India not granting 'points of call' status to any additional airports presently: Govt

Presently, India is not granting 'point of call' status to any airport apart from the ones that have already got it as Indian carriers may be adversely affected, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

When an airport is designated as 'point of call' for a foreign airline, its aircraft can arrive or depart from there.

For example, the designated carriers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have up to 13 'points of call' in India, according to Puri.

"Presently, interior 'points of call' in India are not being granted (except for already designated 'points of call') as this may adversely affect operations of Indian carriers and harm development of hubs within the country," Puri said in his written response to a question in the Lok Sabha.

He added that granting the 'points of call' status to additional airports depends upon the "terms of reciprocity and balance of benefits".

According to the minister, the Andhra Pradesh government had requested the Centre to grant 'point of call' status to the Vijayawada airport for two UAE carriers -- Emirates and flydubai.

"At present, there is no quid pro quo available for Indian carriers for granting additional 'points of call' to the designated carriers of the UAE," Puri clarified in the House.

Before a country's airline can operate international flights, a "bilateral air services agreement" has to be negotiated to decide how many total flights (or seats) each week can be allowed from one nation to another.

Once the agreement is signed, each country is free to allocate these flying rights to its respective airlines. During the negotiations of the agreement, the number of "points of call" is also decided for the respective airlines.