Flight ban: India, Kuwait to break ice

The civil aviation ministry has described Kuwait's decision to stop Indian flights to Kuwait as "unfair and unwarranted" and assured the two national carriers that the issue will be settled in a couple of days.

The second round of bilateral talks between the two countries will take place before the end of this month. The joint secretary, civil aviation, and the Indian ambassador to Kuwait will take part in the meeting.

"Our ambassador to Kuwait has conveyed to its authorities that keeping in mind the bilateral agreement between the two countries, such unilateral action will be harmful to the interests of travellers," said a civil aviation ministry spokesperson.

"India is ready for talks with the Kuwaiti authorities," he added. Civil aviation officials had briefed the external affairs ministry on the issue last week.

Kuwait recently issued notices to national carriers Indian and Air-India threatening that they would have to stop their flights from July 1. It had alleged that New Delhi had gone back on its commitments under the bilateral agreement signed between the two countries in 2006.

Under it, the civil aviation ministry had allowed Kuwait to increase its flights per week from 25 to around 40. Four carriers, Air India and Indian Airlines from India and Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways from Kuwait, operate international flights from places like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kochi.

According to sources, the talks hit a roadblock when the Kuwaiti government sought a 50 per cent increase in Jazeera Airways' flights to India. That would take the number of its flights from 13 at present to around 20.

Kuwait also wanted most of Jazeera's flights to be routed through Dubaim, under the fifth freedom intermediate right guaranteed in the agreement. The right allows a carrier to pick up traffic from a third country.

The civil aviation ministry turned down the proposal, saying it would affect the national carriers for which Gulf routes were a major source of revenue.

Despite the threats from Kuwaiti authorities, there is no panic among passengers, nor any dip in ticket bookings yet. "There have been no ticket cancellations for Kuwait flights yet. Neither have passengers sought a shift to other airlines," said Raj Kachroo, sales manager, Swift Travels.

"It is impossible to stop flights at the eleventh hour and had there been any such move, airlines would have informed passengers in advance or made alternative arrangements," he said.

The national carriers too are assured that the matter will be settled amicably. "Bilateral negotiations are going on at the governmental level and we are confident that the matter will be resolved before July 1," said a spokesperson for Air India.