The issue was raised during the meeting of Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh with Austria's Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology Doris Bures here. The two sides discussed the possibilities of enhancing bilateral cooperation in civil aviation sector.
"During the talks, India raised the issue of Substantial Ownership and Effective Control of Austrian Airlines due to its takeover by Lufthansa. The Austrian side was requested to clarify the shareholding pattern of the Austrian Airlines," an official statement said.
India and Austria had signed Air Service Agreement (ASA) in 1989 for operating 14 services per week but presently Austrian Airlines operates six services a week between Vienna and Delhi.
However, with Lufthansa taking over Austrian airlines, there is confusion on the number of flights the carrier can operate from the country, officials said.
Singh said that the issue should be resolved through discussions keeping in mind the legal and rule position.
India and Austria had held the last round of talks during ICAN 2011 in Mumbai when a MoU was also signed between the two nations.
"Both sides had agreed to amend Article 3 of the existing ASA to give each contracting party the right to designate one or more airlines for operations. Also both sides had agreed to incorporate therein the provisions relating to liberalisation of all cargo services, cooperative marketing arrangements, routing flexibility and intermodal services in the existing ASA," the statement said.
Addressing the meeting Singh said "the growth of air services between the two countries will greatly facilitate cordial relationship, connectivity, trade and tourism."
Meanwhile, Singh also launched a monthly lounge magazine of Airports Authority of India titled "Airports India". The magazine would update the passengers about the facilities available and developments made in airport infrastructure on ground and in air.
Civil Aviation Secretary K N Shrivastava and Chairman of Airports Authority of India V P Agrawal were present on the occasion.
