A new deal between India and the UK is probably going to be finalized, allowing airlines to increase the number of flights they operate between Delhi, Mumbai, and London Heathrow airport.

The number of weekly flights from the two Indian cities to London will increase to 70 as a result of this new deal.

There are destination-based flight caps in the India-UK air service agreement, which has a different structure. With the exception of Bengaluru and Hyderabad, where there is a capacity limit of 14 flights per week, there are no restrictions on flights between Indian cities, under an open sky agreement struck in 2017.

There remains, however, a 56-seat weekly capacity limit for flights between Delhi, Mumbai, and Heathrow; this maximum is being raised to 70.

Virgin Atlantic now flies 42 times a week between Mumbai and Delhi and London, compared to 54 weekly flights operated by British Airways.

The organization in charge of managing slots at airports in the United Kingdom, Airport Coordination Limited, stated that the procedure for allocating slots is unaffected by bilateral agreements between nations.

Due to the air traffic movement cap being fully allotted and the relatively restricted amount of slots returning to the pool for reallocation, London Heathrow has a history of being fully booked. In the event that slots at London Heathrow are unavailable, we encourage applications at other London airports. Indian airlines have just begun operating out of London Gatwick and London Stansted, according to Richard Cann, Head of Coordination at Airport Coordination Limited.

Source- Travel biz