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Akasa Air writes to govt over UAE flights, says no level playing field
Akasa Air said it strongly believes that equitable allocation of traffic rights, especially for new entrants, is crucial to fostering a competitive environment and ensuring equal opportunities
Akasa Air has written to the civil aviation ministry over a lack of a level playing field and competitive challenge for a new entrant like itself while raising concerns over its inability to secure traffic rights or agreements to operate flights to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) despite multiple requests over a year.
It said the newest entrant to the Indian aviation industry that began flying internationally in March 2024 surrendered rights in good faith to Hong Kong, Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Nepal for the much-needed UAE-Abu Dhabi route.
The letter dated January 16 referred to the dominance of established airlines such as IndiGo and Air India in the UAE market and said that the distribution of traffic rights leaves little room for new entrants, making it challenging to compete effectively. “...we strongly believe that, as is done [the] world over, ensuring an equitable allocation of traffic rights especially for new entrants is essential to nurture a competitive environment and providing equal opportunities for all Indian airlines.”
The letter said IndiGo and Air India have a strong presence in the UAE. It added they operate multiple daily flights between India and Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah. “You will agree that this reflects that there is no level playing field and presents a significant competitive challenge for a new entrant like Akasa Air. It denies us a fair opportunity to compete with airlines that already operate substantial volumes of flights between the two countries.”
The letter cited a consultative meeting where the ministry informed Akasa Air that it had redistributed seats from the UAE-Abu Dhabi pool to other regions and allocated them to other Indian carriers. “...during the final consultative meeting on 15-Jan-25 with the Ministry, we were surprised to hear that the Ministry has shifted seats from the UAE-Abu Dhabi pool to other emirates in the UAE ie, moved seats to Ras-Al-Khaimah and Sharjah and subsequently given these rights to other Indian carriers…,” said the letter, a copy of which HT has seen.
The airline expressed concerns and questioned the legality and precedents for such a move. It said that it strongly believes that equitable allocation of traffic rights, especially for new entrants, is crucial to fostering a competitive environment and ensuring equal opportunities for all Indian airlines.
The airline urged the ministry to allocate the desired traffic rights for the UAE-Abu Dhabi route for the winter 2024 or summer 2025 International Air Transport Association schedules.
It asked the ministry to consider giving it traffic rights for flights between India and Sharjah if enough seats were available after recent changes to the traffic rights for Abu Dhabi. It said that it would immediately utilise any allocated rights within the shortest time frame, committing to provide enhanced, affordable international travel options for Indian travellers.
The airline said it has not received the necessary approvals to operate flights in the UAE, particularly Abu Dhabi, despite multiple verbal discussions and written submissions.
An aviation ministry official said everything is done as per Memorandum of Understanding terms and that they will resolve the issue.
In a separate statement issued by Akasa Air, the airline said the civil aviation ministry has always been receptive to considering industry issues.
“At Akasa we have always believed and emphasized that we are at this stage of our growth both domestic and internationally only because of the support and impetus we have received from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and other regulatory bodies. The Ministry has always been very receptive to considering industry issues and we continue to work under their guidance and leadership”, Priya Mehra, Chief of Governance & Strategic Acquisitions, Akasa Air said.
