The Modi Government came in for some praise from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for putting together a civil aviation policy although the head of the global aviation body was quick to add that how it is implemented will also be assessed.

“It will be among the most open. But then you have the plan and then you have the execution of the plan. So, we will of course judge the plan as it is designed, but we will also assess the way the Government will implement it practically. We know that the devil is in detail everywhere,” Alexandre de Juniac said in a response to a question from BusinessLine.

de Junaic ADJ, added that IATA felt that in terms of developing infrastructure and international air traffic, the Indian plan is positive and will have a positive effect on aviation.

The IATA DG said that he did not see protective issues in the Indian market, which is borne out by the fact that more and more foreign operators are coming to India like Singapore Airlines with Tata and AirAsia for setting up domestic arilines. “We see the Indian aviation market as more and more open,” he added.

Foreign ownership

Besides, the DG termed the Government’s decision to lift foreign ownership condition as “very-very advanced''. “In many parts of the world you have foreign ownership limitations which are frankly not justified except for protectionist reasons to put a fence around the flag carrier which usually is not doing well,” he said adding that the decision to put the limit on foreign ownership of an India airline at 49 per cent “is significant''.

The DG termed as “ambitious” the Government’s proposal to have open skies with countries which are over 5,000 km away from India. “The more you lift barriers to air traffic or movement of goods or people the better it is for the aviation business and for freedom usually,” he pointed out.

Carbon offsetting scheme

One point of disappointment though is the fact that the country did not sign up to join the Carbon Offsetting and Reporting Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) which is a market-based measure for international aviation to measure carbon emissions.

“They have signed the Paris agreement and the Kigali protocol (so) we feel that India is very heavily involved in all these environment issues. Then you have an agreement which is accepted by almost all the nations on the planet to regulate an industry which is asking for it. We are disappointed that India has not joined and hope that it will in the coming years,” Alexandre said.

Conceding that there has been no talk yet on holding the IATA annual general meeting in India, the DG indicated that it could be a candidate for the event. “In 2020 or 2021 or 2022 going to India is perfectly okay,” he added.

(This correspondent was in Geneva at the invitation of International Air Transport Association)

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