IATA chief hopeful that India will provide more bilateral flying rights

Global airlines' grouping IATA's chief Willie Walsh has expressed optimism that India will provide more bilateral flying rights as Indian carriers are set to operate more wide-body planes in the coming years.

India, one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets, has been taking a cautious stance on increasing bilateral flying rights as efforts are on to make the country a global aviation hub. More number of wide-body planes with Indian airlines will allow them to provide direct connectivity to various overseas destinations.

IATA Director General Willie Walsh has said the bilateral flying rights situation with respect to India will improve.

"It (bilateral flying rights) will improve. If you look at the aircraft orders, the wide-body aircraft orders that IndiGo and Air India have, they want to see more rights available to them. They are not going to get rights to fly unless you give them reciprocal rights.

"I am optimistic that it (bilateral flying rights situation) will change," he told PTI on the sidelines of the IATA Global Media Day here on Tuesday.

Bilateral flying rights are between two countries that allow airlines from either side to operate a specified number of flights.

In September, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the government will proactively look at requests for enhanced bilateral flying rights and that there is no time limit for deciding on them.

"We are proactively looking at bilaterals... (but) we want to promote Indian airlines because we want to create our own aviation hubs also," he had said.

Some foreign carriers, especially from the Gulf, have been seeking rights to operate more flights to India as the existing bilateral flying rights quota has been fully utilised.

About India, Walsh said there is a massive opportunity for Indian airlines.

"It is the market that excites me the most today because it is genuinely going to be transformational in terms of the aviation market as well as the economy of the country," he said at a briefing on Tuesday.

According to him, the concern is about whether air traffic control can keep pace with the growth in the airlines' network in India.

There is a very considerable growth that needs to be facilitated by airports but also air traffic control, he said and added that significant investments are being made in airport infrastructure and new airports are being opened.

While aviation market growth is on the rise, there are also concerns about a possible duopoly in the Indian market, with IndiGo and Air India group accounting for nearly 90 per cent of the domestic air traffic.

"I wouldn't call it duopoly... When I look at the Indian domestic market, there is plenty of scope for airlines and with new airports coming on stream as well, it is going to be a very exciting market going forward," Walsh said.

About airport charges in India, which has been an area of concern for IATA, he said there are positive developments in economic regulations for airports in the country.

Further, he said, "I don't think the ownership of an airport is of particular concern... The ownership of an airport does not guarantee whether it is a success or a failure".

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is a grouping of around 340 airlines that account for more than 80 per cent of the global air traffic.