India and the UK have recently signed an MoU to ease restrictions on the number of scheduled flights between the two countries. Limits on flights from key Indian cities including Chennai and Kolkata have been scrapped, allowing more flights for passengers, while providing a boost to trade and tourism between the two countries. The agreement also opened all destinations in the UK for Indian carriers for codeshare flights, and reciprocally the UK carriers can also operate codeshare flights to any international airport in India, through domestic codeshare arrangements.
The agreement was signed by Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Aviation Minister of UK Lord Ahmad, during his visit to India, where he led a delegation of British companies for the 2017 CAPA India Aviation Summit.
Raju said, “The increase in number of flights between the UK and India is encouraging news for our businesses and tourists. We already enjoy strong ties with the UK and we welcome such continued association, which in the long run, will not only encourage business activities, but also people-to-people contact. I am sure that this agreement will bring direct and indirect benefits to many sectors of the economies of the two countries.”
Tourism from India makes an important contribution to the UK’s economy. In 2015, there were 422,000 visits from India to the UK, bringing more than £433 million to the economy.
Lord Ahmad said, “India is one of our closest allies and key trading partners and this new agreement will only serve to strengthen this crucial relationship. We are unlocking new trade and tourism opportunities which will boost our economies, create new jobs and open up new business links. This is great news for both the UK and India and is yet another sign that we are open for business and ready to build and strengthen our trade links.”
