Scindia forms key panels to revive the aviation sector

The group will also advise the government on tariffs and other regulatory issues, manpower training, and performance.

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, in his first order of business to revive the pandemic-hit aviation sector, formed three key advisory groups on Wednesday. These comprise government officials , industry leaders and other stakeholders who represent a wide array of operations: from airport operators to ground handling units, and from flight training schools to maintenance, repair and overhaul companies.

The order lays down the mandate for this advisory group: to advise the government on enhancing airport capacity and infrastructure for greater customer satisfaction and better international benchmark ratings.

The advisory group on airports headed by Scindia will include the aviation ministry’s secretary and joint secretary; director general of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security; chairman of the Airports Authority of lndia; G B S Raju, chairman of the GMR Group; Jeet Adani, vice president of the Adani Group; and Hari K Marar, MD and CEO, Bengaluru International Airport Limited.Adani and GMR operate airports.

The order lays down the mandate for this advisory group: to advise the government on enhancing airport capacity and infrastructure for greater customer satisfaction and better international benchmark ratings. The group will also advise the government on tariffs and other regulatory issues, manpower training, and performance.

Another group to deal with issues related to domestic airlines has also been formed and will be headed by General V K Singh (retd), minister of state for civil aviation; the aviation ministry’s secretary; the director general of Civil Aviation; Rajiv Bansal, CMD, Air India; Rahul Bhatia, chairman, Indigo Airlines; Ajay Singh, chairman, SpiceJet; Ness Wadia, director, Go Air; Bhaskar Bhat, chairman, Air Vistara; and Sunil Bhaskaran, CEO, Air Asia and the incoming CEO of Alliance Air Vineet Sood.

“The Joint Secretary of DG Division will act as Convener. The Joint Secretary of DT Division will support the Group on the issues related to domestic transport,” the order reads.The joint secretary of DG Division is joint secretary of DGCA and DT stands for Domestic Traffic.

The advisory group on airlines will advise the government on ways to enhance domestic and international connectivity, and on matters related to the promotion of passenger and cargo services, passenger facilities during air travel, and manpower training in the aviation sector. It will also suggest ways to safeguard the viability of airlines.

The aviation sector was roiled by the pandemic with restrictions on flight operations for some part of last year, and a general reluctance to travel among the public evan with the easing of restrictions, although recent months have seen an increase in passenger traffic. The Indian aviation sector is estimated to have suffered losses worth around $ 8 billion in two years as a direct impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to aviation consultancy and research firm CAPA.

“The groups shall meet regularly to deliberate upon issues and resolve challenges facing each sector. Orders have been issued for the same,” the aviation ministry said on Twitter.

Airlines have been seeking government stimuli since last year to tide over losses. The aviation industry has also demanded lowering of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) taxes for years. It has sought the inclusion of ATF under the Goods and Services Tax regime as tax uniformity would lead to cost reduction.

According to CAPA, airlines in India are estimated to post a consolidated loss of $4.1 billion this fiscal, similar to what they are estimated to have incurred in 2020-21, CAPA noted in a report released last month. Full-service airline Air India and low-cost airline IndiGo are expected to account for $ 4.5 billion of the combined around $ 8 billion of losses.