Parliament Passes Bill To Replace 90-Year-Old Aircraft Act To Boost Aviation Sector

On Thursday, Parliament passed a bill to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act, aiming to enhance the ease of doing business in India’s rapidly growing aviation sector.

The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak 2024 was approved in the Rajya Sabha via a voice vote after being cleared by the Lok Sabha on August 9. The bill aims to eliminate redundancies and replace the Aircraft Act of 1934, which has undergone 21 amendments.

During the debate, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu addressed concerns about the bill’s title being changed from English to Hindi. He explained that the decision was made to "showcase India’s heritage and culture" and emphasised that it did not violate constitutional rules. He also mentioned that while the new title may be difficult to pronounce initially, people would eventually get used to it.

The bill focuses on improving safety, regulatory oversight, and consumer protection while aligning with international standards. It also aims to promote self-reliance in aircraft manufacturing, attract investment, and strengthen governance structures for civil aviation authorities.

In response to concerns about rising airfares, the minister stated that the government has made efforts to improve accessibility through the Udan scheme and remains committed to making air travel more affordable for passengers.

"Through Udan scheme, we have kind of addressed the accessibility. We are now addressing the affordability factor," he said.

Naidu further said the air ticket pricing mechanism is deregulated and it remains a 'win-win situation for everyone'.

He also stressed on the need to develop local airports to accommodate more passengers.

He explained that the airfares are deregulated globally and in India since 1994. However, the ministry monitors the airfares and airlines have liability to inform it before they decide a fare for a particular route.

The civil aviation ministry monitors the ticket pricing and a meeting was held with airlines on the issue of airfares in August.

Airfares were lower during the two days before Diwali this year compared to the same period last year, Naidu said, adding that in major sectors, ticket prices came down by 2 to 42%.

"We are making tariff monitoring unit robust so that they cannot act according to their whims and fancies as if they are in a closed room and can do whatever they want. We are keeping a watchful eye on them," he said, adding that airlines have liability to inform it before they decide a fare for a particular route.

Among other efforts, Naidu said a clause in a Directorate General of Civil Aviation circular issued in 2010 will be removed.

As per the circular, the price mechanism for one month had to be sent to the regulator in advance.

"In that very circular, which was released in 2010, there was a clause that you (airline) can change the price in 24 hours. That was seen to be favouring the airlines... the government is committed to bring in the affordability factor."

"We are removing that clause and whatever fare is there within one month they have to address it to us. We feel this kind of mechanism is going to address a little bit about irregularities that we see in airfares," the minister said.

According to the 2010 circular, airlines are required to furnish to the DGCA a copy of the route-wise tariff across its network on the first day of every month.

Since the biggest chunk of the airfares is fuel price and VAT on it imposed by the state governments, the minister said some states have reduced it on the Centre's request. However, states like Delhi, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu still maintain higher VAT on aviation fuel.

He suggested that MPs request these states to reduce VAT to give relief to passengers.

The minister outlined the success of Udan scheme under which 609 routes were started in eight years. About 86 regional airports have been operationalised, of which 66 are unserved.

Stating that the safety and security is the top priority of the government, Naidu said the number of threat calls increased between Oct. 10 and Nov. 24 and the government has stepped up surveillance.

On data safety of Digiyatra, the minister said the details of Aadhaar and other data are stored on passengers' phones and airports are informed only when the boarding-related information is updated.

"The gate has data and once you cross and travel from the airport, the data gets purged itself," he said.

The minister assured former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda about development of Hasan airport in Karnataka on time by April 2025.

Participating in the debate, Priyanka Chaturvedi (SS-UBT) expressed concern about 'duopoly' of the aviation sector by Air India and Indigo airlines and their domination has led to high airfares.

She said 16 direct flights were launched on the Mumbai-Ayodhya route, but not even one is operating now.

A A Raheem (CPI-M) urged the government to rename the bill as 'Indian Aircraft Act' and expressed concern over the government having no control over the aviation sector.

"Our Indian aviation sector is controlled by three-men army -- Tata, Indigo and Adani. Almost all major airports are in Adani's hands, while the skies are dominated by Tata and Indigo," he said.

On renaming the title of the bill in Hindi language, Ram Chander Jangra (BJP) said it is unfortunate people are clinging on to English even after the country's independence.

"Tales of language are tales of our country. Hindi is not only our mother tongue and soul, but the country's pride," he said, urging members to love Hindi.

(With PTI inputs.)