Malaysia Airlines sparks row with India over landing rights

New Delhi: A report emerging from Malaysia says that Indian civil aviation authorities may respond strongly against Malaysia Airlines (MAS) in a tit-for-tat move that may reduce the airlines landing rights in the country. This, says the report, has the potential to impact Malaysia's tourism industry.

According to the report, Indian authorities may have been forced to adopt a confrontationist stance after MAS allegedly asked that Indian carrier Air Sahara not be allowed to fly to Kuala Lumpur from New Delhi on the grounds that passenger volume on this route was low. Air Sahara had planned to operate a New Delhi-Kuala Lumpur flight from last month.

Air Sahara has since been taken over by Jet Airways, but all its existing assets, including landing rights, pass on to Jet Airways and so the dispute will continue to linger.

The possible retaliatory move to restrict MAS to New Delhi could have serious ramifications on the Malaysian tourism industry, according to Malaysian airline industry sources, as more Indians are opting for holidays in Malaysia. If India reduced landing rights, then MAS flights from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi could come down from the current seven a week to four.

The Kuala Lumpur-Mumbai route could see MAS flights cut to six from seven per week. In all, MAS flies 27 times to major Indian cities weekly while Indian Airlines, Air India and Jet Airways have a combined total of 56 flights to Kuala Lumpur each week.

According to the report, Malaysia's transport ministry has proposed a dialogue with Indian authorities in a bid to resolve the matter, but so far has failed to evince any response.