Air passenger traffic in India likely to reach 300 mn by 2030: Jyotiraditya Scindia
By : B Krishna Mohan
Update: 2024-01-18 07:51 GMT
Hyderabad: India's aviation industry ended 2023 with 153 million domestic travellers and the figure set to cross 300 million by 2030, said civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. The stress was on creating capacities to handle this large volume of passengers, he said.
Even after touching 300 million domestic passengers by 2030, India will still be an underpenetrated market in the top 20 markets. That leaves a big scope for growth for decades to come, Scindia said.
"India is the third largest domestic civil aviation market in the world. It is also the seventh largest international civil aviation market. Both combined, India is the fifth largest civil aviation market. Cargo traffic over the last 15 years has grown by close to 60 per cent," Scindia said
Inaugurating Wings India 2024, Asia's largest civil aviation industry event, here on Thursday, Scindia noted that in the pre-Covid years, the record in a single day was about 4.25 lakh passengers, and reached 4.67 lakh in December.
Speaking on `Connecting India to the World in Amrit Kaal: Setting the stage for Indian Civil Aviation @2047', he said international traffic had grown around 6.1 per cent in the last ten years.
Nothing that the fleet size had grown from 400 to 713 aircraft, he said India had become the largest purchaser of aircrafts in the world after the US. "That is the potential that India represents. Our size is going to grow to upwards of 2,000 in the next decade. The focus is on accessibility, availability, and affordability," he said.
"We are preparing to tap this potential by creating capacities, removing bottlenecks, and simplifying procedures. By 2047, the civil aviation sector will be able to support a $20 trillion economy. The focus is building airports and creating aircraft capacity," the aviation minister said.
He said the number of airports, water ports and heliports will cross 200. “We have now reached Tier 2 and 3 cities that had been wiped off the aviation map," Scindia said.
In the metros, the throughput capability had grown to 261 million and would rise to 420 million passengers in four years, with greenfield airports, one coming up in Navi Mumbai and the other next to Delhi. “We launched Udaan. 5.3, the regional connectivity scheme. We have also launched a special scheme for helicopters and small planes," the minister said
The government had focused on safety and security, done away with the system of royalties, brought about policies for support segments including drones and set up many maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) units. Last year, India issued 1,622 commercial pilot licenses, with an increased representation of women.
He said that all but five states levied value added tax (VAT) on aviation turbine fuel ranging from one to five per cent. "It is a matter of time, they will rationalise the VAT," he said.
Even after touching 300 million domestic passengers by 2030, India will still be an underpenetrated market in the top 20 markets. That leaves a big scope for growth for decades to come, Scindia said.
"India is the third largest domestic civil aviation market in the world. It is also the seventh largest international civil aviation market. Both combined, India is the fifth largest civil aviation market. Cargo traffic over the last 15 years has grown by close to 60 per cent," Scindia said
Inaugurating Wings India 2024, Asia's largest civil aviation industry event, here on Thursday, Scindia noted that in the pre-Covid years, the record in a single day was about 4.25 lakh passengers, and reached 4.67 lakh in December.
Speaking on `Connecting India to the World in Amrit Kaal: Setting the stage for Indian Civil Aviation @2047', he said international traffic had grown around 6.1 per cent in the last ten years.
Nothing that the fleet size had grown from 400 to 713 aircraft, he said India had become the largest purchaser of aircrafts in the world after the US. "That is the potential that India represents. Our size is going to grow to upwards of 2,000 in the next decade. The focus is on accessibility, availability, and affordability," he said.
"We are preparing to tap this potential by creating capacities, removing bottlenecks, and simplifying procedures. By 2047, the civil aviation sector will be able to support a $20 trillion economy. The focus is building airports and creating aircraft capacity," the aviation minister said.
He said the number of airports, water ports and heliports will cross 200. “We have now reached Tier 2 and 3 cities that had been wiped off the aviation map," Scindia said.
In the metros, the throughput capability had grown to 261 million and would rise to 420 million passengers in four years, with greenfield airports, one coming up in Navi Mumbai and the other next to Delhi. “We launched Udaan. 5.3, the regional connectivity scheme. We have also launched a special scheme for helicopters and small planes," the minister said
The government had focused on safety and security, done away with the system of royalties, brought about policies for support segments including drones and set up many maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) units. Last year, India issued 1,622 commercial pilot licenses, with an increased representation of women.
He said that all but five states levied value added tax (VAT) on aviation turbine fuel ranging from one to five per cent. "It is a matter of time, they will rationalise the VAT," he said.