NEW DELHI, Dec 27:
With Gulf carriers garnering a significant chunk of outbound passenger traffic from India, the government is mulling ways to put in place mechanisms to prevent overseas airlines from virtually making local airports their regional hubs.
The basic idea is to ensure that domestic airlines have a competitive as well as level playing field with their foreign counterparts, especially since Indian aviation market has a huge growth potential, according to a senior Civil Aviation Ministry official.
Etihad, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air Arabia, and Flydubai are among the major Gulf carries having operations in India. Of these, while Doha-based Qatar Airways flies to 13 Indian cities, Emirates flies to 10 key airports via its Abu Dubai hub. Etihad, which holds 24 per cent stake in domestic carrier Jet Airways, also connects its Abu Dhabi hub with 10 cities here including Delhi and Mumbai. With the revised draft civil aviation policy in advanced stages of finalisation, the Ministry is also looking at ways to address various issues pertaining to the local carriers.(PTI)