India resists calls for more air access in drive to be global aviation force

India dampened foreign airline hopes for more access to its airports on Tuesday, with its aviation minister urging domestic carriers to fly long-haul and help establish new hubs as it seeks to recapture control of Indian travel from foreign rivals. It is also asking aerospace companies to step-up local production and will soon finalise rules to safeguard rights of lessors on repossession of jets, in a bid to level up with major global aviation markets, Jyotiraditya Scindia told Reuters. "India is now at that inflection point," Scindia said during an interview at his office in New Delhi. "We are going to see an explosion of air traffic in India in the years to come," he said, adding he wanted domestic carriers to look at international expansion with greater focus. The South Asian nation is one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world where demand for air travel is outstripping the supply of planes, but the bulk of international traffic is captured by global carriers with efficient hubs. Now, India wants to harness these economic gains for itself by boosting growth of its airlines and airports. Air India last month placed a record order for 470 jets and is making an aggressive push in the international market. Domestic rival IndiGo is also in talks for a new order of more than 500 planes, Reuters reported earlier this month, even as it waits to take delivery of the same number from an older order. Scindia said India was not looking at increasing air traffic quotas with Gulf states and instead wanted Indian carriers to offer non-stop long haul flights on larger planes. He said Air India's widebody plane order and IndiGo's twin-aisles to some destinations were signs that "transition" had begun. India is also mobilising to handle the transportation needs of its population of 1.3b by building new airports in the country's remotest parts and expanding capacity at major ones.<br/>