India, South Korea ink deal to enhance air connectivity

The Dollar Business Bureau India and South Korea have signed an agreement to enhance air services that include increasing the number of flights from 6 to 19 per week and granting additional points of call at Indian airports for the operators of east-Asian country. As per the agreement, South Korean flight operators will be able to access more Indian airports, add passenger capacity for travelers between two countries and use each other as stop-overs to fly to further destinations. Apart from Tokyo and Los Angeles, two additional beyond points of call- Seattle and Vancouver—have been granted for Indian carriers. This will make air services for Indian carriers to the above destinations more economical. Besides, Indian carriers can offer additional options to those travelling to Vietnam with Ho-Chi-Minh city being available as an intermediate point to the carriers of both countries in addition to Bangkok and Hong Kong. To ensure seamless connectivity for passengers, both sides agreed to allow domestic code share to any four points in their respective countries. Retention of fifth freedom on intermediate points at 100%, which has been a bone of contention in the previous talks, is seen as a major highlight under the MoU. The fifth freedom allows airlines to ferry passengers using airspace of multiple countries. Earlier, two rounds of talks— on December 21, 2012 in New Delhi and on October 21, 2014 in Seoul—failed to reach any agreement between the two parties.  

November 14, 2015 | 1:35pm IST