Aviation ministry’s regional flight of fancy grounded by private airlines
NEW DELHI: The Assembly polls might have sparked off an unexpected war between the Ministry of Civil Aviation and private airlines. Under RCS—the Regional Connectivity Scheme christened UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik), which links small airports to major ones, Air India launched flights to Kanpur and Bhatinda Punjab in December 2016. After this, the Centre imposed an RCS levy of Rs 7,500 per flight up to 1,000 km, Rs 8,000 between 1,000 km and 1,500 km and Rs 8,500 above 1,500 km.
The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) moved Delhi High Court on January 4 against the move, protesting the levy because only two such flights are operational. Incentives such as free airport and navigation charges haven’t persuaded private airlines from flying routes they do not deem profitable.
The objective of RCS is to enhance air passenger traffic by stimulating demand on regional routes. FIA said the levy cannot be passed on to passengers since its not a service rendered to flyers and hence will place a huge financial burden on the airlines.