India pushes UN body for level playing field at European airports
It said that these airports have framed slot allocation practices which are discriminatory and disadvantage airlines from developing countries.
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Airport slots is a time period granted by the airport operator within which an airline should take off and land.
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According to the working paper presented by India, which will be debated at ICAO's triennial assembly at Montreal in September, the current system of grandfather rights, which allows an incumbent airline to keep a slot in perpetuity, while putting additional measures like night curfew, restricts market access and denying equal opportunity for airlines from developing countries like India to expand in large European markets.
'The assembly's action on these matters is essential for preserving the integrity of the international civil aviation system and ensuring that all states can realize the benefits of their participation in international air services,' the working paper reviewed by ET said.
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At congested airports like London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Paris slots are allocated twice a year- summer and winter season, according to the guidelines set by International Air Transport Association under which airlines can hold a slot if they use it 80% of time each season.
'This often means that carriers from large source markets like India are unable to deploy new capacity at commercially viable timings, while countries operating such hubs continue to seek increased access to the Indian market without offering reciprocal benefits,' India said in the working paper reviewed by ET.
The government's decision to raise this at an international level comes as Indian carriers like IndiGo and Air India have charted aggressive expansion plans for overseas foray.
IndiGo's flights to Amsterdam are facing uncertainty as its request for slots for winter is yet to be approved, as the Dutch government is preparing to impose a cap on flight movements to reduce noise pollution.
'While developing economies such as India are investing heavily in expansion of airport infrastructure, creating opportunities for all carriers, developed economies, like Amsterdam, are actively reducing existing capacity creating an unequal playing field that inherently favours legacy carriers from developed nations,' India noted in the working paper.
This, the government said, prevents Indian carriers from fully utilising the international flying rights which are allocated on a bilateral reciprocal basis by governments to their respective airlines.
'As a case, despite comprehensive bilateral agreement between India and the UK Indian carriers' access has been reduced to secondary airports in London like Gatwick and Stansted Airports while UK carriers maintain access to Heathrow,' the paper said.
At London Heathrow, while a new agreement in 2023, allowed airlines from both countries to increase flights from 56 to 70 per week, Air India operates 31 weekly flights to the airport and is forced to expand at Gatwick. IndiGo is likely to lease a slot from a UK based airline at a premium price.
Airports Coordination Limited, the agency which allocates slots at Heathrow, told ET that since the airport has reached its full capacity, airlines will have to wait for another to lose their historic rights or to purchase and lease slots. 'Access to slots is independent of bilateral entitlements,' a spokesperson said.
Indian airline executives have called for action against carriers from such countries. ''Despite having liberal air service agreement, it is only the foreign carriers which are getting the benefit of this. The government should curtail flights for them so that there is level playing field between the two countries,' an airline official said.
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