Inaugurating the new international terminal at the Cochin International Airport on Friday, he said that the airline was ready to begin operations soon after receiving the exemption from the rule, which insists five years of domestic operations with a fleet of 20 aircraft for flying abroad.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the state government had received assurance from the federal government regarding exemption to the proposed Air Kerala project from the 5/20 norm.

Inaugurating the new international terminal at the Cochin International Airport on Friday, he said that the airline was ready to begin operations soon after receiving the exemption from the rule, which insists five years of domestic operations with a fleet of 20 aircraft for flying abroad.

The federal government's draft civil aviation policy has given three options with regards to the rule-retain the rule in current form, or abolish it altogether, or replace it with a system of domestic flying credits (DFC). Chandy said that he had personally taken up the matter at the highest level in Delhi several times.

The chief minister said the government had proposed the airline to end the exploitation of Keralites working in the Middle East. The airlines have been fleecing during peak traffic seasons. The Air Kerala would make airfare affordable to the NRKs. Chandy has made a provision of Rs100 million for the project in the budget for the next financial year he presented in the state assembly early this month.

Chandy said that new terminal at Cochin would meet the growing passenger needs of the airport for the next 25 years. It is equipped to handle 35 million passengers. The airport had handled passenger traffic of 7.4 million during last year.

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