Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia while speaking at industry body ASSOCHAM's CEOs round table on Tuesday said, India's aviation sector is expanding rapidly and the overall fleet size is expected to almost double in the next five years.
Scindia said, "In five years we are looking at 1,200 fleet size in the country which will be almost double of the current number of 700 aircraft,"
He further asserted exuding confidence, the Indian aviation sector is going to touch 400 million passengers annually in 7-10 years from the current 200 million.
The minister stressed on India becoming an international hub for which the sector needs to add wide-body aircraft in our skies.
"We need wide-body aircraft in the country to become an international hub, that is why the ministry of civil aviation is working seriously on it and we have engaged with the professionals to make India an international hub in aviation," Scindia said.
Growth in the aviation sector in terms of CAGR is 10 per cent annually, he added.
On the question of recruitment of air traffic controllers (ATCOs) which are now low in strength, Scindia said that "soon we will recruit more than 300 ATCOs by the end of this year."
Earlier while flagging of the first flight of Akasa Air, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had projected a phenomenal growth for India's civil aviation; 1,200 planes and 40 crore air travellers by 2027, 220 airports by 2030.
The civil aviation sector was significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and is on the recovery path. The day is not far when the civil aviation sector will become a very strong foundation and bulwark of the transportation industry in India.
With inputs from wire agencies.
