The Central government is considering a proposal to provide subsidy to private airlines operating flights on loss-making routes in India’s north east region, according to a PTI report. The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) came out with the proposal after a few private airlines, including Jet Airways, sought government clearance to scale down their flights to the region to stem operating losses. "We are considering giving the subsidy to those private airlines which operate flights to non-commercial destinations in the region. We will talk to the Civil Aviation Ministry before taking a final decision," said Pawan Singh Ghatowar, Minister, DoNER, yesterday while briefing on the outcome of 61st plenary meeting of the North East Council (NEC) in New Delhi. If the proposal is approved, private airlines may get a subsidy of Rs 35 crore annually for operating flights to the routes in the north east states, which are economically unviable but socially important, officials said. |