Open Sky Agreement "EMPOWER IAS"

News:

• Recently, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has expressed interest to have an Open Sky Agreement with India.

 

India’s Open Sky Policy:

• The National Civil Aviation Policy (2016) allows the government to enter into an 'open sky' air services agreement on a reciprocal basis with South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations as well as countries beyond a 5,000 kilometre radius from New Delhi.
• It implies that nations within 5,000 kilometer of distance need to enter into a bilateral agreement and mutually determine the number of flights that their airlines can operate between the two countries.
• India has open sky agreements with Greece, Jamaica, Guyana, Finland, USA, Japan, etc.

 

Significance of the Open Sky Agreement:

• Open Sky Agreements are bilateral agreements that the two countries negotiate to provide rights for airlines to offer international passenger and cargo services. It expands international passenger and cargo flights.
• India has Air Service Agreements (ASA) with 109 countries including UAE covering aspects relating to the number of flights, seats, landing points and code-share. But does not allow unlimited number of flights between two countries.
• Open skies between India and UAE will allow unlimited number of flights to the selected cities of each other's countries.