Schedule I explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Serial number 9 of the sectoral Table in Schedule I to the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 covers airports, air transport services and other aviation services. Every entry carries a cap of hundred per cent; what varies is the route for scheduled airlines and the separate regime for investment by foreign airlines. Serial numbers 9.3 and 9.5 were substituted in July 2020. The Rules are made under clauses (aa) and (ab) of sub-section (2) of section 46 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
This article states the position as per the Rules notified on 17 October 2019 (S.O. 3732(E)) as amended by the notifications named in this article; the latest amendment consulted is S.O. 4870(E) dated 2 September 2026. Later amendments, press notes and sector regulators' conditions should be checked before acting. For an aviation investment, our FEMA advisory team can check the route and the airline conditions.
Airports, non-scheduled air transport, helicopter and seaplane services, ground handling and maintenance, repair and training are hundred per cent, automatic route. Scheduled air transport and regional air transport carry a cap of hundred per cent with the route automatic up to 49% and Government route beyond 49%; for NRIs the route cell prints automatic up to hundred per cent. Foreign airlines may invest in Indian scheduled and non-scheduled carriers only up to 49 per cent of paid-up capital, under the Government approval route, and that limit subsumes FDI and FII/FPI investment.
The entries after the amendment
| Serial number | Sector or activity | Sectoral cap | Entry route |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.1 | What the civil aviation sector includes; definitions (a) to (k) | - | - |
| 9.2 | Airports: (a) Greenfield projects | Hundred per cent | Automatic |
| 9.2 | Airports: (b) Existing projects | Hundred per cent | Automatic |
| 9.3 | Air Transport Services: (1)(a) Scheduled Air Transport Service/ Domestic Scheduled Passenger Airline; (b) Regional Air Transport Service | Hundred per cent | Automatic up to 49% (Automatic up to hundred per cent for NRIs); Government route beyond 49% |
| 9.3 | (2) Non-Scheduled Air Transport Services | Hundred per cent | Automatic |
| 9.3 | (3) Helicopter services/seaplane services requiring Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approval | Hundred per cent | Automatic |
| 9.4 | Other services: (a) Ground Handling Services subject to sectoral regulations and security clearance | Hundred per cent | Automatic |
| 9.4 | (b) Maintenance and Repair organizations; flying training institutes and technical training institutions | Hundred per cent | Automatic |
| 9.5 | Other conditions (a) to (e) and Note (i) to (iii) | - | - |
The Table prints the cap, and the NRI figure in the route cell, as percentage figures; they are written in words throughout this article.
How the row for scheduled airlines is printed. In the Gazette of 27 July 2020 the cap and route for clauses (1)(a) and (1)(b) stand in one cell each, beside both clauses. The route cell reads, in this order: "Automatic up to 49%", then in brackets the NRI line, then "Government route beyond 49%".
Which notification changed what
| Provision | Change | Notification |
|---|---|---|
| 9.3 | Substituted with its Note | Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) (Third Amendment) Rules, 2020, S.O. 2442(E) dated 27 July 2020 |
| 9.5 | Substituted | Same notification |
| 9.1, 9.2, 9.4 | As notified on 17 October 2019 | None of the 19 amending notifications up to 2 September 2026 changes them |
As notified in 2019 the bracket in the route cell of serial number 9.3 named NRIs and OCIs; the 2020 text names NRIs.
Serial number 9.1: scope and definitions
The civil aviation sector includes airports, scheduled and non-scheduled domestic passenger airlines, helicopter services or seaplane services, ground handling services, maintenance and repair organizations, flying training institutes and technical training institutions. Eleven terms are defined, among them:
- Airport: a landing and taking off area for aircraft, usually with runways and aircraft maintenance and passenger facilities, including an aerodrome as defined in the Aircraft Act, 1934.
- Scheduled air transport service: an air transport service between the same two or more places, operated according to a published time table or with flights so regular or frequent that they constitute a recognizably systematic series, each flight being open to use by members of the public.
- Non-Scheduled air transport service: any service which is not a scheduled air transport service; it includes cargo airlines.
- Cargo airlines: airlines which meet the conditions in the Civil Aviation Requirements issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
- Ground Handling: ramp handling, traffic handling, and any other activity specified by the Central Government to be part of either.
The Note under serial number 9.3
As per Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, an Air Operator Certificate to operate Scheduled Air Transport Services (including Domestic Scheduled Passenger Airline or Regional Air Transport Service) is granted to a company or body corporate:
- (a) which is registered and has its principal place of business within India;
- (b) whose Chairman and at least two-thirds of its Directors are citizens of India; and
- (c) whose substantial ownership and effective control is vested in Indian nationals.
The Table names the Aircraft Rules; it does not reproduce them.
Serial number 9.5: other conditions
(a) Air Transport Services include Domestic Scheduled Passenger Airlines, Non-Scheduled Air Transport Services, helicopter and seaplane services.
