441-02025 (Transportation)

The Government of Canada takes note of the campaign advocating for direct flights between Winnipeg and India and is aware of the importance of this issue for many Canadians, including residents of Manitoba. 

The Government of Canada is responsible for negotiating bilateral air transport agreements with foreign governments. These agreements govern the operation of scheduled air services and provide the legal framework within which airlines make decisions based on their own commercial priorities, actual market demand, and the operational viability of routes. This is an important point as the locations that Canadian airlines decide to serve are business decisions.  

The means by which the Government of Canada supports international air services is by ensuring that Canada's air transport agreements include the rights that airlines require to operate. The Government expanded its air transport agreement with India in 2022 and was able to remove limits on capacity (i.e., the number of flights that can be operated). Currently, Canadian air carriers can operate own-aircraft services to Bangalore (Bengaluru), Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai, while Indian air carriers can operate own-aircraft services to Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver, and two additional points to be selected by India.  

The Government of Canada remains interested in further expansion of the agreement, and Canadian Ministers and officials have raised Canada’s interest in access to additional points in India during meetings with their Indian counterparts.  

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of International Trade, and the previous Minister of Transport have all met with their respective Indian counterparts and discussed, among other things, Canada’s interest in obtaining market access for direct air services to a greater number of cities in India (including in Punjab).  

Canada’s High Commissioner to India also wrote to the Secretary (East) of the Ministry of External Affairs of India, reiterating Canada’s interest in exchanging the right for Canada’s respective airlines to operate services to any point or points in the other country’s territory.  

With respect to services operated via Europe, Canada’s air transport agreement with the United Kingdom and its agreement with the 27 Member States of the European Union, are very open, and permit airlines to operate from all cities in Canada to any destinations in the United Kingdom or the European Union. There are no impediments preventing Canadian, United Kingdom or European Union air carriers from serving Winnipeg. However, it is important to note that the Government of Canada does not determine which routes Canadian or foreign carriers serve as the decision is a commercial one made by airlines. It is also important to note that the rights of European airlines to serve points in India are set out in the air transport agreements between those carriers’ respective home countries and India.