Indian airlines urge govt action against 'unfair' Dubai flight caps

The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) has asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to act against Dubai airport's flight caps. The FIA says these rules unfairly restrict Indian carriers while UAE airlines operate freely, causing a competitive disadvantage.

FIA Urges Government Intervention Over Dubai Flight Caps

The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), representing the country's leading scheduled carriers, Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet, urged the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to initiate calibrated and reciprocal action against the temporary foreign aircraft caps imposed by UAE authorities at DXB (Dubai International) airport. This appeal comes amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, as the FIA seeks to address the competitive disadvantage faced by Indian airlines due to these recent operational restrictions.

Details of 'Uneven Playing Field'

In its letter, the FIA claimed that in light of the Northern Summer 2026 (S'26) season, effective from April 20 to May 31, foreign carriers have been restricted to only one rotation per day until further capacity becomes available. However, the FIA pointed out that UAE-based carriers, specifically Emirates (EK) and Flydubai (FZ), have already resumed operations to India at pre-disruption levels and are not subject to similar restrictions. Hence, this differential treatment has created a significantly uneven playing field for foreign planes.

"The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), representing India's leading scheduled carriers, Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, wishes to draw the Ministry's urgent attention to a recent communication dated 27 March 2026 received from Dubai International Airport (DXB) authorities. As per the said communication, DXB authorities have mandated flight cancellations for the Northern Summer 2026 (S'26) season, effective from Monday, 20 April 2026 to Sunday, 31 May 2026, applicable to both DXB and DWC airports," said FIA. "During this period, foreign carriers have been restricted to only one rotation per day, until further capacity becomes available. However, it is pertinent to highlight that UAE-based carriers, namely Emirates (EK) and Flydubai (FZ), have already resumed operations to India at pre-disruption levels and are not subject to similar restrictions. This differential treatment has resulted in a significantly uneven playing field," added FIA.

Alleged Consequences of Restrictions

The FIA further alleged that these restrictions will lead to anti-competitive market conditions, operational inefficiencies, and substantial revenue losses. The Federation stressed that these measures would lead to significant passenger inconvenience and disruption. "The continuation of such restrictions on Indian carriers is already leading to:anti-competitive market conditions, Operational inefficiencies, Substantial revenue losses and Passenger inconvenience and disruption," stressed FIA.

FIA's Demands for Reciprocal Measures

The FIA requested the Civil Aviation Ministry to urge Dubai authorities to immediately remove the restriction for Indian carriers, enabling them to reinstate operations to Dubai (DXB) to pre-war levels. It further requested the Ministry to consider implementing appropriate reciprocal measures to ensure parity and fairness by restricting Dubai carriers' operations to match the cumulative seat capacity deployed by Indian carriers on services to and from DXB. "In light of the above, FIA respectfully requests the Ministry to urgently examine the matter and approach Dubai authorities for immediate removal of this restriction for Indian carriers so that Indian carriers can reinstate operations to Dubai (DXB) to pre-war levels. In the absence of such relief, we further request the Ministry to consider the implementation of appropriate reciprocal measures to ensure parity and fairness, i.e., restricting the operations of Dubai carriers to the level of cumulative seat capacity deployed by Indian carriers on services to/from Dubai (DXB)," added FIA. (ANI)

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