New Delhi, 13th March 2023: According to a senior official, India and Russia have “in principle” agreed to amend their bilateral aviation services agreement so that Russian airlines will be permitted to run up to 64 flights per week to different Indian locations.

According to the current agreement, Russia is permitted to run up to 52 weekly commercial flights to India.

India has “in principle” agreed to allow Russian airlines to fly 64 weekly flights instead of 52 to India. The official told PTI that the bilateral aviation services agreement would be changed in due course.

In contrast to Indian airlines, Aeroflot currently runs seven weekly flights to India. Air India once ran flights to Moscow.

Last month, a delegation from India led by the secretary of civil aviation Rajiv Bansal met with Russian counterparts to discuss bilateral civil aviation cooperation.

The conference on February 17 saw the formalization of a protocol on cooperation in the civil aviation industry, according to a tweet from the civil aviation ministry.

Bansal and Igor Chalik, the deputy minister of transport for Russia, presided over the discussion, which was a part of the subgroup’s ninth meeting on cooperation in civil aviation between India and Russia.

Russian airlines are permitted to fly to six Indian destinations under the bilateral air service agreement between India and Russia: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Goa, Amritsar, and Ahmedabad. According to an update with the civil aviation ministry as of March 7, Indian airlines are allowed to travel to six locations in Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Around 116 nations have bilateral aviation service agreements with India.