Airlines flay Tatas' bid to do away with 5/20

The Tatas' airline Vistara bid to do away with 5/20 rule for seeking permission to fly to foreign destinations has been criricised by the other airlines in India. Vistara is the latecomer in the airlines business and wants the 5/20 rule to be removed. Former Chairman of the Tatas, Ratan Tata, has written a letter to the Civil Aviation Minister in this connection. The old carriers alleged that Tata Group chairman emeritus' letter seeking the removal of 5/20 rule was an act of "self-interest" and not "national interest". The Tata Group hit back, reminding them that it had "pioneered civil aviation in this country with the establishment of Tata Airlines in 1932 (which later became Air India) and built it into one of the finest airlines of the world." Under the rule, an airline must have 5 years of flying experience and must have 20 aircraft to fly to foreign destinations. The Aviation Ministry's failure to decide on this vexed issue for over a year now has led to the hardening of stance by Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir as Federation of Indian Airlines. Air India has given up opposition to the removal of 5/20 rule. The Tatas have launched two joint venture airlines — Vistara and AirIndia India — with Singapore Airlines and AirAsia as partners. The ministry had come out with a draft civil aviation policy in December 2014, and till date it had not been able to finalize the policy. It is expected to take a final call on the 5/20 issue soon.