India, Pak to hold talks to review Air Services Agreement

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Abbas Ali
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India, Pak to hold talks to review Air Services Agreement

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Sept 2, 2005 09:22:00 PM

Islamabad, Sept 2 (PTI): India and Pakistan would hold technical-level talks this month to review bilateral Air Services Agreement as well as the Shipping protocol.
The Joint Statement issued at the end of the two- day talks between Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan here today said the talks on both issues would be held this month.

India and Pakistan at present run flights between Lahore and New Delhi and Karachi and Mumbai which involve the Indian Airlines and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

Officials have recently discussed the possibility of permitting private airlines to operate between the two countries to enhance mutually beneficial economic cooperation and friendly exchanges.

PIA has also reportedly proposed to operate its flights to Chennai and Hyderabad.

The September talks would also review the Shipping Protocol to permit the third country vessels to berth at each others ports to unload cargo. Currently the ships are permitted to operate point-to-point between the ports of the two countries. PTI

Source: Press Trust of India
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ord
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Post by ord »

If I could offer my suggestion, it would be the following:

Make DEL, BOM, MAA in India and KHI, LHE, and ISB in Pakistan open airports for India-Pakistan operations, that is allow any airline based in India or Pakistan to operate any route between one of three airports in one country to a any of the three airports in the other country.

For airports not falling in these six cities, a limit system can be used say 28 flights per week for each country, to be split 50-50 among private and public sector airlines in the respective country. Perhaps, 10-15 years down the road, this limit too can be removed and we can have full open skies between India and Pakistan, which should cut fares and hence maximize person to person contacts.
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Aviation team from India due today

RAWALPINDI, Sept 25:
A four-member Indian delegation led by Satendra Singh, the Director General Ministry of Civil Aviation, will arrive here on Monday to hold talks on civil aviation matters. The talks will be held in the ministry of defence, Rawalpindi, on September 27-28. The Pakistani side will be led by Maj Gen (Rtd) Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhry, additional secretary ministry of defence.

It is to be mentioned here that the air links between two countries were restored as a result of bilateral air services agreement talks held in New Delhi on 1st December 2003.

The principal purpose of these talks is to enhance the existing bilateral arrangements between the two countries in the field of aviation.

Source: DAWN
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India-Pak to finalise modalities to permit private airlines

Islamabad, Sept 26 (PTI)
India and Pakistan will finalise modalities to permit private airlines to operate between the two countries as well as to expand air routes between the two countries during the two-day talks from tomorrow.

A four-member Indian delegation led by Director General, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Satendra Singh, which arrived Pakistan today, will hold talks with their Pakistani counterparts in Rawalpindi, to revise the Air Services Agreement and to enlarge it to permit private airlines to operate between the two countries.

Ahead of the talks, officials here said the two countries have already reached understanding in principle over the permission accorded to the private airlines.

Modalities would be announced on 28th at the end of the two-day talks.

The two countries would also discuss expansion of the present Lahore-New Delhi and Karachi-Mumbai routes.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) wants permission to operate in Chennai-Hyderabad route from one of the centres in Pakistan.

Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesman Naeem Khan today sounded upbeat over the dialogue process, saying Islamabad expected headway in the forthcoming talks between the Foreign Ministers scheduled to be held here from Oct 3 to 5.

There has been some progress in some areas, the Confidence Building Measures were in place and there has been forward movement in areas of economy and culture, Khan said.

The foreign ministers would review the progress in the Composite Dialogue process, he told reporters here, refusing to pre-judge the outcome of the meeting. PTI

Source: Press Trust of India
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Indo-Pak talks on increasing air services end without agreement

Islamabad, Sept 28 (PTI)
India and Pakistan today ended their talks on improving air services between them without any agreement due to differences over increasing the number of flights as well as adding new destinations.
However, the two sides agreed to continue the talks, aimed at improving air services by permitting private airlines and opening new flight routes, on mutually convenient dates, a brief joint statement issued at the end of the two-day parleys in Rawalpindi said.

The Indian delegation at the talks was led by Director General in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Satendra Singh while the Pakistani side was headed by Additional Secretary of Defence Gen (Retd) Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhry.

"In depth discussions were held on adding more destinations, designation of multiple airlines and increasing frequency of flights. Both sides agreed to continue discussions," the statement said.

The talks were held in cordial atmosphere and the next meeting would be held on mutually convenient dates, it said.

Officials, however, said the talks failed to progress after Pakistan demanded to increase the frequency of its flights to India from the present 12 to 48 and wanted Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi to be added as new destinations to the existing New Delhi and Mumbai.

Pakistan which earlier reportedly agreed to India's offer of increasing its flights to 20 by adding Chennai as a new destination today demanded 28 more flights. Besides, the Pakistani delegation wanted to add Hyderabad and Kochi as new destinations.

Source: Press Trust of India
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India, Pakistan talks on civil aviation remain inconclusive


Aimed at amending agreement that was concluded when there were no private airlines in both countries

* Both sides agreed to let private airlines operate
* Differ on number of flights


ISLAMABAD: Talks between India and Pakistan on enhanced cooperation in civil aviation ended inconclusively here on Wednesday despite agreement in principle on the subjects that were discussed.

The aim of the two-day talks was to amend the civil aviation cooperation agreement that was concluded when there were no private airlines in both the countries.

In the latest parleys, both sides agreed to let private airlines operate in each other's countries. They also agreed on increasing the existing number of 12 flights a week from each country and increasing the number of destinations. The differences centred on numbers. While Pakistan wanted the number of flights to be increased to 48, India suggested 20 to 22 as a beginning. Pakistan favoured Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi as additional destinations besides Delhi and Mumbai where its airlines currently operate. India suggested only Chennai and Islamabad as the additional destination for the Indian carriers.

Ideal destination:

"The problem is one of parity of sorts. India is a big country with huge potential for airline traffic and an ideal destination for Pakistan airlines to pick up third country traffic. Per se Pakistan proposals are sound purely from the economic angle but there has to be some degree of reciprocity," said an official privy to the talks.

Indian Airlines now runs just two flights a week to Pakistan. The deficit could be due to lack of incentives to operate there.

Having agreed in principle to the new proposals for better ties in civil aviation, the two sides agreed to continue the talks. A joint statement issued at the end of the talks in Rawalpindi said, "In depth discussions were held on adding more destinations, designation of multiple airlines and increasing frequency of flights. Both sides agreed to continue discussions. The talks were held in [a] cordial atmosphere and the next meeting would be held on mutually convenient dates."

Director General in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Satendra Singh led the Indian delegation while Additional Secretary of Defence, Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhry, headed the Pakistani side.

Source: The Hindu
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Post by Abbas Ali »

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Indo-Pak air link talks inconclusive

ISLAMABAD:
A two-day round of talks between India and Pakistan on extending cooperation in civil aviation ended on Wednesday without any agreement on major issues. According to a press release issued at the end of the talks, both countries agreed to continue negotiations to increase the frequency of flights between the two countries, however, no accord could be reached during the talks. Sources told Daily Times that Pakistan was hesitating to let Indian private airlines operate in the country. They said that, however, Pakistan demanded India allow Pakistan International Airlines to operate on different routs in its southern areas as a quid pro quo. "Indian officials told their Pakistani counterparts that they were not authorised to accept the demand," sources said. During the second round of the talks, Pakistan and India failed to reach a consensus on locating more terminals to be operative for commercial flights between the two countries. Ashraf Chaudhry headed the Pakistani side and Satendra Singh led the Indian delegation.

Source: Daily Times
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