The Centre has put on the backburner the proposal to relax the 5/20 condition for airlines to fly abroad.

The government is worried that it could be accused of favouring new airlines — especially Vistara and AirAsia — if it were to change the rule.

The rule say that domestic carriers must have been in operation for five years and have a fleet of 20 aircraft to be eligible to fly on international routes.

A senior government official told BusinessLine that an onslaught by the Opposition, divisions in the Union Cabinet, and the “social impact” of doing away with the rule were forcing the Modi government to go slow.

Another official told BusinessLine that the Opposition had raised over a dozen questions on the 5/20 rule in Parliament during the last one year.

“The proposal is still under consideration. But we do not want to rush into anything.

“Why give anyone a chance to point fingers and say that the rule has been changed to suit certain interests. We do not want another difficult situation as the Land Bill,” said the official, who declined to be named.

Differing voices As much as opposition from political parties and certain existing airlines to changing the rule, there are also differing voices within the government itself. Certain members of the Cabinet feel any change in the rule will be seen as benefiting Vistara, the joint venture airline between Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons, and AirAsia, the low-cost airline in which also Tata Sons has a stake. Thus, the call for taking a holistic view on the impact the opening up of the sector.

This is much on the lines of the dilemma the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government faced in 2004. Then, as now, there were differences in the Union Cabinet on the issue of changing the rule to allow domestic airlines to fly abroad.

Indeed, at one of the last Cabinet meetings, on February 4, 2004, while most items on the agenda were cleared within a minute or two of being brought up, the issue connected with the civil aviation rules led to a debate as differences surfaced among Cabinet members.

Jet Airways was at the centre of the debate then, with some members raising security concerns and others pitching for a change of the rule. Now, Vistara and AirAsia are in focus. Facing such contrasting opinions, the Civil Aviation Ministry plans to consult various stakeholders again before taking a decision on the 5/20 rule.

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