UAE-India aviation partnership

 Remodelling the UAE-India aviation partnership

Beyond revisiting the regulatory frameworks, the UAE can support India’s ambition to become a global aviation powerhouse

Navi Mumbai International Airport और भारत की प्रगति   

During a recent tour of the Navi Mumbai International Airport in Maharashtra, I was left deeply impressed by the scale of India’s aviation ambitions. 

Navi Mumbai International Airport has the potential to serve as a game-changer in taking India’s aviation sector to exciting new heights, providing new avenues for the Indian travelling public to benefit from an increasingly inter-connected world.

As the pace of growth in India’s aviation sector 

— it is already the world’s third-largest domestic market in terms of passenger numbers — continues to quicken and the Government of India’s initiatives such as the Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) airport scheme are rapidly implemented, it is essential that an equally visionary approach to regulation and international partnerships is also considered.

उड़े देश का आम नागरिक (UDAN) योजना

परिचय:
"उड़े देश का आम नागरिक" (UDAN) भारत सरकार की एक क्षेत्रीय कनेक्टिविटी योजना (Regional Connectivity Scheme - RCS) है, जिसे अक्टूबर 2016 में लॉन्च किया गया था। इसका उद्देश्य सस्ते हवाई सफर को बढ़ावा देना और छोटे शहरों एवं कम सेवा प्राप्त हवाई अड्डों को हवाई नेटवर्क से जोड़ना है।

सस्ती हवाई यात्रा

• 500 किमी तक की हवाई यात्रा के लिए हवाई किराया ₹2,500 प्रति टिकट (1 घंटे की उड़ान के लिए) रखा गया।
• किराए की यह सीमा केवल सब्सिडी प्राप्त सीटों पर लागू होती है।
• एक फ्लाइट में कुल सीटों का 50% (या अधिकतम 40 सीटें) ही रियायती किराए पर उपलब्ध होती हैं।

The UAE as a vital travel destination

United Arab Emirates (UAE) और भारत के संबंध हवाई यात्रा सम्बंधित  

Today, the UAE is India’s most significant outbound travel market, with over 4.5 million Indian tourists visiting the UAE in 2023. 

Every week, Indian carriers fly over 600 times to the UAE, while UAE carriers operate over 500 weekly services to India. 

 mismatch between supply and demand 

has directly contributed to spiralling ticket prices and a lack of choice for the UAE and Indian travelling public alike.

Under current bilateral air service arrangements

 कम शहरों तक पहुंच और काम संख्या में उड़ान भरना 

the UAE’s carriers are limited to operating to a total of only 15 Indian cities, thus having no choice but to ignore the consistent demands of key Indian growth centres, including Surat, Visakhapatnam, Indore, Tiruchirappalli and Patna to operate services.

 Similarly, Indian carriers are unable to increase their level of frequencies to Dubai, despite unprecedented interest from Indians to visit family and engage in business and leisure activities in this vital global hub.

The benefits of a modernised strategy

With estimates suggesting that for every 1% increase in Indian passport holders, a further 10 million Indians will seek to travel overseas, this situation will only grow more acute. 

कीमतें क्यों बढ़ जाती हैं टिकट की 

Restrictive bilateral regulations -  will contribute to further 

• increases in the price of airline tickets, 
• limit the ability of Indian citizens to travel abroad, 
• and potentially inhibit the advancement of broader UAE-India investment, trade, and economic partnerships.

CEPA 

Just as the UAE and India have expanded cooperation through trade agreements such as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), there is an urgent need for a more progressive and open approach on aviation. 

A modernised aviation strategy -  will act as an 

• economic multiplier, 
• drive investment, 
• and ensure that our aviation partnership can become a key pillar of regional and international connectivity and growth.

revisiting the regulatory frameworks -  that guide our aviation relationship, the UAE is keen to support, through new investments and partnerships.

 support is in the form  -

of 

• knowledge-sharing 
• 
  
• and the training of Indian pilots,
• 
  
•  partnering in India’s rapidly emerging aviation maintenance,

•  repair, and overhaul (MRO) industry, 
• 
  
• promoting India’s globally renowned tourism sector, 
• 
  
• investing in the Indian government’s UDAN airport scheme to better connect Tier-2 and Tier-3 Indian cities,
• 
  
•  or in achieving win-win outcomes for our respective airline carriers,
• 
  
•  it is imperative that we seek new areas of collaboration in this critically important sector.

Cooperation over competition

 a combined sky and aviation eco-system 

that privileges cooperation over competition. Through greater engagement, we can ensure that the respective aviation sectors of both our countries are able to grow and succeed

सीखो Dubai and Abu Dhabi 

benefit from their status as global aviation hubs, cities throughout India have the potential to attain similar levels of seamless connectivity. 

By better connecting and supporting the aviation ambitions of emerging Indian cities, we can together ensure that inclusive and sustainable economic growth are felt not only within India, but also far beyond its borders.

Enhanced cooperation in the aviation sector -  is just one example of how the UAE-India partnership can evolve to unlock new avenues of mutually beneficial growth and integration. 

SOURCE THE HINDU