With
the civil aviation ministry granting 60 per cent more traffic rights to Indian air carriers on international skies, it is likely
to engage in fresh bilateral negotiations with the governments of Oman, Macau
and Afghanistan for enhancement of traffic rights. Bilateral traffic rights
define the number of weekly flights or seats a country’s designated airlines
are allowed to operate in another country’s specified points. Both countries
can seek more numbers of services or seats in a week or more places to fly to,
through enhancement of traffic rights.
In an interview with Business Standard,
Ajit Singh, the minister, had said, “We would explore possibilities of
enhancing additional traffic rights with those countries with whom existing
rights have almost got exhausted from both sides.” The government had imposed a
freeze on private carriers expanding abroad in March last year.
According
to ministry data, this winter season will see Indian carriers utilising 42 per
cent of the quota of seats allowed under bilateral traffic rights with various
countries or 377,724 seats per week, compared with about 20 per cent
utilisation in the year-ago season.
“Right
now, there are no services between India and Macao but with SpiceJet getting
permission to fly there, we will be seeking more traffic rights. The air
service agreement permits two services per week,” confirmed a senior ministry
official.
Singh
said, “As far as Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Saudi Arabia are concerned, India is
nearing completion of utilisation of bilateral rights but the other country has
yet to do. For the rest of the countries, fresh bilateral negotiations for
enhancement of traffic rights will take time.”
With
Singapore, it will also take some time for talks on more traffic rights as
ailing Kingfisher Airlines still has about 5,000 seats unutilised. “We will see
if these unutilised traffic slots stay with us and then we will think ahead,”
Singh had added. With a 60 per cent increase in traffic rights, the total
number of weekly services from Indian carriers would rise from 1,074 now to
1,695 in the winter schedule of 2013.
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