The government of Uttar Pradesh in northern India is considering taking over the sales of intra-state flights in a bid to streamline the process.
A proposal seen by India's Asian Age newspaper indicates the scheme would see the Uttar Pradesh tourism department setting up a single online portal for the sale of tickets to tourist destinations such as Agra, Varanasi and Kushinagar from Lucknow. The flights will be operated by local, tendered carriers with each service having been paid for in advance by the state government.
Several operators have expressed an interest in starting regular domestic Uttar Pradesh services in the past including Northeast Shuttles (Agartala) and Pawan Hans Helicopters (Delhi International). However, neither have commenced such services citing feasibility problems.
For its part, the Indian government is considering allowing charter operators to begin plying regional scheduled services in a bid to improve the country's domestic connectivity. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, government is considering setting down a minimum number of flying hours for each aircraft in a charter operator's fleet to fly in order for them to convert to a scheduled carrier.
