The Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Shri G.M. Siddeswara informed the Lok Sabha today that from May, 2013 onwards, traffic rights on the following new international routes have been granted to Indian scheduled carriers for operations: Chandigarh-Dubai, Madurai-Dubai, Madurai-Kuala Lumpur, Kolkata- Guangzhou, Bagdogra-Kathmandu, Hyderabad-Riyadh, Bangalore-Abu Dhabi, Hyderabad-Abu Dhabi, Ahmedabad-Abu Dhabi, Goa-Abu Dhabi, Lucknow-Abu Dhabi, Pune-Abu Dhabi, Bangalore-Tehran, Delhi-Tehran, Chennai-Doha, Hyderabad-Doha, Lucknow-Doha. The allocation of traffic rights on new international sectors is expected to give a major boost to Indian carriers.

The Government has laid down guidelines for allocation of traffic rights on international sector, which provide a level playing field to all eligible private airlines while retaining the primacy of the national carrier viz Air India. The allocation of traffic rights to an applicant airline depends on the availability of traffic rights under respective bilateral air services agreement and the traffic rights are allocated to private Indian carriers after considering the operational requirement of Air India.