It's official. The Indian government has lifted restrictions which have so far prohibited foreign airlines from operating A380 services at the country's airports.
According to Reuters, the four gateway airports which will be allowed to handle the A380 are Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
It is understood that the A380 restrictions were imposed to protect Indian aviation. Not a single Indian carrier (with the exception of Kingfisher, which is no longer in business) ordered the A380 and so it was thought that the passenger appeal of the superjumbo would leave Indian carriers with a competitive disadvantage.
The first carrier to take advantage of the change will probably be either Emirates or Lufthansa. In the past, both have expressed a wish to operate A380s into India.
Indeed, Emirates itself has operated a limited number of A380 test flights to Delhi and Mumbai to prove that the airport facilities were up to scratch.
In addition, those voluminous routes linking the Gulf with India are tailor-made for the large capacity A380. And Emirates' rivals, Etihad along with Qatar Airways, have also ordered the A380.
In time, one would also expect SIA or British Airways to also operate their A380s into one or more of the main Indian gateways.
Alex McWhirter
