The civil aviation ministry is streamlining bilateral air service agreements (BASAs) by renegotiating these contracts with more countries to develop hub airports in India. The idea is give domestic airlines the opportunity to ferry more international passengers.
The BASA agreements establish commercial aviation rights on a reciprocal basis between countries. Such agreements with Thailand and the UK have been successfully renegotiated, giving Indian carriers more access to airports located in these countries.
“Now we are in discussions with the Seychelles and South Korea regarding these types of agreements, where some new components may be added to the existing BASAs, such as allowing codeshare agreements and giving more cargo flight access,” sources said.
The strategy looks at ways to transform Indian airports into hubs so that domestic and international passengers can transit from India to key international destinations.
At present, there are no international hub airports in the country, and a substantial number of passengers from India transit via such facilities located in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.