Air Travel Bounces Back Strong: Breaking Pre-Covid Records Daily, Says Scindia

During the CAPA India Aviation Summit, Jyotiraditya Scindia, the aviation minister of India, announced that the country is surpassing its pre-Covid levels of air passenger traffic on a daily basis. This growth in demand for air travel is being driven by factors such as economic growth, urbanization, and increased disposable income. To support this growth, the government plans to build 26 more airports under its regional connectivity scheme, and there are new FTOs and aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul facilities being established. In addition, the government has hired professionals in key aviation functions to support the expanding industry.

According to Jyotiraditya Scindia, India’s aviation minister, the country has been breaking its previous daily record of air passenger traffic since the past few months. The previous record high of 410,000 daily passengers was set in 2019, and India has now exceeded this milestone with the latest figure of 456,000 daily passengers. Despite the end of the high season, India is still seeing a daily passenger count of 420,000-440,000, indicating sustained growth in the aviation sector. Scindia noted that India’s domestic passenger count has increased from 14 million to 144 million over the past decade, highlighting the significant potential for further growth in the sector.

Seventy-four airports had been built since India’s independence till 2014, but in the last nine years, that number has doubled, Scindia said.

He said the government aims to add 26 airports to it under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme.

According to Jyotiraditya Scindia, India’s aviation minister, the annual passenger throughput capacity of the country’s six major airports, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kolkata, will increase from 192 million to 420 million in the next four years. Additionally, the number of aircraft operating in the Indian market is expected to increase from 700 to 2,000 over the next five to seven years. To support this growth, the government has hired personnel in key functions, such as 400 in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and 700 air traffic controllers, bringing the total number of air traffic controllers to 3,600 from 2,900. Another 600 air traffic controllers will be hired by the end of this year to address the critical understaffing of these bodies. These initiatives are aimed at improving the infrastructure and capabilities of the Indian aviation industry, which is experiencing significant growth potential. Source?