India-Russia air travel set to increase as more passenger flights approved

According to a senior official, India, and Russia have tentatively agreed to amend their bilateral air services agreement. This agreement would allow Russian carriers to operate up to 64 weekly flights to different cities in India. Currently, under the present agreement, India permits Russia to conduct a maximum of 52 civilian flights per week.

An official informed PTI that India has agreed “in principle” to allow Russian carriers to increase their weekly flights to India from 52 to 64. They will amend the bilateral air services agreement accordingly. Presently, Aeroflot operates seven weekly flights to India while no Indian airline offers flights to Russia. Air India had previously operated flights to Moscow.

During a meeting related to bilateral cooperation in civil aviation, an Indian delegation led by Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal visited Moscow last month. An official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stated that it will take a while before Russian carriers can make full use of the total number of weekly flights allowed to operate in India.

Civil Aviation Ministry

The civil aviation ministry tweeted that they formalized a protocol for cooperation in the civil aviation sector during the meeting held on February 17. Bansal and Igor Chalik, the Russian Deputy Minister of Transport, chaired the meeting which took place as part of the ninth session of the India-Russia Sub-Group on Cooperation in Civil Aviation.

India has signed a bilateral air service agreement with Russia allowing Russian carriers to operate flights to six Indian destinations, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Goa, Amritsar, and Ahmedabad. In return, Indian airlines have permission to fly to six locations in Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, according to the latest update from the civil aviation ministry as of March 7. Notably, India has entered into bilateral air service agreements with approximately 116 countries.

According to the bilateral air services agreement signed between India and a foreign country, any airline designated by that country may operate to or from a point in India, provided it is designated as a point of call. However, the Indian government has currently suspended granting any non-metro airport as a new point of call to foreign carriers for passenger services. The civil aviation ministry cites a “significant imbalance in the number of points of call in favor of foreign carriers” as the reason for this decision.

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