India resists foreign calls for more air access, wants domestic carriers to fly long haul

India resists foreign calls for more air access, wants domestic carriers to fly long haul

NEW DELHI –

India is not looking at increasing air traffic rights for the United Arab Emirates, despite calls by Gulf carriers. It wants its domestic airlines to offer non-stop long haul flights, its civil aviation minister said in an interview.

The UAE has urged India to increase the maximum number of seats between the two countries by 50,000 a week from about 65,000 a week today, but Jyotiraditya Scindia said, “at this point we’re not looking at increasing it.”