India to break aviation impasse with China
India's top officials start negotiations with Beijing over air traffic impasse.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: In a bid to resolve the impasse with China over allowing more flights, a group of top officials of various ministries met here on Wednesday and worked out several options for starting negotiations with Beijing.
The impasse came about after New Delhi withheld permission to Chinese cargo carrier Great Wall of China to fly into India on security grounds. Beijing promptly countered it by not clearing the flights of Jet Airways to Shanghai and Indian (to be merged into Air India) to Guangzhou.
The Inter Ministerial Group, including officials of the Ministries of Civil Aviation, External Affairs, Finance and Home Ministry, worked out some options at Wednesday's meeting.
"All options will be weighed and we will hold further consultations among ourselves before finalising our position," a senior official said here.
Though no conclusion has yet been arrived at, the matter could be resolved by the month end, he said.
Negotiations on India-China bilateral air traffic rights was concluded in March 2005 under which the designated airlines of the two countries were allowed to operate 42 flights each week from summer of 2006, raising it from 14 in the previous year. The number of passenger seats offered was raised from 5,600 in 2005 to 16,800 in 2006 summer.
On the cargo operations front, the two sides allowed unlimited rights to each other's cargo airlines with Fifth Freedom rights to operate to points beyond the two countries.
While deciding to grant flying rights to the cargo airline Great Wall, intelligence agencies had pointed out that the company owning it was blacklisted by US agencies. However, the Chinese side has now said the ownership of this carrier has changed hands.
Indian carriers are likely to get clearance only after a decision is taken on the Chinese carrier.
The impasse came about after New Delhi withheld permission to Chinese cargo carrier Great Wall of China to fly into India on security grounds. Beijing promptly countered it by not clearing the flights of Jet Airways to Shanghai and Indian (to be merged into Air India) to Guangzhou.
The Inter Ministerial Group, including officials of the Ministries of Civil Aviation, External Affairs, Finance and Home Ministry, worked out some options at Wednesday's meeting.
"All options will be weighed and we will hold further consultations among ourselves before finalising our position," a senior official said here.
Though no conclusion has yet been arrived at, the matter could be resolved by the month end, he said.
Negotiations on India-China bilateral air traffic rights was concluded in March 2005 under which the designated airlines of the two countries were allowed to operate 42 flights each week from summer of 2006, raising it from 14 in the previous year. The number of passenger seats offered was raised from 5,600 in 2005 to 16,800 in 2006 summer.
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On the cargo operations front, the two sides allowed unlimited rights to each other's cargo airlines with Fifth Freedom rights to operate to points beyond the two countries.
While deciding to grant flying rights to the cargo airline Great Wall, intelligence agencies had pointed out that the company owning it was blacklisted by US agencies. However, the Chinese side has now said the ownership of this carrier has changed hands.
Indian carriers are likely to get clearance only after a decision is taken on the Chinese carrier.
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