Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday that 3.82 lakh passengers travelled by air daily in the last seven days, indicating that the COVID-19-ravaged sector is on the mend.
He set a target of nearly tripling total passenger traffic to 40 crore by 2023-24.
Scindia also stated that, at a time when the aviation sector is experiencing volatility around the world, two new airlines, Jet and Akasa, will shortly begin operations.
In response to the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s Demands for Grants, 2022-23, he stated that the government has implemented a paradigm shift and structural change in the sector over the last two years, and that it will focus on inclusion, access, and affordability to increase demand among common people.
From 6.70 crore in 2013-14 to 14.50 crore in 2018-19, the overall number of passengers travelled has grown. From 2013-14 to 2018-19, the number of planes climbed from 400 to 710.
According to DGCA data, 8.38 crore individuals flew domestically in 2021, compared to 6.3 crore in 2020, the year of the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to Scindia, the aviation sector began to improve after the second Covid wave, with the number of air travellers in the country increasing to 3.90 lakh per day in November 2021, up from 4.15 lakh in pre-Covid days.
“But, thanks to Omicron it came down 1.60 lakh per day.
I’m delighted to say that we’ve returned to 3.82 lakh per day in the last seven days.
There is hope for a rebound, and based on that, we aim to reach a population of 40 crore by 2023-24,” he said.
Scindia compared the aviation sector’s competitiveness to Indian Railways’ AC-1 and AC-2 services.
Last year, 18.5 crore people took AC-1 and 2 flights.
There were 74 airports in the country until 2014, and 66 new airports have been added in the last seven years.
As a result, the country now has a total of 140 airports
"Our goal is to raise this number to 220 by the end of the 2025." said Scindia.
Stay Updated with us! Have a beautiful day ahead.
