Economic Times, an India-based business news platform, has reported that the Indian government has refused to grant permission to United Airlines and Emirates to operate codeshare flights between Dubai and India.
According to the report, the Indian government cited existing traffic rights between UAE and India that disallow any codeshare agreement.
This decision comes as a major setback to the collaboration, considering the number of Indians who travel between the UAE and India and could have benefited from such a move.
However, the codeshare agreement will still cover various other destinations worldwide, with United Airlines gaining access to important airports in the Middle East and Africa.
Despite this, the denial of the request for codesharing Emirates’ flights from India is a major blow to United Airlines, as highlighted by the President of Emirates, Tim Clark.
As reported by Economic Times, government officials have confirmed that the bilateral agreement between Dubai and India prohibits any third airline from operating under a codeshare arrangement.
This development is a challenge for United Airlines, particularly because the carrier has already been compelled to halt direct flights from New Delhi due to Russia’s decision to close its airspace to US airlines.
Clark described India as “mysterious” and expressed his belief that such actions do not benefit anyone, especially considering India’s rapid GDP growth and numerous non-resident Indians who want to travel.
He contended that India’s narrow approach hinders the growth of its domestic airlines. Clark cited Turkey as an example of a country that has adopted an open approach, leading to the emergence of Istanbul as a major aviation hub.