Russia set to operate more passenger flights to India

File picture for illustration.
| Photo Credit: V RAJU

India and Russia have “in principle” agreed to revise their bilateral air providers settlement whereby Russian carriers might be allowed to operate as many as 64 weekly flights to numerous Indian cities, in accordance to a senior official.

Under the present settlement, Russia can operate up to 52 weekly civilian flights to India.

India has “in principle” agreed to improve the variety of weekly flights that Russian carriers can operate to India to 64. In this regard, the bilateral air providers settlement might be amended in the end, the official stated.

Currently, Aeroflot is working seven weekly flights to India whereas no Indian airline is flying to Russia. Earlier, Air India used to operate flights to Moscow.

On the situation of anonymity, the official additionally stated it should take a while earlier than Russian carriers might be ready to absolutely utilise the quota of the overall variety of weekly flights permitted to operate to India.

Last month, an Indian delegation led by Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal visited Moscow for a gathering associated to bilateral cooperation in civil aviation.

A protocol on cooperation within the civil aviation sector was additionally formalised on the assembly on February 17, the Civil Aviation Ministry had stated in a tweet.

The assembly, which was a part of the ninth session of the India-Russia Sub-Group on Cooperation in Civil Aviation, was chaired by Mr. Bansal and Russian Deputy Minister of Transport Igor Chalik.

Under the India-Russia bilateral air service settlement, Russian carriers can operate flights to six factors of name or locations in India – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Goa, Amritsar and Ahmedabad. Indian airways are permitted to fly to six locations in Russia, together with Moscow and St. Petersburg, as per an replace with the Civil Aviation Ministry as of March 7.

India has bilateral air providers agreements with round 116 international locations.

Any designated airline of a international nation can operate to/from some extent in India whether it is designated as some extent of name within the bilateral air providers settlement signed between India and the nation involved.

At current, the Indian authorities will not be granting any non-metro airport as a brand new level of name to any international service for working passenger providers. This is due to a “significant imbalance in the number of points of call in favour of foreign carriers,” as per the Civil Aviation Ministry.