Govt opens Indian skies further Rediff(PTI) February 15, 2006 20:08 IST Continuing with its spree to open up Indian skies, the government on Wednesday modified its air services agreement with Italy to allow multiple airlines of the two countries to operate between them, adding Kolkata as an additional point of operation for Italian carriers. Civil aviation officials from the two countries signed a new bilateral air services agreement modifying the existing one that also allowed the designated carriers of the two countries to operate seven more frequencies per week from each of the country.
Under this agreement, airlines designated by India would be entitled to operate air services in both directions from points in India to Rome and Milan, with several specified intermediate points of call. The Indian carriers will have the 'Fifth Freedom Right' to operate from the two Italian cities to points in Europe, Canada and the US, including Vienna, Geneva, Zurich, Prague, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The agreement would also allow Indian carriers to operate to Madrid, Lisbon or one point in Latin America from Rome and Milan without the Fifth Freedom Right, that is without the right to pick up passengers from the two Italian cities. The Italian designated carriers would be entitled to operate from points in that country to Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, with intermediate points like Istanbul, Athens, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, Basra, Tehran, Dahran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jeddah, Kandahar and Karachi. They can also operate to points in Southeast Asia, Japan and Australia. ~(^^)~ Avelino