The Indian government has cleared the way for the resolution early in the New Year of an escalating row with the United States over ground-handling operations by their respective airlines that could have led to “severe tensions” and potentially ended Air India flights to America.
The Modi government approved December 26 a Standard Operating Procedure that would allow designated foreign airlines – from the United States in this instance – to manage their own ground-handling, something that is called self-handling, which would include security functions, according to people associated with the discussions.
They also said Indian officials have informally conveyed the decision to the Americans and are expected to notify them formally in the first week of January.
