How India kept Pak at bay from eating into its Gulf pie

Through these destinations, Pakistan is hoping to bag what in aviation parlance is referred to as ‘sixth freedom rights’ that allow a country’s airline the right to carry passengers or cargo from a second country to a third country by stopping in one’s own country. So Pakistan with these three Indian destinations added would be able to fly Indian passengers from Hyderabad to Karachi or Lahore and then to the Gulf. Karachi and Lahore would accordingly be developed as major hubs. Hyderabad, it is learnt, was particularly high on their agenda and it took a lot of persuasion from the Indian side that the destination would be looked into at the next review meeting before Pakistan inked an MoU.

The Indian civil aviation authorities, aware that the move would affect their share in the Gulf market, more so in the absence of fifth freedom rights between India and Pakistan, finally pushed a decision on the issue to the review meeting to be held within a year. The two countries finally signed an MoU on adding Chennai and Islamabad as new destinations. At present, Indian and Pakistani airlines only fly to New Delhi, Mumbai, Karachi and Lahore.

The two neighbours had also agreed on doubling flights and adding a total of three airlines each along the sector. Pakistan is said to have decided on Karachi-based Air Blue and Shaheen Air besides state-owned carrier Pakistani International Airline (PIA) to start operations to India. There will be a minimum of three frequencies of flights allowed to each airline per week. So far only national flag carriers from both countries—Air India and PIA—were operating. Jet Airways, the only private airline eligible to conduct international operations, is the only eligible Indian carrier to fly abroad besides Air India. No other private Indian airline is eligible yet to fly long international routes. The Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher is, however, banking on partner Air Deccan getting international flying rights later this year when it completes five years of operation.

The two nations have also decided to double the number of weekly flights from 12 to 28 per side—Pakistan had demanded a ‘quantum jump’ in number of flights at talks held between civil aviation authorities in March 2006.

The talks had been rather unexciting with both sides failing to come to an agreement on increasing flights or adding new destinations.