Sunday, February 12, 2017

UK-India deal agrees to ease restrictions on flights between two nations

At the CAPA India Aviation Summit 2017, an important new aviation deal was agreed on by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, UK’s Minister for Aviation and the India’s Minister for Civil Aviation, Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju. The deal to ease restrictions on flights between the two nations will boost not only tourism and trade, but benefit NRIs and the diaspora visiting family and friends. Limits on flights from key Indian cities including Chennai and Kolkata have been scrapped, allowing for a greater range of flights for passengers; building new links with important trading partners is a key part of UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s government plans for a Global Britain, opening up new export markets and creating jobs and economic growth. At the moment, about 3.5 million passengers fly directly between the UK and India every year on 88 scheduled services per week in each direction.

Lord Ahmad ran through some facts. Tourism from India makes an important contribution to the UK economy. In 2015, there were 422,000 visits from India to the UK, bringing more than £433 million to the economy. British Airways have been flying to India for over 90 years and in 1948 when Air India established its first ever international route, it was to London. The number of Indian airlines has more than doubled in 10 years and in January India’s aviation market hit 13 consecutive months of passenger growth and is on track to become the largest aviation market in the world by 2030. The expanded Heathrow with the third runway will make possible an extra 260,000 aircraft movements a year, making Heathrow competitive with hubs like as Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt.
12/02/17 Antonia Filmer/Sunday Guardian Live
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