The aircraft acquisition spree of Indian carriers could well be a non-starter, thanks to a new regulation being ushered in by the civil aviation ministry.
All applications to acquire aircraft, by new carriers as well as old, will now be linked to airport infrastructure in the country. The applicants will have to establish that there is adequate infrastructure, such as parking bay, to support the acquisitions.
This requirement, to be issued soon as a guideline, will add one more eligibility condition for new airlines apart from a net worth of Rs 30 crore (Rs 300 million) and a fleet size of at least five aircraft.
This can affect a new entrant if it wants to set up its hub at one of the busier airports, say Mumbai or Delhi, both of which are already congested. It may have to wait for infrastructure clearances or, maybe, move out to another airport.
Thus, Chennai-based Paramount Airlines, whose application to acquire aircraft was screened by the government today, was given clearance subject to a shift of base to Coimbatore. This will increase Paramount's fuel expenditure, as Chennai is the main airport in its flight plan.
Air Deccan and Jet Airways were on Monday allowed to import aircraft subject to the availability of parking bays at airports at their bases. The government may have had the airport congestion in mind while designing the move.
The Delhi airport has 47 parking bays and Mumbai 50. Neither can handle more than 26 aircraft an hour, which is way below the global standards. This delays landing and taking off during peak hours.
"We are concerned that every airline wants to operate only on the key metro routes. Air services are required in other cities as well," said a civil aviation ministry official.
Sources also said the ministry had recently indicated to carriers seeking permission to fly that the current infrastructure in Delhi and Mumbai could not take additional flights and alternative routes needed to be looked at.
"Air Deccan's plans to import 60 aircraft has been cleared. Similarly, Jet Airways has also been given the permission to import 12 aircraft. But, we will have to look at the availability of infrastructure at the time of imports to allow them to buy these aircraft," the official said.
Besides, carriers flying to non-busy airports are likely to pay lower landing and parking charges.
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