BT India@100: 'Silent revolution is happening in Indian aviation sector,' says Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday said that there was a 170 per cent jump in domestic travellers in the past nine years and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Udaan scheme led to a proliferation of travel to unconnected cities like Jharusuguda in Odisha and Kishangarh in Rajasthan.

Speaking to Business Today TV Managing Editor Siddharth Zarabi at BT's India@100 Summit, Scindia said the number of domestic passengers had grown from 6 crore in 2014 to 14.5 crore, an increase of nearly 170 per cent. He further said that this number (14.5 crore) will reach 42.5 crore by 2030-35 because of the economic growth. "Silent revolution is happening in the aviation sector," he said.

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Scindia also said that civil aviation will exceed the first and second AC train passengers by 2030-35. He also underlined the speed with which the government was increasing connectivity by making new airports. He said till 2014, there were 74 airports in the country. But in the last nine years, he said, the government built 148 airports, including helipads and water aerodromes - which means 7.5 per year as opposed to one per year. "In the next five years, this number will cross 200 airports," he said.  

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The minister further said that the number of aircraft too had risen in the last nine years. "In 2014, there were 400 aircraft which has now gone up to 700, a jump of 70-80 per cent. This number will easily cross 1200-1300 by 2030-35. The growth in aviation is monumental," Scindia told Zarabi.

The minister also sounded confident about India's regaining its market share in the global aviation sector.
He said he wanted to regain the country's position in the international skies, that it had in the 60s. "With more than 500 IndiGo flights and 470 Air India aircraft, we will take our flag all across the world and regain our market share in civil aviation on the international front." 

Scindia said for the first time in Indian history, one of the airplane majors has taken a very, very bold step. "The first time between Airbus and Boeing, you have Airbus that has supplanted a production facility within India for the C295 aircraft, based in Vadodara. Our order is for 56 aircraft, 16 will come fully built out from their facility in Spain, and the balance 40 will be made in India," he said.

The minister further said that he did not want to make an international hub in India, he wanted multiple international hubs. "And it will happen -- starting with Delhi. I want an international hub in south India, in central India, in east India, in north India."