CURRENT SCENARIO IN INDIA

Airlines in India spend about 13 to 15 per cent of their revenues towards maintenance the second-highest cost item for airlines after fuel

- AIR MARSHAL ANIL CHOPRA (RETD)

INDIA IS MOVING FORWARD TO BECOME THE WORLD’S THIRD-LARGEST civil aviation market by 2024. Currently, major airlines connect 103 operational airports within the country and many more across the globe. Despite the RCS-Udan scheme, India’s aviation industry is largely untapped with huge growth opportunities. The Indian government is planning to invest $1.83 billion for the development of airport infrastructure along with aviation navigation services by 2026. India’s total passenger traffic stood at 199.60 million in the period April to October 2019, with 1.5 million aircraft movements. The Mumbai-Delhi air corridor is ranked the world’s third-busiest route. Total freight traffic for the same period was two million tonne. There are 604 aircraft operated by scheduled airline operators in India. Airlines in India spend about 13 to 15 per cent of their revenues towards maintenance – the second-highest cost item for airlines after fuel. Generally, airlines carry on-tarmac inspections (A and B checks) in-house and work with third-party Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) for engine, heavy maintenance (C and D checks) and modifications.

VISION 2040

On January 15, 2019, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) released a report titled ‘Vision 2040’, outlining a roadmap for the future of civil aviation in India. The report projects that air passenger traffic will increase six-fold to 1.1 billion passengers by 2040 and by then 2,359 passenger aircraft would be required. Air cargo movement will quadruple to 17 million tonne by 2040. The number of airports in India would rise to around 200. The government proposed creating a $2-billion fund to help support low-traffic airports. India targets to establish an aircraft manufacturing base by 2040.

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN AVIATION