 "Adani Group pushes for more flying rights to boost traffic at its airports")
The Adani Group is urging the central government to grant additional flying rights to airlines as it looks to boost traffic at its eight airports, where the group is investing billions of dollars to upgrade runways and terminals, The Economic Times reported.
Why airlines are split over opening up skies
The group's stance contrasts with the country’s two largest airlines, IndiGo and Air India, which want the government to be cautious about opening local skies to overseas carriers. Air India has said such a move would expose it to what it describes as “unfair competition” from cash-rich West Asian airlines.
Adani Airports Holdings, which operates eight airports in the country, has reportedly asked the Centre to begin negotiations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, among others, to increase flying rights.
What are Adani Group’s investment plans?
The group, which began operations at the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) on December 25, told the government last month that increasing capacity would help the country’s financial capital become a global aviation hub, the report said, citing documents.
Jeet Adani, director at Adani Airport Holdings, has said the group plans to spend $11.1 billion by 2030 on terminals, runways, aircraft-handling facilities, and passenger amenities.
How flying rights are allocated in India
International flying rights are allotted on a bilateral, reciprocal basis, the report said. Since 2014, successive governments led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have taken a guarded approach to expanding flying rights for international airlines, particularly those from West Asia.
The government has said the policy is aimed at protecting Indian airlines and turning local airports into transit hubs similar to Dubai and Singapore’s Changi.
In 2016, under the National Civil Aviation Policy, India laid down guidelines stating that additional flying rights would not be granted to overseas carriers unless utilisation on the Indian side reached 80 per cent.
What it means for fares and capacity
With international carriers unable to deploy additional capacity despite strong traffic growth, ticket prices have risen, the report said. The last increase in seats for Dubai was in 2014. While both Indian carriers and airlines on the other side, such as Emirates and Flydubai, have exhausted their entitlements, the government has yet to approve an increase.
How Navi Mumbai airport traffic is shaping up
Adani Group-owned NMIA said on Tuesday that it handled more than 25,000 passengers in the first five days after commercial services began. The airport recorded 26,021 passengers in this period, including 12,431 arrivals and 13,590 departures, the operator said, adding that bookings have remained steady since launch. Traffic was highest over the weekend, with 5,548 passengers on Saturday and 5,614 on Sunday, it said. NMIA also reported 162 scheduled air traffic movements during the five days, comprising 81 arrivals and 81 departures.