The Hindu Business Line : Cabinet nod for Indo-US air services agreement

Briefing presspersons after the Cabinet meeting, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, said the agreement is to be signed during the three-day visit of the US Secretary of Transportation, Mr Norman Y. Mineta, to India.

The proposed agreement would replace the existing one with the US, signed in 1956. Outlining some of the important changes in the proposed agreement, Mr Patel said while the existing agreement provides for unlimited access to the airlines of both parties, the number of points of call in either country is restricted to four destinations. "This restriction on points of call has been removed in the revised agreement," he said.

Further, the restriction on the number of points for code-share rights has been removed. The existing agreement provides for code-share rights to any five points in the respective territories of both countries.

The revised agreement also removes all existing restrictions on Fifth Freedom traffic through intermediate points and provides for greater operation flexibility. An article on safety has also been added in the revised proposal.

"The removal of restrictions on points of call, code-share rights and Fifth Freedom rights would provide greater commercial opportunities to Indian carriers. It would also enable them to wean away traffic on the India-US route from third-country carriers," the Minister said. The Cabinet also gave approved the signing of a memorandum of co-operation between India and the US in the field of maritime transport science and technology. The agreements are expected to be signed on Thursday.

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Cabinet nod for Indo-US air services agreement