India signs air agreements with Hong Kong, Russia

New Delhi, Jan 22: In its bid to enhance seat capacity to meet the growing demands of air travellers, the Government has signed bilateral ...

New Delhi, Jan 22: In its bid to enhance seat capacity to meet the growing demands of air travellers, the Government has signed bilateral agreements with Russia and Hong Kong last week and is scheduled to do so with Germany and Myanmar in the coming days.

"We have signed bilateral air services agreements with Russia and Hong Kong and will do so with other countries including Germany in a phased manner," Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav told PTI in an interview here.

During the past few months, bilateral agreements have been signed with several countries including the United Kingdom, Austria, several Gulf states and Mauritius, increasing the air seat capacity by over 17,000 seats a week, he said.

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In addition, all foreign airlines were last month allowed to increase their capacity and introduce larger aircraft to cater to the winter rush and ensure that passengers were not offloaded as was done in 1999-2000.

Though the entire additional capacity was not being currently fully utilised by the airlines, Yadav said "the hue and cry has stopped this year.

"The additional requirements have been by and large fully met," the Minister said.

Common supplies to joint training: Armed Forces look at steps ahead of theatrisation

India1 hr ago

Indian Armed Forces are working towards greater jointness and integration among the Army, Navy, and Air Force through standardizing equipment, supply chains, and training. The Combined Commanders Conference discussed measures to improve understanding and create theatre commands.

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