Canada, India Expand Agreement to Allow Unlimited Frequencies

As China continues to impose severe restrictions on international travel under its “zero-Covid-19” policy and as East Asian nations continue to be negatively impacted by the closure of airspace to European and North American airlines, efforts are being made to strengthen commercial ties with other Asian nations that can serve as viable business partners for Western economies.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced an expanded Air Transport Agreement between Canada and India that will now remove all frequency limits to flights between the two nations while he is in Bali, Indonesia for the G20 Summit, which is slated to take place this week.

“Today, we are announcing an agreement between Canada and India, that will allow an unlimited number of flights between our two countries,” Trudeau said, as reported by the news agency Asian News International.

“The expanded air transport agreement between Canada and India is a positive development for air transport relations between our countries,” added the Honorable Omar Alghabra, Canada’s Minister of Transport in a statement.

“We are pleased to expand this relationship with additional flexibility for airlines to serve this growing market. By making the movement of goods and people faster and easier, this expanded agreement will continue to facilitate trade and investment between Canada and India and help our businesses grow and succeed.”

Six entrance points per country have been established by the new Air Transport Agreement that airlines will be permitted to serve with their flights.

Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai are the Indian cities that will be able to receive flights from Canada, while Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver, and two other airports that India will choose will serve as their Canadian counterparts.

According to Apoorva Srivastava, India’s consul general in Canada, who spoke at a press conference at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, India is currently Canada’s fourth-largest trading partner, and there are roughly 700,000 Indian residents who live and work in the country.

“Indian students form the largest chunk of international students coming and studying in Canada. We currently have 230,000 and a lot more ready to come to Canada for educational purposes,” Postmedia reported.