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NEW DELHI: Air connectivity between India and its Asia Pacific (APAC) neighbourhood – including Singapore – and thereby beyond too on connecting flights could soon get a boost. India is hosting the second APAC ministerial conference on civil aviation here this week (Sept 11 & 12) which will see representatives from 41 countries and international agencies.On the sidelines of this event, talks will be held on air service agreements (ASA) with some countries who sent a request for the same. While Pakistan won’t be at the conference, China’s participation is “under process” and has been confirmed, according to a ministry statement.
“We got requests from certain APAC countries to hold talks on bilaterals (ASAs). These include Singapore, Vietnam, Bhutan, Maldives and Japan. We are looking at requests for enhanced bilaterals proactively. The guiding principle is that any such enhancement should be good for Indian carriers and support our vision of creating global aviation hubs in India,” Union aviation minister Rammohan Naidu said Monday.
Since 2014, India has been very prudent in enhancing bilaterals as it wanted to protect airlines here. In the past few decades, the hubs for flying people between India and the rest of the world were in the neighborhood like Middle East and Southeast Asia. Before India had its own strong airlines, increasing bilaterals meant designated airlines of that country would quickly mount flights – often from one city of theirs to multiple cities here.
Now that India’s policy has paid off with two well funded airlines – IndiGo and Tata’s Air India Group – and new airports like those at Greater Noida and Navi Mumbai going to get operational by next summer, bilaterals could be reviewed.
UAE, with Dubai-based Emirates being the largest foreign airline in India, has also been seeking more flying rights here. Two-year-old Akasa has so far got no Dubai flying rights as the same have been exhausted by airlines of both sides. The minister said such requests, including UAE’s, are being proactively looked at. “We want small cities to also have direct international connectivity. We look at traffic in totality, including domestic and international. (But for enhancing bilaterals) we look at two main things – out airlines and creating our hubs,” the minister said.
The first APAC ministerial conference on civil aviation was hosted in Beijing in 2018. India has offered to host the second one here in 2020 which has to be postponed due to Covid.
Now that is finally being held here. PM Modi will address the conference on Sept 12 and a Delhi Declaration will be issued. The topics that will be discussed include air navigation, aviation safety and security and facilitating movement in APAC.
The countries attending the conference include Bhutan, Cambodia, China, South Korea, Fiji, Japan, Maldives, Nepal, Phillipines, Singapore and Vietnam. About 250-300 delegates are expected. “It is a matter of great pride that we are hosting this event. India is developing all aspects of its aviation industry like maintenance repair overhaul (MRO); aircraft assembly; supply chain. By 2035, APAC will account for 40% of air travel globally,” Rammohan Naidu said.
Because of easy visa conditions in the region, including visa free by some, for Indian travellers APAC is seeing massive growth in number of desi tourists.
“We got requests from certain APAC countries to hold talks on bilaterals (ASAs). These include Singapore, Vietnam, Bhutan, Maldives and Japan. We are looking at requests for enhanced bilaterals proactively. The guiding principle is that any such enhancement should be good for Indian carriers and support our vision of creating global aviation hubs in India,” Union aviation minister Rammohan Naidu said Monday.
Since 2014, India has been very prudent in enhancing bilaterals as it wanted to protect airlines here. In the past few decades, the hubs for flying people between India and the rest of the world were in the neighborhood like Middle East and Southeast Asia. Before India had its own strong airlines, increasing bilaterals meant designated airlines of that country would quickly mount flights – often from one city of theirs to multiple cities here.
Now that India’s policy has paid off with two well funded airlines – IndiGo and Tata’s Air India Group – and new airports like those at Greater Noida and Navi Mumbai going to get operational by next summer, bilaterals could be reviewed.
UAE, with Dubai-based Emirates being the largest foreign airline in India, has also been seeking more flying rights here. Two-year-old Akasa has so far got no Dubai flying rights as the same have been exhausted by airlines of both sides. The minister said such requests, including UAE’s, are being proactively looked at. “We want small cities to also have direct international connectivity. We look at traffic in totality, including domestic and international. (But for enhancing bilaterals) we look at two main things – out airlines and creating our hubs,” the minister said.
The first APAC ministerial conference on civil aviation was hosted in Beijing in 2018. India has offered to host the second one here in 2020 which has to be postponed due to Covid.
Now that is finally being held here. PM Modi will address the conference on Sept 12 and a Delhi Declaration will be issued. The topics that will be discussed include air navigation, aviation safety and security and facilitating movement in APAC.
The countries attending the conference include Bhutan, Cambodia, China, South Korea, Fiji, Japan, Maldives, Nepal, Phillipines, Singapore and Vietnam. About 250-300 delegates are expected. “It is a matter of great pride that we are hosting this event. India is developing all aspects of its aviation industry like maintenance repair overhaul (MRO); aircraft assembly; supply chain. By 2035, APAC will account for 40% of air travel globally,” Rammohan Naidu said.
Because of easy visa conditions in the region, including visa free by some, for Indian travellers APAC is seeing massive growth in number of desi tourists.
