Mr. Speaker, India is an important and growing air market for Canada and for Canadians, for business, tourism, trade and visiting family and friends. The Canada-India air transport agreement, which dates to 1982, was last amended in 2012. It allowed operations by multiple Canadian and Indian airlines, with permission for 35 passenger flights per week for each country, but each side had limited a maximum of 14 flights per week to and from the same city. Canadian airlines were authorized to serve Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad. Indian carriers were authorized to serve Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver and two other cities to be selected by India. The air transport agreement also allowed unrestricted all-cargo services and the right to code-share.
To ensure there continued to be enough air capacity within the air transport agreement to meet the demand of Canadians, the Government of Canada was committed to pursuing a more liberalized agreement with India, including unlimited flights instead of a capped weekly amount, and access to more cities within the Indian market, including in the Punjab region. As part of this negotiation process and due to the importance of this file for Canadians, the Minister of Transport was heavily involved, including through an in-person meeting on May 3, 2022, with Minister Scindia, India’s Civil Aviation Minister. In this meeting, the Minister of Transport directly requested from his counterpart unlimited weekly flights and access to Amritsar for Canadian airlines.
For months, negotiations continued between officials from Canada and India. On November 15, 2022, Transport Canada announced an important expansion of the Canada-India air transport agreement. The expanded agreement allows designated airlines to operate an unlimited number of flights between the two countries, whereas the previous agreement limited each country to 35 flights per week. During negotiation of the expansion, Canada also actively sought access to all cities in India, Amritsar included, for Canadian airlines, and access to all cities in Canada for Indian airlines.
Air transport agreements are negotiated between two countries and one partner cannot choose to unilaterally expand its rights. Until agreement can be reached regarding access to additional cities in India, including in the Punjab region, Canadian airlines cannot be authorized to fly there.
However, India is well aware of Canada’s and the Minister of Transport’s interest in this matter. Officials of both countries have agreed to remain in contact to discuss further expansion of the agreement and the rights of Canadian air carriers. Other cities than those listed in the air transport agreement in both countries, including in the Punjab region, can be served indirectly through code-share services.
Canada is committed to continuing to negotiate new and expanded agreements to promote the interests of Canadians, as well as the trade and tourism sectors.