Ahead of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajpaksa’s visit for bilateral talks, the government on Wednesday relaxed the norms to permit Air India’s low-cost arm to fly between Chennai and two cities in Sri Lanka with majority Tamil population.
The Air India subsidiary Alliance Air has been given ex-post facto permission to connect Chennai with Palaly in Jaffna and Batticaloa.
The flight services from Chennai to Palaly were launched in November last year. Flights to Batticaloa are likely to be announced on February 7, a day before the Sri Lankan Prime Minister meets PM Modi here.
The special dispensation has been allowed until the airline acquires a fleet size of 20 planes, according to a press statement. The airline has 19 aircraft comprising 70-seater ATR 72s and 40-seater ATR 42s.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said at a press conference the airline would be given a subsidy for serving the two routes.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation’s 5/20 norms allow an Indian career to start international flights only after it has been in operation for five years and has 20 aircraft in its fleet.
Industry experts The Hindu spoke to said the government has “zero regard for rules or norms”, while another source said the “exception has no impact on policy framework” as no other carrier is keen on flying on these routes.
During the Cabinet meeting, the Air India was also praised for its special flights to evacuate Indians from Wuhan.