Revolution Is In The Air

IF THE aviation headlines during the first half of 2017 were dominated by the Narendra Modi government’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), the rest of the year seems set to be ruled by Air India’s proposed privatisation.

- Joseph Noronha

The RCS, also known as UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), is all about the smallest, remotest, most ignored outposts on India’s flight map. At the other end of the scale, Air India is the Maharaja – the national flag carrier that for decades enjoyed monopoly of the skies. Although the airline is now more of a ‘has been’, its disinvestment will be a momentous event. Indeed, Indian aviation will be significantly impacted by how the RCS and Air India sale pan out.

The country’s air traffic numbers are impressive by any standard. Domestic air traffic registered 17.18 per cent growth year-on-year during the period January- July 2017, amounting to 657.21 lakh passengers. India is already the world’s third largest domestic aviation market and although a slowdown in growth is possible in the remaining months of 2017, it is on track to be the world’s third largest market overall by 2020. The Mumbai- Delhi corridor is one of the most active aviation routes in the world and Mumbai itself is the world’s busiest single runway airport. However, these glowing statistics cannot hide the dismal state of the rural aviation network, which is exactly what the ambitious UDAN scheme seeks to improve

UDAN UNSTOPPABLE