Mumbai: Dubai is seeking to expand air traffic with India by adding as many as 50,000 seats a week to the current two-way capacity, a proposal that is sure to be opposed by local and foreign airlines as they see it disproportionately benefiting the emirate's flag carrier at the cost of others.
If the move goes through, carriers from the two sides will be able to fly up to 1.13 lakh seats every week, higher than the combined entitlements given under bilateral air traffic agreements with Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Sharjah and Oman. Last Friday, the aviation ministry asked Indian carriers for their views on the proposal.
Dubai's Emirates, the world's third largest carrier by number of passengers flown, would be the biggest beneficiary of the move. It already operates 183 weekly India-Dubai flights, compared with the combined number of just over 300 by India's four international airlines - Air India, Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet. Emirates, referred to in a lighter vein as India's national carrier, ferries the largest chunk of overseas travellers out of India, many of whom further travelling to western destinations.
16/02/16 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times
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If the move goes through, carriers from the two sides will be able to fly up to 1.13 lakh seats every week, higher than the combined entitlements given under bilateral air traffic agreements with Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Sharjah and Oman. Last Friday, the aviation ministry asked Indian carriers for their views on the proposal.
Dubai's Emirates, the world's third largest carrier by number of passengers flown, would be the biggest beneficiary of the move. It already operates 183 weekly India-Dubai flights, compared with the combined number of just over 300 by India's four international airlines - Air India, Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet. Emirates, referred to in a lighter vein as India's national carrier, ferries the largest chunk of overseas travellers out of India, many of whom further travelling to western destinations.
16/02/16 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times
