Significant imbalance in number of points of call in favour of foreign carriers: Civil aviation min

The civil aviation ministry on Monday said that overseas airlines are not being granted any non-metro airport as a new point of call in the country due to ''significant imbalance in the number of points of call in favour of foreign carriers''.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh made the remarks in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. He was responding to a question on whether the government will review the present bilateral policy facilitating foreign airlines to Kannur International Airport in Kerala.

The airport was commissioned in December 2018.

''Currently, due to significant imbalance in the number of points of call in favour of foreign carriers, the Government of India is not granting any non-metro airport as a new point of call to any foreign carrier for the purpose of operating passenger services,'' the minister said.

A foreign airline can operate from an airport once it is designated as a point of call.

He also said that Indian designated carriers are free to mount scheduled operations to/from any international airport, including the Kannur airport, to foreign destinations under the ambit of bilateral air service agreements.

The Kerala government has been requesting the ministry to grant permission to foreign carriers to operate out of the Kannur airport.

Besides, the state government has sought extension of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Open Sky Policy to the airport.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)