The aviation ministry is reworking capacity distribution norms for airlines to ensure better connectivity for smaller cities and towns, but the move could spell problems for carriers not geared for small airports.

Experts say that while the new route dispersal guidelines, which require airlines to increase flights to small cities and towns, will boost air transport infrastructure, they can also balloon costs for airlines that don't have smaller aircraft and prefer operating only on profitable metro routes. 

"In the new guidelines, we are trying to expand Category I by adding to it small cities from Category III, say Ahmedabad for example, which have good connectivity and demand," a senior civil aviation ministry official said. 

The new route dispersal guidelines are awaiting the aviation minister's approval and could be cleared within a few weeks. Non-compliance could lead to an airline's licence being scrapped. Route dispersal guidelines sort out domestic routes into three categories. 

Category I represents the profitable routes, including major cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai and Trivandrum. 

Category II includes the north-eastern region, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep and the Andamans. Small cities such as Coimbatore, Kochi and Pune fall under category III. 

Airlines have to deploy at least 10% of their capacity on Category I metro routes on Category II routes, and at least 50% on Category III routes. 

Economic Times