India needs to open up to global air carriers: Emirates president

Dubai: The Indian government will need to open up to global air carriers as the impact of Indian diaspora on world economy is increasing, Emirates president Sir Tim Clark has said.

“They need to open up. They need these airplanes to get going. The Indian diaspora, the India effect on world economy is getting bigger. This government with Mr Modi is expanding that. You need air transport. You need big aircraft. You need to move people,” Sir Tim Clark said on the sidelines of Iata 80th annual general meeting.

While Emirates has been trying to increase flights operations from India since the last 10 years but it has so far been restricted to operate 65,000 seats for Dubai under the bilateral agreement between India and UAE. Recently, as per some media reports India has demanded a ratio of four seats for its airlines for each additional seat granted to Dubai-based airlines.

“What the Indian government chooses to do and how they choose to run its aero political policies is up to India and if they they wish to propose that solution, the 4:1 basis, they can obviously engage with the governments. We just execute the policies. These are inter-governmental issues that need to be resolved at inter-governmental level,” Clark said.

Emirates in India

Emirates currently flies to nine major cities in India but sees potential in launching direct flights to Tier-2 and 3 destinations in India as well such as Surat, Lucknow, and Amritsar. The airline currently shares its bilaterals share with its sister airline flyDubai. As the seats on India-Dubai route are fully utilized on both sides, young airlines such as Akasa Air will have to wait until there is room for more seats between one of the busiest connections for Dubai.

“It is in the hands of Indian government. We have had 65,000 seats in each direction since 2015. That is nine years ago. If you are telling me that Indian market has not grown internally internationally in nine years particularly between India-Dubai market. Really?! The Indian community here is huge and in UAE, it grows all the time. It needs air services. The business case is staring government of India in the face. It is their call,” he added.

Emirates is also the largest foreign carrier on the international air travel market to and from India. As per the data from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), it holds around 10% stake of the total market. As per the latest data, the total international traffic to and from India for Oct-Dec stood at 17.3 million passengers.

(The reporter is in Dubai at the invitation of International Air Transport Association.)