Cabinet note on Indo-UAE air pact to be ready in 10 days

In a move that could be important for Jet-Etihad deal; the Cabinet note on India-UAE bilateral air traffic enhancement will be ready in seven to ten days. Sources have told CNBC-TV18’s Sumit Jha that the cabinet note will note will not go for inter-ministerial comments.

As per the agreement, in 2013, there has to be a hike of 11,000 seats from over and above what India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) were operating. It is also important in light of airlines and operators making use of the hike in the winter schedule itself. The winter schedule starts from the end of October. There was a fear that if this bilateral pact does not get approval from the cabinet, operators might not have enough time to operationalise this hike in seats. Also read: Jet-Etihad deal in trouble again; FIPB may reject pact Sources say that it will not be a problem. Cabinet will clear this bilateral pact with enough time with all the operators to be able to negotiate with airports in India and UAE and be able operationalise this hike in seats. Once the cabinet clears this bilateral pact then individual domestic operators will be allotted their quota of what they or the government thinks is suitable. These seats will be allotted to those individual airlines. Once it is approved, they can fly in the winter schedule.