Operations by airlines at busy airports to be capped

As per reports in the media, the government is likely to propose a limit to the number of takeoff and landing slots an airline can hold at the congested airports in the country. As of now, the slots are allotted by the slot coordination committee as per the Worldwide Slot Guidelines. The potential move if and when implemented, would help keep a check on the increasing competition and the monopolistic growth of the airlines, the report in the media said. The report said that as per the new plan, the upper limit will be fixed for the percentage of slots a single airline can keep in any busy airport and if the limit has been reached, that airline will be the last in preference for allotting new slots. The cap on the landing slots however, was not disclosed in the media report. The development comes after rival carriers accused IndiGo Airlines which is the largest Indian carrier by market share, of using its dominant position to control pricing in the market, said the report.