Air India in shock as Dubai seeks 50,000 Indo-UAE seats for its planes – The New Indian Express

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The UAE has stepped up pressure on the Indian government to add another 50,000 weekly seats between the two countries, a development that threatens to deal a fatal blow to India’s airlines.

In a letter to Joint Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority Director Mohammed A Ahli asked India to allow Amritsar, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore, Kannur, Goa, Bhubane Swar, Guwahati and Pune become additional stop operators in Dubai. If approved, these would be among Emirates’ most profitable routes.

Not surprisingly, Air India strongly opposes adding seats to Gulf carriers. The UAE’s flagship airline, Emirates, already operates some of the most lucrative routes between India and the UAE. The airline currently operates in nine cities in India namely Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata and Trivandrum.

The UAE has been putting increasing pressure on the Indian government to allow more flights from there. Earlier, Emirates president Tim Clark ignored Air India’s objections and asked the Indian government to open up more routes.

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In a letter to Scindia, Mohammed Ahli said that the Indian and UAE governments have taken a series of measures to further promote trade and commerce and cooperation in various fields, “Dubai-India air transport continues to be the cornerstone of Dubai-India air transport. All Those businesses, as well as gathering people and exchanging ideas between our two countries.”

Ahli added that in light of the above, “an agreement between our two countries to update the rights of our respective designated airlines is crucial”.

He said: “As your esteemed offices know, the current seating capacity of 65,200 seats was established under the terms of the memorandum of understanding signed by our two governments in 2014. Over the past seven years, not only has passenger traffic grown Very strong. Cargo between Dubai and India, and our two countries have been at the forefront of major aviation developments – be it new state-of-the-art airports/terminals, new technology aircraft or other aviation-related technological advancements. With more than 1.4 million expat Indians in Dubai – a number that has grown steadily over the past decade – and the ever-increasing trade and cultural exchange between our two countries, we see the need to strengthen Dubai and India stronger than ever.”

The Director General of Dubai Civil Aviation asked Sindia to “consider calling for a bilateral meeting between our respective Civil Aviation Authorities to explore the possibility of further enhancing capabilities and services between Dubai and India”.

“We are particularly looking to … increase the bilateral capacity between Dubai-India and vice versa by 50,000 seats per week in each direction,” he said, adding “Amritsar, Thiru Jirapali, Coimbatore, Kannur, Goa, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Pune as additional stops for flydubai”.

The Dubai official also expressed “high interest in serving other second-tier cities in India that have recently been upgraded to international standards by the Airports Authority of India”.

Seats are allocated between countries by granting bilateral rights that allow each other’s airlines to operate services with a certain number of seats.

</p> <p>NEW DELHI: The UAE has stepped up pressure on the Indian government to add another 50,000 weekly seats between the two countries, a development that threatens to deal a fatal blow to India’s airlines. In a letter to Joint Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority Director Mohammed A Ahli asked India to allow Amritsar, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore, Kannur, Goa, Bhubane Swar, Guwahati and Pune become additional stop operators in Dubai. If approved, these would be among Emirates’ most profitable routes. Not surprisingly, Air India strongly opposes adding seats to Gulf carriers. The UAE’s flagship airline, Emirates, already operates some of the most lucrative routes between India and the UAE. The airline currently operates in nine cities in India namely Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata and Trivandrum. The UAE has been putting increasing pressure on the Indian government to allow more flights from there. Earlier, Emirates president Tim Clark ignored Air India’s objections and asked the Indian government to open up more routes. ALSO READ | Indian and UAE governments have taken a series of measures to further boost trade, police warn, drug balls target young people in Gulf And business and cooperation in various fields, “The Dubai-India air transport sector remains the cornerstone of all such businesses and the gathering and exchange of ideas between our two peoples.” Ahli added that in light of the above, “between our two countries, the The agreement to update the rights of the respective designated airlines is crucial.” He said: “As your esteemed offices know, the current seating capacity of 65,200 seats was established under the terms of the memorandum of understanding signed by our two governments in 2014. Over the past seven years, not only has passenger traffic grown Very strong. Cargo between Dubai and India, and our two countries have been at the forefront of major aviation developments – be it new state-of-the-art airports/terminals, new technology aircraft or other aviation-related technological advancements. With more than 1.4 million expat Indians in Dubai – a number that has grown steadily over the past decade – and the ever-increasing trade and cultural exchange between our two countries, we see the need to strengthen Dubai and India stronger than ever.” The Director General of Dubai Civil Aviation asked Sindia to “consider calling for a bilateral meeting between our respective Civil Aviation Authorities to explore the possibility of further enhancing capabilities and services between Dubai and India”. “We are particularly looking to … increase the bilateral capacity between Dubai-India and vice versa by 50,000 seats per week in each direction,” he said, adding “Amritsar, Thiru Jirapali, Coimbatore, Kannur, Goa, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Pune as additional stops for flydubai”. The Dubai official also expressed “high interest in serving other second-tier cities in India that have recently been upgraded to international standards by the Airports Authority of India”. Seats are allocated between countries by granting bilateral rights that allow each other’s airlines to operate services with a certain number of seats.<br />