The Government will soon allow airlines to operate the Airbus 380 (A-380) on regular flights to India, a senior civil aviation ministry official revealed.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the senior official said that the ministry was considering relaxing of rules in bilateral air service agreements (ASAs) by deleting the `aircraft type' clause.

Revealing the government's plan, the official said, "We will allow carriers, who want to fly Airbus 380s into India under the existing bilateral allotments they have."

It may be noted here that an ASA between two countries stipulates the number of seats, services and the destinations from which a flight can fly. Relaxation in ASA rules will allow international airlines to fly any aircraft to India.

Till now, International carriers are not allowed to fly A-380 aircrafts to India. This double-decker aircraft is capable of carrying up to 550 commuters on a single flight.

Dubai-based Emirates welcomed the news, saying it had always supported the introduction of the most modern services and products to do good to the consumer.

Apart from Emirates, German carrier Lufthansa, Air France and Singapore Airlines are among several other International airlines that have already demanded the government to allow them to fly A-380 aircrafts to India.

Currently, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad airports are equipped to handle the operations of A-380 aircrafts.