TEHRAN - India has turned down the request of Chinese government to allow its carriers add more flights on the busy India-China route following strong protest from Indian carriers. Indian carriers opposed the move fearing that their own expansion plans would be jeopardized.

The request was made by China following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to China in June. However, in a show of solidarity, top Indian carriers IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and GoAir along with the state-owned carrier Air India decided to oppose the move during a meeting with India’s Aviation Ministry officials.

Carriers from each side are allowed to operate 42 flights a week according to the present quota system. The Chinese have used up about 93 percent of the quota compared with Indian carriers’ 12 percent. Indian quota is likely to see a significant increase after Indian carriers such as SpiceJet, IndiGo and Vistara launch their international operations soon.

India has in the past rejected similar demands from other countries, on the request of local carriers. India previously turned down Qatar’s demand.

India's new civil aviation policy has allowed local carriers expand  their operations after the government linked flying rights of countries based on the usage level of Indian carriers. The new policy allows foreign carriers additional rights only if Indian carriers use about 80 percent of the rights.