Dark clouds over flights to Malaysia

NEW DELHI: In a move that could disrupt flights from India to Malaysia, the civil aviation authority has warned of a ban on Malaysia Airlines if domes-tic carriers Air India Express and Air Sahara were not allowed to land in Kuala Lumpur.

A similar dispute with Russia reached a flashpoint on Tuesday, threatening to halt air transport between the two countries, but was defused late on Tuesday evening, said civil aviation ministry sources.

Moscow had said Air India and Jet Airways should stop using its air-space for their flights to London and other west European destinations. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s civil aviation authority, had retaliated by threatening to ground flights of Russian carriers Aeroflot and Transco Airlines. However, the issue was resolved late this evening after Russia agreed to allow Indian carriers to continue using its airspace, the sources added.

However, the tiff with Malaysia remains unresolved and has the potential to hit flights of Air India and Jet Airways to Kuala Lumpur. DGCA has already served a show-cause notice on Malaysia Airlines, threatening to stop its flights to India.

This dispute follows Kuala Lumpur’s refusal to allow Air India Express and Air Sahara to operate flights to Malaysia. New Delhi had nominated these carriers to utilise part of the bilateral rights available to it. Air India Express’ parent company Air India and Jet Airways already operate flights to Kuala Lumpur. A number of Indian tourists fly to Malaysia during the summer; holiday packages that combine visits to Malaysia, Singapore and Bangkok too are popular. A section of the traffic to the US also flows through the Kuala Lumpur hub.