The French Government will take up the issue of India not allowing international airlines to operate the Airbus A-380 aircraft, the world's largest commercial jetliner, to airports here.
“Of course, this will be one of the issues which will come up at the meeting with Indian Civil Aviation Minister. There are 15 airports globally which accept the A-380 aircraft. Delhi and Mumbai are the only two airports that do not. It will not be possible for Indian airline companies to buy this aircraft if they cannot fly it to Delhi and Mumbai,” the French Minister Transport, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing, Mr Thierry Mariani, said.
The double-decker A-380 airbus aircraft can carry up to 550 passengers on a single flight, almost 150 more passengers than the next largest aircraft currently in service. The Indian authorities have not allowed any international airline to operate the A-380 here despite several operators, including German carrier Lufthansa, Dubai-based Emirates and Singapore Airlines showing interest.
Railway co-operation
The issue of cooperation between Indian Railways and France in various sectors, including in safety, came up at the meeting with the Minister for Railways, Mr Dinesh Trivedi.
“Almost a quarter of the time that I had with Mr Trivedi was devoted to safety. The rest of the meeting focussed on cooperation on railway lines and cooperation between companies,” the visiting Minister said.
The Minister said that two companies, including Alsthom, that already have a presence here, were willing to set up production in India on the condition they are given some contracts.