Deccan Aviation-Kingfisher Airlines cleared to commence international services

The ministry of civil aviation has advised the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to grant operational clearance to Deccan Aviation Ltd, after conducting due diligence of the airline's ability to operate on the long-haul sector. The airline has been granted traffic rights for the India-UK sector.

Traffic rights have been granted for seven services a week between Bengaluru International and London Heathrow. The flights will be operated with A330 aircraft and services will commence from 26 August 2008.

In effect, this means that full service provider, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, which merged with Deccan Aviation Ltd will now be able to conduct operations on this permit. It received legal clearance for its merger from the Karnataka High Court some time back. The ministry of civil aviation, which earlier was insisting on a full-fledged merger with Deccan as a prerequisite for granting approval, eased its stand earlier in the week, perhaps mindful of the fact that the merger of its own-state-run carriers, Air India and Indian Airlines, was not yet complete.

The grant of approval makes Deccan Aviation\Kingfisher Airlines the second major private Indian airline after Jet Airways to launch international operations. Under current guidelines, an Indian carrier can fly abroad only after serving the domestic market for five years. This stipulation is being met by Deccan Aviation at the end of this month.