(b) Foreign airlines are allowed to participate in the equity of companies operating cargo airlines, helicopter and seaplane services, as per the limits and entry routes mentioned above.
(c) Foreign airlines are allowed to invest in the capital of Indian companies operating scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services, up to the limit of 49 per cent of their paid-up capital, subject to five conditions:
- (i) it is made under the Government approval route;
- (ii) the 49 per cent limit will subsume FDI and FII/FPI investment;
- (iii) the investments comply with the relevant SEBI regulations, such as the Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements Regulations and the Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers Regulations, and other applicable rules and regulations;
- (iv) all foreign nationals likely to be associated with Indian scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services as a result of such investment shall be cleared from the security viewpoint before deployment;
- (v) all technical equipment that might be imported into India as a result of such investment shall require clearance from the relevant authority in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
(d) For the airline company named in the entry, two further conditions apply: foreign investment in it, including that of foreign airlines, shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly, except in the case of those NRIs who are Indian Nationals, where foreign investment is permitted up to hundred per cent under the automatic route; and its substantial ownership and effective control shall continue to be vested in Indian Nationals as stipulated in the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
(e) FDI in civil aviation is subject to the provisions of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, as amended from time to time.
The Note to serial number 9.5
- (i) The FDI limits or entry routes mentioned at serial numbers 9.2 and 9.3 are applicable in the situation where there is no investment by a foreign airline.
- (ii) Any investment by foreign airlines in companies operating in Air Transport Services, including in the named airline company, is subject to entries (b) and (c).
- (iii) The dispensation for those NRIs who are Indian Nationals, regarding FDI up to hundred per cent, will continue in respect of the investment regime specified at entries (c)(ii) and (d).
Note (i) refers to serial number 9.2, which is the airports entry, together with 9.3. That is how the Gazette prints it; readers should confirm against the official text.
Two regimes side by side
| Investor | Scheduled or regional air transport | Non-scheduled, helicopter, seaplane |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign investor other than a foreign airline | Cap hundred per cent; automatic up to 49%, Government route beyond 49% | Cap hundred per cent; automatic |
| NRI | Route cell prints automatic up to hundred per cent | Automatic |
| Foreign airline | Up to 49 per cent of paid-up capital, Government approval route, subsuming FDI and FII/FPI investment (9.5(c)) | Non-scheduled: 9.5(c) applies. Cargo airlines, helicopter and seaplane services: as per the limits and entry routes in the Table (9.5(b)) |
The routes are defined in paragraph 3(a) of Schedule I; see automatic route and Government route.
A worked example
Norvale Infrastructure Fund, a foreign fund that is not an airline, buys 40% of Udaan Regional Airways Private Limited, which runs regional air transport services. Serial number 9.3(1) applies: within 49%, the route is automatic. If Norvale later wants 60%, the part beyond 49% is on the Government route.
Castellan Air SA, a foreign airline, wants a stake in the same company. Note (i) to serial number 9.5 says the limits and routes in 9.3 apply where there is no investment by a foreign airline. Castellan falls under condition (c): its investment needs Government approval, and the 49 per cent limit subsumes FDI and FII/FPI investment in the company.
Norvale also sets up Tarmac Ground Services Private Limited for ground handling. Serial number 9.4(a): hundred per cent, automatic route, subject to sectoral regulations and security clearance.
Need help with an investment in an airline or airport company?
Whether the investor is itself an airline changes the regime entirely. Our FEMA advisory service reads serial number 9 with the Aircraft Rules conditions the Table names and tells you which approvals are in play.
Key takeaways
- Every civil aviation entry carries a cap of hundred per cent.
- Scheduled and regional air transport: automatic up to 49%, Government route beyond 49%; the route cell prints automatic up to hundred per cent for NRIs.
- Airports, non-scheduled services, helicopter and seaplane services, ground handling, maintenance and training: automatic route.
- Foreign airlines: up to 49 per cent of paid-up capital in scheduled and non-scheduled carriers, under the Government approval route.
- That 49 per cent limit subsumes FDI and FII/FPI investment.
- Serial numbers 9.3 and 9.5 are as substituted by S.O. 2442(E) dated 27 July 2020.
Read next
- Serial numbers 7 and 8 of the Table: broadcasting, digital news and print media
- Serial numbers 10 and 11 of the Table: construction development and industrial parks
- Rules 12 and 13: investment by NRIs, OCIs and other individuals
- FDI policy in India: a general guide under FEMA
Disclaimer: Based on the Gazette text of the instrument this article names, as notified and as amended by the notifications named in the article (for the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 the latest amendment consulted is S.O. 4870(E) dated 2 September 2026), as consulted on 2 October 2026. There is no official consolidated text; the provisions were read with each amendment applied. Sectoral caps, entry routes, conditions, forms and time limits change by notification, press note and circular; later changes should be checked on the Gazette, DPIIT and Reserve Bank sites. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.