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UAE airlines carry more Indians than Air India, says report

Five Gulf carriers featured among the top 10 in the list. The figures come in the wake of Dubai becoming the world's busiest airport, overtaking London's Heathrow.

Dubai: Airlines based in the UAE – Emirates, Etihad and flydubai – carried more passengers to and from India compared to Air India, India’s national carrier.

According to data released by India's aviation authority, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Air India carried the second-largest number of passengers in 2014, at 4,984,660, followed by Emirates at 4,834,229. Jet Airways, which has an alliance with Abu Dhabi’s Etihad, topped the list with 5,559,438 passengers.

Flydubai ferried 147,735 passengers in 2014, and combined with Emirates, ended up carrying just 2,696 passengers fewer than Air India. Etihad stood 16th in the list, and carried 979,276 passengers.

Overall, five Gulf carriers featured among the top 10 in the list. The figures come in the wake of Dubai becoming the world's busiest airport, overtaking London's Heathrow.

“The western world protects the interests of its airlines. UPA made India a feeder for Gulf airlines. These airlines have access to all the 18 international airports in India. They carry traffic from even our relatively small towns to their hubs in the Gulf and from there offer them access to anywhere in the world. Indian carriers, on the other hand, are struggling to survive,” The Times of India quoted a senior Indian carrier official as saying.

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