Just as India is on the cusp of an aviation boom, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is planning to look in to the matter of increasing the bilateral flying rights with ASEAN countries like Bhutan, Maldives, Japan, Vietnam and Singapore during the next week’s 2nd Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference.
About 20 civil aviation ministers from across the globe will be present during the two-day event on September 11 and 12, and some of the major decisions and signing of contracts is expected to take place during the course of the conference.
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Recently, some airlines from the middle east had approached the government for rights to operate additional flights to India, as the middle-eastern carriers see India as a lucrative market and do not want to miss out on the potential business opportunities in India.
Although India’s civil aviation minister, K Rammohan Naidu is ready to discuss the impending issue of increase of bilateral flying rights to foreign carriers, he has made very clear that he will ensure that the domestic airlines get the most out of (these) bilateral flying rights, much to the relief of the domestic airlines.
“While we are looking to increase bilateral flying rights, we want to prioritise creating international travel hubs in India,” Naidu said while briefing media persons on the sidelines of the ministerial conference.
He clarified over and over that bilateral flying rights will not be approved if they harm the process of creating international travel hubs in India.
Around 41 countries will attend the 2nd Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference of the Asia Pacific region, which is being held after a period of six years. The 1st Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference was held in 2018 in Beijing.
Apart from ministers, the president of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), along with ICAO council representatives from Australia, Brazil, China, South Korea, Singapore, and Nigeria, will also attend the conference.
Naidu’s comments come on the backdrop of government’s decision to restrict the additional bilateral rights for foreign airlines. Due to this, the domestic airlines like IndiGo and Air India are able to expand their domestic and international operations.
Bilateral flying rights are entered into between two countries that allow airlines from either side to operate a specific number of flights. There are also open sky policies that allow carriers to operate unlimited number of flights between two countries.