By Vijay Grover
Buoyed by the bounce back in the aviation sector, Wings India 2022 promises to be a successful event for Indian Civil Aviation and the relevant wider sector.
Aviation, in the last decade, saw the rise of passenger traffic from 119 million in 2011 to 279 million domestic passengers in 2019. The impact of Covid 19 was visible in 2020 when the domestic passenger levels dipped to 123 million and international passenger traffic dipped to 19.8 million from 70 million witnessed in 2019.
Recovery has been steady post covid and experts say India could emerge as one of the few countries, which will register nearly double-digit growth in the next decade.
It is with this background that the Civil Aviation ministry under the leadership of Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation and the government of India is hoping that Wings India 2022 will offer several opportunities not just for India but also for the neighboring countries.
With the projected growth, the aviation sector will create opportunities for those looking to enter the industry.
WINGS INDIA 2022 with the theme India @75 New Horizon for Aviation Industry organized by FICCI jointly with Airport Authority of India and the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) at Hyderabad has emerged as a key event for civil aviation. Jyotiraditya Scindia says, “WINGS India 2022 will provide an opportunity to build strong roots of the ecosystem that the civil aviation industry represents. The civil aviation industry is not only about airplanes and airports, but we must focus on building an airline ecosystem that has strong roots across the value chain”.
The rise in civil aviation is visible from the fact that in the last decade India has grown from a country with 434 civil aviation aircrafts in 2011 to 651 in 2020. The number is expected to rise in the coming months as most operators in India have placed orders for fleet augmentation. Industry experts say that the sector is likely to see addition of over 800 more aircrafts in the next seven years. While the three major airports today account for over 50% of the passenger traffic, the smaller towns and cities are witnessing rapid growth.
UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) launched by Prime Minister in 2016 has given wings to dreams of several small town residents who can fly at affordable fares. Thee UDAN scheme that propose to connect 100 small towns already service 65 towns with over 403 routes operated by 11 airlines. The government initiatives work as collaborators with stakeholders. “Our success lies with the success of our stakeholders. We have doubled the number of airports in India since the last 7 years and the horizontal expansion will result in vertical depth,” says Mr. Scindia.
WINGS INDIA 2022 will focus on the new helicopter policy, MRO policy, flying training organisation policy and several initiatives that the government has focused on in recent years,
“There is a huge opportunity for each one connected to the aviation industry. One can manufacture, sell, lease and create to become partners in infrastructure with us,” says Gen V K Singh. “State and Union Territories have a very important role to play in the sector and we need to ensure harmony between states to reap the benefits.”
In recent years, the domestic manufacture of aircraft for civilian applications has become the talking point. While the Bengaluru based Hindustan Airlines Limited has achieved tremendous success in its development and manufacture of HTT 40, a basic trainer which is likely to boost pilot training in the various flying schools in coming years, parallel the development of Hansa by National Aeronautics Limited establishes that India is on the verge of a revolution where Make In India policy of the government could see some major progress.
The 19-seater Hindustan-228 or the Do-228 is being seen as the first major attempt in India to develop a small civil transport aircraft after the 14-seater Saras aircraft development programme at the National Aeronautics Laboratory was shelved in 2009. HAL is considering the manufacture of small civilian aircraft, which are considered the backbone of UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik).
The Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya said, “Manufacturing, is the core of the sector and the country must move from products to services. Both product and service will result in economic and employment multipliers. Every direct job generated by civil aviation industry results in 6.1% indirect employment opportunities. This potential cannot be replicated by any other sector.”
The Federation of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry is confident that all stakeholders will benefit from the WINGS INDIA 2022. Remi Maillard, Chair, FICCI Civil Aviation Committee and President & MD, Airbus Group says that India will be among the market leaders in the global aviation arena.
