Older carriers allege Vistara and AirAsia India flouting norms, hit out against abolishing 5/20 rule

Two days after Ratan Tata's complaint that older carriers were lobbying for protection against newer airlines, his rivals launched a strong joint counterattack, accusing the Tata Group of not conforming to guidelines. AirAsia India and Vistara, in which Tata Group has stakes, were set up in the past 2 years. The older carriers say overseas stakeholders, AirAsia and SIA, respectively, are managing the two airlines, in contravention of the rules, which stipulate that control has to be local in nature. IndiGo founder Rahul Bhatia said: "They are subverting the law of the land." SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh said the group "is wilfully allowing them (overseas stakeholders) to break Indian law". Sunday, Tata said the older airlines were lobbying for protection and preferential treatment for themselves against the new airlines. <br/>