New Delhi, February 1, 2005
Agence France-Presse
India on Monday cleared two privately run domestic
airlines to operate passenger flights to Britain,
making them the first private Indian airlines allowed
to fly beyond Asia, officials said.
Jet Airways and Air Sahara received the green light
to operate a total of nine flights to Britain during
the peak season beginning in late March, civil aviation
ministry officials said.
- Jet, India's largest private sector carrier, will
operate seven weekly flights to London
- Air Sahara has been allotted two such flights
to Gatwick
The only Indian airline already operating a service
to Britain, state-run Air India, was allowed six more
flights a week on the high-density route on top of
its current 18, they said.
India last month gave domestic private airlines permission
to fly long-haul routes as long as they had five years'
flying experience.
The country's domestic air traffic is growing at
by more than 20 per cent annually and international
air traffic is growing at 17 percent, according to
industry figures.
