation can happen," he said.