Dubai Airports has issued a statement today to clear the air on what it called inaccurate reports related to slot allocation for Indian carriers at the world’s busiest international airport, Dubai International (DXB).

“It’s important to understand that the assignment of traffic rights via bilateral agreements and slot allocation are two discrete processes,” explained Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports.

According to a report in India's The Hindu newspaper, India's Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju had written to Dubai Civil Aviation Authority President Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum earlier this year regarding granting of slots at the Dubai airport ot Indian airlines.

In his letter, he stated that the Dubai Airport Authority has been turning down the requests of Indian carriers for slots or providing unviable alternatives, the newspaper said.

“Traffic rights are negotiated between governments. Slot allocation is managed separately by an independent organisation at arm’s length and in accordance with international guidelines established by the International Air Transport Association. Specifically, Dubai International’s slots are allocated by an independent slot coordinator, Airport Coordination Limited (ACL), in accordance with IATA guidelines. ACL conducts slot allocation activities at other major international airports around the world as well,” Griffiths said in the clarification.

“Dubai International is the busiest airport for international passenger traffic in the world, with 90 carriers connecting the airport to more than 240 global destinations with high demand for a limited supply of slots,” added Griffiths.

“We welcome the expansion of the flying rights between India and Dubai. Despite the competitive slot situation, Indian carriers continue to grow services, operating more frequencies than Dubai-based airlines between Dubai and India. There is clearly demand for more seats and we are confident that the airlines operating on these routes will take up more seat capacity, if agreed by Dubai and India, and reap the benefits of that growth.” - TradeArabia News Service