Easing bilateral rights will help Indian carriers: Lufthansa executive

Indian carriers will be better off if the restriction on bilateral rights are eased in the long term and if passengers have more choices for air travel, Harry Hohmeister, head of global markets & network, Lufthansa Group Airlines, said on Thursday.

For an airline to operate a scheduled flight between two countries, there must be a “bilateral air services agreement” in place, which is negotiated and signed by both countries. This agreement outlines the “bilateral rights”, which determine the number of flights or seats that the airline is allowed to operate per week between the two countries.

Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal had said last month that the government had no plans “as of now” to accord additional bilateral rights to West Asian carriers.