India and New Zealand have entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at enhancing collaboration in the realm of civil aviation. The agreement, signed on Tuesday (August 29), encompasses various facets such as the establishment of new flight routes, code share services, traffic rights, and capacity entitlement.
Rajiv Bansal, the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation for India, affixed his signature to the MoU in conjunction with David Pine, the esteemed New Zealand High Commissioner. This signing ceremony took place in the presence of Jyotiraditya M Scindia, the Minister for Civil Aviation in India, and Damien O’Connor, a prominent figure within New Zealand’s governmental landscape, overseeing roles in trade and export growth, as well as biosecurity, among others.
Scindia remarked, “Today marks a momentous juncture for the civil aviation air services connecting India and New Zealand. Through this MoU, we have unlocked fresh avenues for the advancement of air transportation between our two nations. The implementation of an open sky policy, expansion of designated points of calls, and the augmentation of intermediate points are all significant milestones.”
The stipulations within the MoU grant New Zealand’s designated airline(s) the liberty to operate an unrestricted number of services employing any type of aircraft. These services are granted third and fourth freedom traffic rights, allowing connections to and from six key locations in India: New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.
This MoU follows a precedent set by an earlier Air Services Agreement inked between New Zealand and India on May 1, 2016, in Auckland. The recent accord emerged after meticulous deliberations between the Governments of New Zealand and India, aimed at refining the prevailing arrangements governing air services between the two nations.