New Delhi: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General Willie Walsh on Tuesday said that the Indian government should restart scheduled international flights and remove the passenger capacity restrictions and fare caps that were put during the pandemic as these steps distort competition.
Speaking to media virtually, IATA Director General Willie Walsh said, "Indian government should take data-driven decisions and remove regulations which restrict capacity and access to allow the aviation industry to recover quickly. Politicians are quick to impose measures but slow to remove them."
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He further reiterated that it is time for the country to reopen international travel and said that the capacity curbs and flight caps are slowing recovery. This distort competition as different airlines have different cost structures.
The IATA DG said that among the big domestic market, India is the only one that is lagging. Because of these constraints (capacity curbs and fare caps), India is now an outliner in terms of recovery of domestic air travel that has not only gone back to pre-Covid times but also surpassed those levels in comparison to other domestic markets like the US, China and European Union (EU).
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The IATA is the trade association for the world's airlines, representing around 290 airlines or 82 per cent of total air traffic. It includes Indian airlines like Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet.
Scheduled international passenger services continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, airlines have been permitted to operate special international flights under the Vande Bharat Mission since May this year and under the bilateral air bubble pacts since July. While the domestic airlines in India are allowed to fly only 65 per cent capacity.
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