India to revise air traffic pact with Egypt

India will revise air traffic rights with Egypt, the first such agreement after BJP-led NDA government came to power in May. The move will benefit Egypt Air to expand services to India. Currently it operates four weekly flights to Mumbai and is keen to launch flights between Cairo-Delhi in winter schedule. At present passengers also opt for a one stop flights via Gulf.

No Indian carrier flies to Egypt at present but Air India is exploring code shares with Egypt Air, a Star Alliance member, on routes in Africa. Egypt Air has a code share with Air India on Delhi-Mumbai route.

In April last year, India had increased bilateral entitlements to Abu Dhabi from 13,300 seats a week to 50,000 a week. The same day, Etihad announced it was picking up a 24% stake in Abu Dhabi-based Jet Airways. This led to a controversy and litigation with BJP leader Subramanian Swamy challenging government decision in Supreme Court.