The new rule benefits new operators like AirAsia and Air Vistara. Older airlines like Indigo and Jet have complained.
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has no time for those airlines cribbing about the new aviation policy which allows airlines with no domestic experience to operate international flights if they have a fleet of 20 planes.
The new policy cleared by the Cabinet today - described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one that "will transform the sector and greatly benefit passengers" - allows new airlines to fly abroad if they have 20 planes in their fleets, changing a rule that let only airlines that had operated for five years and had 20 aircraft to operate on overseas routes.
The new rule benefits new operators like AirAsia and Air Vistara. Older airlines like Indigo and Jet have complained.
Asked what the government would do if they went to court, Mr Raju said on NDTV's show Agenda, "They can go to court, even murderers go to court."
"Indigo had wanted this 5/20 policy done away with when they didn't have five years' experience. Now they do, they are objecting to it. We don't want to be restrictive; would like more Indian aircraft to fly in the Indian skies," Mr Raju said.
Detailing the much awaited new policy, the minister made clear that a cap on fares at 2500 for all flights of one or less travel time will apply only to sectors that have so far been unconnected by air.
"This is only to promote those airports that are unconnected," the minister said. A cess that the policy proposed to promote regional and such unconnected airports needs to be worked out for all airlines, Mr Raju said.
Also on the show, former aviation minister Praful Patel of the Nationalist Congress Party appreciated the new policy saying that the capping of fares was "conceptually welcome" and that it "was a good thing to connect smaller cities of India."
Ashok Gajapathi Raju said some policies of the previous UPA government of which Mr Patel's party was a part, "didn't make sense to him." As an example, he talked about the 5/20 policy. "Why do you need that? All you need is safety," the aviation minister said.