Exuding confidence about air traffic figures rebounding, the minister said the number of domestic passengers is expected to touch 4.10 lakh per day by next year and will surpass that number by 2024-25
Airline CEOs say 21% of an airline’s revenue goes straight to govt by way of taxes; want improved processes in order to become hubs for global travel
Hyderabad, NFAPost: Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said Indian airline operators are expected to add 110 to 120 new aircraft every year in the days to come.
Speaking at the inaugural session of Wing India 2022, a civil aviation show being held here, Scindia also said the operators need to include more wide-bodied aircraft to their fleet in order to connect several global points.
Exuding confidence about air traffic figures rebounding, the minister said the number of domestic passengers is expected to touch 4.10 lakh per day by next year and will surpass that number by 2024-25 as the airline industry is in a “V” shaped recovery.
“India is looking at tremendous expansion. Expansion in the area of airlines, expansion in the area of airports. And therefore fleet augmentation is also important . A country that had a fleet of only 400 aircraft in the year 2013-14 has grown to a fleet of 710 aircraft in the last seven years with an addition of 310 aircraft. And we intend to add at least 110 to 220 aircraft per year as we go forward,” Scindia said.
A senior official of Airbus had said the European aircraft maker expects that India will need over 2200 aeroplanes in the next two decades.
According to the minister, currently India has about 9000 pilots, out of which 15 per cent are women. This number was way ahead of the global benchmark of five per cent.
Airline CEOs favour lower taxes, better infra to tide over ATF price hike
Chief executive officers of Indian airlines reiterated the call for lower taxes, improved infrastructure and better processes to enable them to tide over the rise in fuel prices and become hubs for international travel.
The CEOs made the plea at a panel discussion at Wings India event in Hyderabad on Friday.
“Twenty-one per cent of an airline’s revenue goes straight to the government in the form of taxes. This issue needs to be addressed immediately,” IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta said. ” Indian airlines are among the most efficient in the world but are saddled with high taxes,” added Sunil Bhaskaran, CEO of AirAsia India.
The CEOs made the plea in a panel discussion at Wings India event at Hyderabad on Friday.
Domestic air traffic is on a rebound with the decline in Covid-19 cases. Scheduled international flights too are starting on March 27 and airlines are looking to increase flights on overseas routes. But increase in aviation turbine fuel price is increasing burden for airlines.
“We need to get our basics right if we have to become an aviation hub,” SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh said.
Singh said processes at airports need to be more efficient to encourage more people to connect from Indian airports. “We need our own hubs. It is time for India to take share of business both in passenger and cargo,” he added.
