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Indian carriers will be able to add flights to fast emerging destinations of Uzbekistan and Vietnam in a boost to outbound tourism.
This follows a revision in air services agreement between India and the two countries at an International Civil Aviation Organisation gathering in Malaysia last month.
Currently, Indian and Vietnamese airlines are entitled to operate 28 flights each per week and these have now increased to 42 flights per week.
Additionally, airlines from Vietnam are also entitled to unlimited flights to eighteen cities in India as a part of India-ASEAN open skies pact.
While Air India operates from Delhi to Ho Chi Minh City, IndiGo flies from Kolkata to both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Vietnam Airlines and VietJet operate flights to Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kochi and Mumbai
Similarly, with respect to Uzbekistan, air traffic rights have been enhanced from 14-18 flights each per week to 28 each per week.
At present, IndiGo operates daily to Tashkent while Uzbekistan Airways flies to Delhi, Mumbai and Goa.
Uzbekistan Airways said it plans to increase the number of frequencies and introduce new services in the near future. Indian carriers did not respond to comments.
The civil aviation ministry did not respond to the email.
Tourist arrivals
Destinations in Central Asia and Vietnam have seen double-digit growth in tourist arrivals from India this year, according to a study by consultancy CAPA India.
The growth has been sharpest for Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan which saw introduction of new flights last year.
Over 3.5 lakh Indians flew to Vietnam between January-September registering a 27 per cent year-on-year growth, CAPA India said.
“Vietnam has seen a strong surge in interest from Indian travellers, with outbound travel increasing by 500 per cent compared to 2019. This spike can be attributed to improved flight connectivity, frictionless travel due to e-visas, and the influence of social media. When compared to other southeast Asian destinations, Vietnam also presents a great value proposition with truly attractive price points,” said Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, Thomas Cook (India).
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