India needs entirely new aviation policy to meet its powerhouse Potential: CAPA

India is on the cusp of an aviation boom as many call the country the “most promising aviation market” globally post-Covid. With Indian aviation projected to see strong and sustained expansion, aviation consultancy and research firm CAPA India expects the country might need to have the capacity to handle more than 1.3b passengers, requiring a commercial fleet of nearly 4,000 aircraft, within two decades. Outlining a roadmap for a new civil aviation policy, CAPA India said the policy should deliver airline viability and growth by design. In 2016, India drafted the National Civil Aviation Policy to establish a conducive environment that makes air travel affordable to a larger population. The policy had set targets to achieve 300m domestic ticket sales by 2022 and 500m by 2027, along with an increase in international ticket sales to 200m by 2027. In financial year 2023, India’s aviation system handled just fewer than 200 million airline passengers, while 12.9m passengers took to the skies in India in March, according to aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The country’s commercial aviation industry supports around 700 aircraft. In the first quarter of 2023, around 37.5m people took domestic flights, making it the best first quarter ever for Indian aviation. India’s aviation sector has been among the fastest growing in the world, with Airports Council International’s long-term forecast indicating that by 2041 India is expected to grow by 339% over 2022, reaching 1.1b passengers flown. According to the IATA, India is expected to be the third-largest aviation market in the world by 2025, after China and the US. Story has more.<br/>