INDIA has finally given the green light for airlines to operate the Airbus A380 into New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, cities deemed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to have the necessary infrastructure.
A statement released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation noted that “the operation of A380s will help airports to generate more revenue, give more comfortable and luxurious travel to passengers, liberalise the civil aviation milieu in India and boost the image of Indian civil aviation in the international market”.
Chennai is expected to join the list of A380-ready airports soon.
It was previously reported that Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Lufthansa were among the airlines keen to deploy the A380 on services to India. Nine out of 10 airlines that currently operate the A380 run scheduled services into India.
SIA’s general manager for India, David Lau, said: “The clearance to deploy A380s on Indian routes is favourable news to the Indian aviation industry. SIA will evaluate the commercial viability of this recent development based on available traffic rights and resources.”
Similarly, an Emirates spokesman commented: “We welcome the decision of the Indian aviation authorities to allow A380 operations. Any decision to deploy an A380 on our network is dependent on passenger demand on that particular route, as well as the ability of airports to handle the aircraft.”
