**Akasa Air Raises Concerns Over Bilateral Flight Rights to UAE**
New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) – Akasa Air has expressed concerns regarding the allocation of bilateral rights for flights to the UAE, claiming that the current situation creates an uneven playing field that hampers its ability to compete fairly with established carriers like Air India and IndiGo.
Priya Mehra, Chief of Governance & Strategic Acquisitions at Akasa Air, highlighted in a letter to Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam that IndiGo and the Air India Group dominate the UAE market, operating numerous daily flights between India and destinations such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah. She emphasized that this dominance poses a significant challenge for new entrants like Akasa Air.
The relatively new airline, which operates a fleet of 27 aircraft, has ambitious plans for expansion. Mehra noted that Akasa Air has been seeking rights to operate flights to Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi for over a year. Bilateral flying rights are negotiated between countries, and while there is increasing demand for enhanced rights from Gulf carriers, India has been reluctant to expand these rights.
In her letter, Mehra pointed out that Akasa Air has willingly surrendered traffic rights for six countries—Hong Kong, Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Nepal—to facilitate the allocation of additional rights on the UAE-Abu Dhabi route. However, she raised concerns that the ministry has reallocated seats from the UAE-Abu Dhabi pool to other emirates, such as Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah, and subsequently granted these rights to other Indian airlines.
Mehra questioned the legitimacy of such reallocations, stating, “We have not seen provisions that permit such a shift, nor any precedents of this occurring in the past.” She further inquired why Akasa Air was not allocated rights to Sharjah previously if such transfers are permissible under bilateral agreements.
In light of these issues, Akasa Air has requested the ministry to allocate the desired traffic rights for Abu Dhabi for the upcoming winter or next summer schedule. Mehra acknowledged that the civil aviation ministry has been receptive to industry concerns and expressed gratitude for the support received from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and other regulatory bodies during Akasa Air’s growth phase, both domestically and internationally.
