By IANS
New Delhi : Air services between India and Kuwait will "continue unhindered and without interruption", with the two countries agreeing to increase each other's airline seat capacity to 12,000 per week, it was announced here Sunday.
Under the revised air services agreement signed between the two countries, Kuwaiti carriers have been granted access to three additional cities in India – Hyderabad and Kolkata with immediate effect and Bangalore with effect from the 2008 winter schedule.
The revised agreement was signed in Kuwait after talks June 28-30 between the two countries' delegations.
R.K. Singh, joint secretary in the civil aviation ministry, led the Indian delegation, of which Indian Ambassador in Kuwait M. Ganapathi was also a member. Fawaz Al-Farah, chairman of Kuwait's civil aviation department, led his country's side at the talks.
"Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the Air Services Agreement which governs the civil aviation relations between India and Kuwait. Air services between the two countries would continue unhindered and without interruption," a civil aviation ministry statement here said.
"Both delegations agreed to increase capacity entitlements of each side from 8,320 to 12,000 seats per week," it added.
India and Kuwait "also reached a common understanding that increases in future traffic rights and capacity entitlements would be to serve only the direct India-Kuwait market and not indirect markets to or from third countries", the statement said.
"The two delegations emphasized the historic and friendly relations between India and Kuwait and agreed to continue the dialogue on cooperation in the field of civil aviation," it added.