India Increases Air Seat Capacity to Kuwait for First Time Since 2006
Photo Credit: An IndiGo plane at Bengaluru Airport. Pexels / Madvortex
Skift Take
India’s decision to grant Kuwait a 50% increase in flying rights, the first such expansion in nearly two decades, seems to signal a softening stance on its traditionally cautious bilateral air agreements.
India has signed an agreement with Kuwait to increase the flying rights between the two countries by 50%, a move that has come after over 18 years since the last hike in 2006. With this, airlines will collectively be able to fly up to 18,000 seats each side per week between the two nations instead of the previous 12,000 seats.
The India-Kuwait route has been operating at full capacity for years, as airlines such as Air India Express, IndiGo, Akasa Air, Jazeera Airways, and Kuwait Airways operate about 40 flights a day on the route.
Kuwait has been seeking more flying rights to India for a long time. According to the Embassy of India in Kuwait, around 1 million Indian diaspora were settled in the Gulf country as of 2023. Indians form the largest expatriate population in Kuwait, accounting for 21% of the country’s total population and 30% of its total workforce.
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