NEW DELHI: The recent grant of additional flying rights to Abu Dhabi may lead to similar demand being raised by other Gulf carriers like Emirates and Qatar. Top aviation ministry sources said being one country, individual demands of the UAE's seven emirates or principalities for more bilateral for their airlines are difficult to be considered favourably.
"Abu Dhabi and Dubai are barely 100 km apart. Some years back, substantial flying rights were given to Emirates of Dubai. Now 36,670 more weekly seats over three years have been allowed to Abu Dhabi's Etihad. Demand for more capacity from one region has to be measured and seen in context what Indian carriers and India gets in return," said a top ministry source. While Emirates is learnt to be seeking about 24,000 more weekly seats, Qatar wants double of that.
"All these Emirates are part of UAE and individual demands for more bilateral will be difficult to accede to. Southeast Asia is emerging as the hotbed of economic growth. There is need for more connectivity between India and Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia,Vietnam and even Australia. So, the focus of bilateral will be on this region. Also, Gulf is mainly a transit point for traffic between India and the West and point to point demand has been taken care of by the recent agreement with Abu Dhabi," said the source. However, the aviation ministry says that a final call on deciding bilateral with any place is decided by several geopolitical factors.
"Abu Dhabi and Dubai are barely 100 km apart. Some years back, substantial flying rights were given to Emirates of Dubai. Now 36,670 more weekly seats over three years have been allowed to Abu Dhabi's Etihad. Demand for more capacity from one region has to be measured and seen in context what Indian carriers and India gets in return," said a top ministry source. While Emirates is learnt to be seeking about 24,000 more weekly seats, Qatar wants double of that.
"All these Emirates are part of UAE and individual demands for more bilateral will be difficult to accede to. Southeast Asia is emerging as the hotbed of economic growth. There is need for more connectivity between India and Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia,Vietnam and even Australia. So, the focus of bilateral will be on this region. Also, Gulf is mainly a transit point for traffic between India and the West and point to point demand has been taken care of by the recent agreement with Abu Dhabi," said the source. However, the aviation ministry says that a final call on deciding bilateral with any place is decided by several geopolitical factors.
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