The civil aviation ministry is opposed to allow foreign direct investment in domestic airlines, despite a recommendatory note being circulated by the finance ministry.

"Why should someone who has money be allowed to come in and pick up stake in the Indian aviation sector? That will give them a footprint on the Indian sky," official sources in the civil aviation ministry, which is still considering the note, told PTI in New Delhi.

This, the sources said, would give foreign airlines access to the domestic aviation market in the country.

They said there was enough expertise, both in the private and public sectors, to run the airlines in a professional manner and added that the objections of the civil aviation ministry would be made known to the finance ministry "when the time comes".

The finance ministry is understood to have favoured allowing foreign airlines to invest in the Indian domestic aviation sector through the automatic route.

In the Budget for 2004-05, the United Progressive Alliance government has proposed extending the FDI limit from 40 to 49 per cent but kept out foreign airlines from acquiring stake in domestic carriers.

The high-powered Naresh Chandra Committee, which was set up by the erstwhile National Democratic Alliance government, has also proposed a hike in the FDI limit in domestic aviation.

Interestingly, a Group of Ministers created to look into FDI in several key sectors by the NDA government had early last year recommended hiking FDI limit to 49 per cent in the aviation sector, including investments made by foreign airline companies subject to security clearances.