India’s restrictions on overseas airways not “compatible” with hub ambitions: Emirates Airline President-OxBig News Network

Emirates Airline President Tim Clark. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

India’s aspirations to develop hub airports for connecting passengers and develop economically usually are not “compatible” with its restrictive insurance policies for overseas carriers, Emirates President Tim Clark mentioned on Sunday (June 1, 2025), including that the airline received’t be capable of present flights for the upcoming second airports in Delhi and Mumbai to open shortly.

“To grow hubs in the aviation world you have to have open access. It doesn’t work one way,” Emirates President instructed journalists on the sidelines of a three-day world airways occasion being hosted by International Airline Transport Association. Mr Clark has been urging the Indian authorities to lift the variety of seats airways of Dubai and India are allowed to fly into one another’s territory.

“When you look at the other aspects of Indian economy- defence, media, technology- the government here is minded to expand those as quickly as it can. It’s not compatible with that expansive economic policy to restrict their access.”

The UAE has requested the Ministry of Civil Aviation to lift the seat capability of 66,000 seats allowed to the airways of the 2 sides to 1,40,000 seats. The UAE has additionally provided a 4:1 seat sharing ratio between the 2 sides, which is able to indicate that Dubai will supply 4 seats to India for each further seat provided by the latter to the previous.

While Emirates has the very best variety of flights deployed to India, the nation’s significance for the airline is diminishing.

“It’s no longer as significant as it used to be because of the restriction on capacity,” Mr. Clark mentioned.

Until final summer time, Emirates had 171 weekly flights to India, adopted by 133 weekly flights to the U.Okay. and 96 weekly flights to the U.S. In the absence of extra seats from India, Emirates will even be unable to deploy flights for the upcoming second airports in Delhi and Mumbai, i.e Noida International Airport and Navi Mumbai airport.