In a first, Indian carriers may get slots of their choice at Dubai airport

The aviation ministry is trying to coax Emirati authorities to allocate slots to Indian airlines at the Dubai airport. The matter will come up during the bilateral negotiations between the two sides. If everything goes as planned, Indian airlines will get to chose slots of their their desired choice..

The negotiations are supposed to begin by the end of the month. And if Dubai accepts the proposal, this would be the first time Indian government would obtain a commitment on slots for Indian carriers.

“Our airlines have often rued about not being given favorable time slots at Dubai airport. We will take a commitment during the bilateral negotiations this time,” a senior aviation ministry official, who did not want to be named, told ET.

Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju had written to Dubai authorities on this matter in the past. The letter written by Raju to the president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, stressed on the fact that non-availability of slots was the reason behind non-utilization of bilateral entitlements by Indian carriers.

"The Indian carriers have informed that they are not being provided the desired slots at Dubai airport, and Dubai Airport Authority has been turning down requests of Indian carriers or providing options which are not viable for operations," Raju wrote in the letter.
"This is quite encouraging that the government is looking at the interest of the industry rather than just the arithmetic of bilateral entitlements," Shakti Lumba, former head of operations at IndiGo and Air India told ET.

"But it will not be easy, as Emirates would want all the right slots and not late night or early morning slots for primarily two reasons: Slots at normal times help in getting the right travelers and not just the labor traffic and also help in utilizing the cockpit and cabin crew to its optimum," he further added.

Indian airlines have been complaining that the slots they get is never the one they ask for.

"First, it is not easy to get slots at the Dubai airport and if you get a slot that will in most of the cases be at 3 am," an airline executive told ET.

(image:Reuters)