Saloni Bhatia – New Delhi
ASSOCHAM’s National Council on Civil Aviation in support from ministry of civil aviation, Government of India was recently organised in New Delhi. The conference brought the stakeholders of aviation and travel industry to discuss the new aviation policy. The inaugural session included special address by key people in the industry. Talking about further plans, Rajiv Nayan Choubey, secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said, “It has been a great year for the ministry with 22 per cent growth in the sector; but to look forward, we are drafting a scheme for increasing regional connectivity in the country. The unused airports can be converted into Special Economic Zones (SEZ) or leased out to the private sector for further training purposes. Instead of just investments, we need to build an ecosystem in order to continue growing at the same rate.”
India has the potential to become the third largest aviation market by 2020 and the largest by 2030. There is untapped potential for growth due to the fact that regional connectivity to several areas is still not established. On being asked about capping prices, Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of India, stated, “A cap on airfares will not help reduce the steep rise in ticket prices. A recent analysis showed that only 1.7 per cent of the tickets sold were at high cost. A cap on the airfares will push up lower prices that would eventually increase the ticket cost. Only the last minute high price of ticket is a matter of concern.”
The sessions focused on details of the policy and the panelists shared their suggestions with the ministry representative. However, one of the main points that stood out was involvement of the tourism sector. Bharat H Malkani, president, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), opined, “The growth in the aviation sector is largely based on tourism and we should not forget that. The lack of regional air connectivity to certain areas makes it inaccessible to tourists. There needs to be a holistic policy on aviation and tourism that promotes more tourists travelling to and within the country.”