The meeting of the
Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Civil Aviation
was held here today under the Chairmanship of the Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel.
Welcoming the Members
the Chairperson briefed them about the steep rise in air fares by all airlines
which has become an engaging issue for the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The Ministry alongwith
the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken a number of steps
recently to ensure that the fare were not excessive and there was transparency
in the manner in which the tickets were priced.
The Minister said that though the Government did not regulate fares in
this de-regulated sector, the fact that some fares were noted to be excessive
was an issue of concern which was being addressed. He said that constant and strict vigil would
be continued to be kept on the air fares of airlines across the sector. The Minister added that there was a huge
growth coming in the Indian Aviation Sector in the very immediate future which
would have to be managed in a safe, secure and transparent manner.
The Minister informed
the Members that a lot of work was also being done on the safety and security
aspect of the Sector. In this
context, he announced that the Ministry would soon set up a Civil Aviation
Security Advisory Council along the lines of the recently set up Civil Aviation
Economic Advisory Council (CAEAC) and Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council
(CASAC). This was
being done because security is one of the most important aspect of civil
aviation and had to be given due importance with contribution from all
stakeholders.
Shri Patel informed the
Committee that India has re-established its position as a major emerging
aviation force in the world by being elected to the International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council in the number three position way ahead of major countries like UK, USA and France.
The Members also raised
a number of issues at the meeting including development of a number of
non-metro airports, height regulation of buildings near airports, facilitation
of Members of Parliament at airports, multiple airports in metros like Delhi,
private Greenfield Airports, shortage of helicopter pilots, Rohini
Heliport in New Delhi, Air India’s falling market shares, Air India’s losses,
crew position in Air India, management of Air India Express etc.
The Members cutting
across party-lines congratulated the Minister and appreciated his pro-active
role in the issue of the steep fares across sector in airlines. They also lauded the Minister for his prompt
action regarding the Members suggestions on allowing the use of mobile phones
by passengers in the aircraft once the aircraft exits the active runway after
landing.
Responding to some of
the issues raised by the Members and to lay emphasize on passenger related
amenities, the Minister directed the DGCA to issue immediate regulation
regarding making the provision of atleast one
stretcher compulsory on every commercial scheduled flight out of the Leh Airport in Jammu and Kashmir for the ill or the
injured. Responding to the issue of
shortage of helicopter pilots, he said that the entire set of rules for
conversion from pilot license for aeroplanes to pilot
license for helicopters was in the advance stage of amendments which will
enable Commercial Pilot License (CPL) holders to convert their licenses to fly
helicopters. This would help in meeting
the shortage of helicopter pilots in the country. The Minister also directed that passenger
friendly buses of international standards be provided by all airlines and
airport operators to ferry passengers inside the airport.
The meeting was attended
by Shri Vilas Muttemwar, Shri Mithlesh Kumar, Shri Dilip Gandhi, Shri Hassan Khan, Shri P.C. Chacko, Shri Manicka Tagore
and Shri Naveen Jindal from Lok Sabha and Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Shri Avtar Singh Karimpuri, Shri Paul Manoj Pandian and Shri Avinash Rai
Khanna from Rajya Sabha.
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MC/MK