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Govt defends bilateral air service deals

Amidst the controversy over suspension of Air-India managing director Michael Mascrenhas, the civil aviation ministry on Friday defended the spate of bilateral air service agreements with other countries, one of the issues on which he had developed differences with the government.

Signing of agreements, under which foreign airlines get air traffic rights, has been criticised by Air-India unions and the suspended MD was also credited with the view that this would affect the value of airline which is in the process of being privatised.

However, the ministry, in a note released on Friday, justified the signing of agreements with 96 countries of these designated airlines of 47 countries are operating scheduled air services to India.

The ministry admitted that Air-Indian and Indian Airlines were operating only in 33 countries out of which 10 were under code share arrangements, under which the two contracting parties could utilise only one aircraft and display the flight numbers of both on them.

While the signing of 96 bilaterals by India had generated a capacity entitlement or around 34 million seats per year, both ways, only about half the seats were being actually operated by Indian and foreign carriers together.

"The responsibility of the ministry is primarily to the country's interest and thereafter to our carriers," the note said.

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