Praful Patel: Aviation policy will ensure level playing field

New Delhi: The new civil aviation policy will ensure a level playing field for domestic carriers as they come up against international competition, the civil aviation minister, Praful Patel, said today. The policy will adopt a "balanced approach," he said.

Responding to suggestions made in a market study by trade body, Assocham, for strengthening aviation infrastructure, the minister also said that the Vision 2020 document had adopted a liberal policy approach and would provide tremendous scope to the public-private-partnership (PPP).

Earlier, Assocham president, Venugopal Dhoot, said that Indian airspace would have to add capacities at 15-20 per cent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) over the next 5-6 years to cater to growing opportunities of the sector, and also enhance its current aircraft fleet to about 500 by 2020, from the current level of 292.

According to the Assocham study, this CAGR growth rate and increased aircraft fleet, includingrenewal, would require investments to the tune of $2 billion. The study says that the total aircraft fleet strength would have to reach 1,000 in the future, including replacement of the current fleet of 292 aircraft.

This would require additional investments of around $80 billion.