India, Jan. 30 -- Akasa Air has written to the civil aviation ministry over a lack of a level playing field and competitive challenge for a new entrant like itself while raising concerns over its inability to secure traffic rights or agreements to operate flights to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) despite multiple requests over a year.

It said the newest entrant to the Indian aviation industry that began flying internationally in March 2024 surrendered rights in good faith to Hong Kong, Kenya, Egypt, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Nepal for the much-needed UAE-Abu Dhabi route.

The letter dated January 16 referred to the dominance of established airlines such as IndiGo and Air India in the UAE market and said that the distribution of traffic r...