Indian Airlines has opposed granting of international flight rights to private domestic carriers. In a presentation to the Naresh Chandra committee on civil aviation, the airline has said that international route rights should be reserved for government-owned carriers for the time being.

IA has said that even a 10 per cent shift in international traffic will result in a Rs 540 crore (Rs 5.4 billion) drop in the revenue of the two government-owned airlines, civil aviation ministry sources said. Both Air-India and IA together earn Rs 5,400 crore (Rs 54 billion) through their international operations.

On the other hand, arch rivals Jet Airways, in its presentation to the committee has said that it was willing to operate more uneconomical Category II routes, if it was granted international rights. Advocating international rights for the private airlines, Jet has said that 65-70 per cent of the international rights remained unutilised by national carriers.

Jet has claimed that nearly 262 frequencies per week remained unutilised since neither A-I or IA could operate on these routes. In its presentation, Jet told the committee that the granting of international traffic should not be limited to SAARC countries nor should the right of first refusal be given to IA and A-I.

IA has claimed that it will have increased its presence internationally if the government had cleared its aircraft acquisition proposal in time. Official sources said that A-I and IA together hold a 31 per cent market share of the international traffic coming into and going outside India, while the balance is with the foreign airlines.

Official sources said that the Naresh Chandra committee was likely to recommend international flight rights for private airlines as the government has anyway allowed Jet and Sahara to operate to Sri Lanka.