RBI tweaks FEMA regulations, gives wings to recycling of aircraft

Till now, export of planes in knocked-down condition was not allowed

In April 2019, as Jet Airways went bankrupt and the airline’s lessors scrambled to safely recover their aircraft, they faced a curious problem. Jet had started cannibalising parts from some of these aircraft to keep the others flying. The Ireland-based JIHB DAC, which had leased two Boeing 777s to Jet, found that one of them had been so heavily cannibalised that there was no way the plane could be flown back. So, the company wanted to strip the aircraft down and salvage whatever usable parts it could. But Indian laws wouldn’t allow that.

While Indian Customs laws allowed free import and