With the signing of air services agreements with these two countries, the total number of nations with whom such accords have been entered into by India this year has risen to nine.
The other countries are France, UK, US, Qatar, Germany, China and Oman. Both Belgium and the Netherlands have agreed to allow multiple carrier designations, through which more than one Indian airline can operate to these two nations and vice versa.
Belgium and India have decided to allow designated carriers to mount a total of 21 passenger flights each week and "unlimited number of frequencies" of freighter carriers to any point of call in each other's territory, the MoU said.
While designated Belgian airlines can now fly both to Mumbai and Chennai, Indian carriers, in addition to the existing points like Brussels, can operate to "any one point of choice in Europe as intermediate and/or beyond point, with full fifth freedom rights", as per the MoU between the two sides.
Fifth Freedom Right allows an airline to operate from one country to another, pick up passengers from there and fly to a third one.
India and Belgium also decided to allow the designated carriers of each other to enter into code-share arrangements with the airlines of any nationality to operate to points of call beyond.
These rights would pave the way for Indian carriers, like Air India, Indian Airlines, Jet Airways or Air Sahara, to fly to Brussels and then go to the US or Canada or any other European destination.
Jet Airways has plans to launch its proposed US flight via Brussels with its leased A-340-300 E aircraft. It is also planning to enter into codeshare arrangement with American carrier United Airlines, among others.
Under the MoU with the Netherlands, which updates the air services agreement of January 1992, India has granted Belgian carriers the right to operate to Hyderabad or Chennai besides the existing rights to operate to Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.
The two sides also decided to increase the number of weekly frequencies to 21 in a phased manner -- with seven at present to 14 by this October and 21 by next March-April.
On these services, no Fifth Freedom rights would be granted between any point in India except Kolkata and points in the Gulf and West Asia. The designated Dutch carriers can operate to India with any type of aircraft capacity, according to the MoU.
The government has signed a virtual 'open sky' bilateral agreement with the US, substantially expanded it with the UK and other countries including Germany.
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