Pakistan, India passenger traffic may not increase, say airline agents

An updated Air Services Agreement (ASA) between Pakistan and India will not serve its purpose until the two countries ease the process of issuing visas to each others citizens, travel agents told The News.

Karachi, Feb.16 : An updated Air Services Agreement (ASA) between Pakistan and India will not serve its purpose until the two countries ease the process of issuing visas to each other's citizens, travel agents told The News.

Aviation authorities of India and Pakistan concluded a two-day meeting in Rawalpindi on an agreement to increase the number of flights to 28 from 12 and added two more airlines from each side on specific routes.

Currently, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) operates from Karachi and Lahore while Air India flies from Delhi and Mumbai.

Under the new agreement, Islamabad and Chennai have also been included among the designated routes. A co-terminal clause has also been made part of the agreement that will allow the six airlines to travel between the chosen cities in their home country before taking off to the neighbouring state.

However, travel industry officials doubted if this agreement would result in increasing the passenger traffic between the two countries as strict checks on people crossing into each other's borders persist.

The decision to allow more airlines to operate between the two countries will help bring down the fares, the agents said.

ANI