No AI, 'Indian' flights to Kuwait from July 1

DUBAI: Hundreds of passengers travelling to India may have to make alternative arrangements with Kuwait indicating that it would not allow 'Air India' and 'Indian' flights to land in its capital from July one.

The move comes after New Delhi's reported unwillingness to allow an increase in the number of Kuwaiti flights from India despite Kuwait's request in line with an pact signed between both the countries, the Arab Times report said on Monday.

India's unwillingness is seen as an attempt to safeguard the interest of its state-owned carriers, it said.

A circular indicating that Kuwait would not allow the flights of Indian carriers at its airport was issued to Air India and Indian by its Director General of Civil Aviation, the report quoted an unnamed 'Indian' official as saying.

While a Kuwait Airways official said India have so far not taken any step in response to the circular, the 'Indian' official expressed hope that the ongoing talks between Kuwait and India in New Delhi would find a solution to the issue.

"We are in touch with our head office in Delhi. On a daily basis, about a 100 passengers of Indian alone will be displaced if DGCA goes ahead with its decision," the 'Indian' official said adding, "we will know the outcome of the talks by Tuesday."

The Indian carriers, meanwhile, are in talks with other airlines to make alternate arrangements if the two sides fail to hammer out a deal.

Passengers wishing to cancel their bookings with Indian airlines can do so without paying any cancellation fees thereby making their own arrangements, an official said.

"As of now, there is no panic among the passengers and we are undertaking bookings for the month of July and beyond," the official said.

Asked whether the airline had made any alternate arrangements assuming the talks fail, he said the airline was exploring all possibilities and would make an announcement at an opportune time.

Travel agents said that bookings of Indian Airlines and Air India had not plunged. "It is impossible to stop flights at the eleventh hour and had there been any such measure, then the concerned airlines would have informed passengers in advance or made alternate arrangements," they said.

Passengers who have bookings with the two airlines have not expressed any concern over the latest developments, they said. "We got some inquiries from other airlines expressing their willingness to accommodate our passengers if talks fail between the two sides," a travel agent was quoted as saying. They also claimed that they were yet to receive any intimation pertaining to the decision to stop Indian flights.

Talks between Kuwait and India hit a roadblock early June while both sides are currently holding the second round of talks.

Air India operates four weekly flights to Bombay and Indian Airlines three weekly flights to southern Indian destinations. Kuwait Airways and Jazeera airlines operate daily flights to Mumbai and also weekly flights to other South Indian destinations.

Earlier, Kuwait had threatened to stop all flights to India from July one, alleging that New Delhi was going back on commitments in the air bilateral agreement between both countries.

Kuwait's first private budget airline, Jazeera Airways, reportedly wants to operate most of its flights via Dubai as per the fifth freedom intermediate rights guaranteed in the agreement, the report said.

This right allows a carrier to pick up traffic to, and from, a third country.

Already, ten of Jazeera's 13 flights, to and from India, are routed via Dubai, its second hub after Kuwait City. This in turn threatens the market for Indian Airlines and Air India, the report added.

Kuwait is calling for a 50 per cent hike in Jazeera's flights to, and from, India, even as the civil aviation ministry has not given a green light to the proposal yet.