India designates SpiceJet as scheduled carrier to United States:Indian aircraft SpiceJet declared on Thursday that it has been assigned as a scheduled airline to work trips among India and the US.

“This is to inform you that in terms of the Air Services Agreement between the Government of India and the Government of the United States of America, SpiceJet has been designated as Indian scheduled carrier to operate on agreed services between India and the USA,” the company said in a statement.

Previously, only Air India had permission to operate flights in India-US routes. With this move, SpiceJet has become the first Indian private carrier to operate flights to the US.

“It gives me immense pleasure to share that SpiceJet has been designated as an Indian scheduled carrier to operate between India and the US. This designation would help us plan for our international expansion in a much better and calibrated manner. I have always maintained that there is an opportunity in every adversity and the present crisis situation has seen SpiceJet rise to the occasion and play a pivotal role. From operating over 4300 cargo flights to carrying over 24,000 tons of cargo to operating over 400 charter flights to bring back thousands of stranded Indian nationals back home, SpiceJet has worked non-stop and contributed in whatever manner possible, ” Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet said.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said last week that international flights can resume through bilateral air bubbles between countries till the situation returns to normalcy.

Source : DNA