Tim Clark highlights long-pending air service agreement expansion as Emirates hits flight capacity to India amid rising demand
Emirates Airlines President Tim Clark has emphasized the urgent need to expand India-Dubai bilateral flying rights, revealing that the carrier’s current flight capacity is nowhere near enough to meet surging passenger demand. Speaking at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Delhi, Clark said Emirates has been operating under a fixed bilateral agreement that hasn’t been revised in over a decade—despite skyrocketing travel demand and increasing population movement between India and Dubai, reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
Emirates president Tim Clark says India-Dubai flying rights haven’t changed in 11 years, with demand now ten times higher than the number of available seats.
-
“The cap of 65,000 seats each way has remained unchanged for over 11 years, even though demand has grown exponentially,” Clark said
-
“For every seat we sell, there are probably 10 takers. So I don’t see Emirates being impacted by IndiGo or Air India’s long-haul expansion—if anything, they’ll serve as a relief valve for India’s pent-up demand.”
Despite ongoing efforts by Dubai to renegotiate the bilateral air service agreement (ASA), the Indian government has maintained restrictions on increasing capacity for foreign carriers, including Emirates. Clark acknowledged India’s rationale but stressed that such limitations risk stifling broader economic benefits.
He pointed out that Dubai’s population has more than tripled over the last 15 years—from 2.5 million to over 8 million—with about 40% being of Indian origin. “This growth highlights what is not happening by not increasing seat capacity,” Clark said. “The movement of the Indian community over the past decade is massive, and limiting air access undermines that connection.”
Looking to the future, India plans to develop aviation hubs at airports like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. But Clark warned that these aspirations can’t materialize without open skies. “You have every opportunity to create world-class hubs with your 1.4 billion population,” he said. “But restrictive bilateral practices don’t align with India’s broader economic ambitions.”
Due to the current restrictions, Emirates cannot expand to upcoming Indian airports like Navi Mumbai and Greater Noida, despite interest.
