Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today indicated that the Government would hold talks with the US in January on the latter’s pending proposal for an ‘‘open skies’’ agreement to remove all constraints from the existing treaty.‘‘We will be sending a team to the US in January for air bilateral talks. We are keen to add more city pairs to the existing entitlements and would also want more US flights to operate to India. All these issues will be addressed at this meeting,’’ Patel said, on the sidelines of meeting of civil aviation regulators in South Asia.The Indian Express had reported on September 1 that the US had formally submitted a detailed proposal listing the far-reaching features of an agreement that it has operationalised with more than 60 countries. There are few flights to India by US airlines and Washington feels the existing bilateral agreement, signed about 50 years ago, needs to be replaced immediately.At present, there are restrictions in terms of adding new points of call on either side. While US airlines can operate services to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, Indian carriers can operate to New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.A new agreement would mean adding new points of call and increasing the number of carriers. With no restriction on capacity, sources said, mounting services would just require obtaining the necessary clearances from the aviation authorities in the countries.The one hurdle in the proposal is that the US wants a separate clause on aviation safety. While Washington’s concerns stem from 9/11, India has streamlined its safety regulations in line with the recommendation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Making an exception for the US may be difficult to implement.
