Minister of state, civil aviation, Jayant Sinha on Tuesday said that while IATA has forecast 500 million trips in the next 15-20 years for India, the country's aviation sector is preparing for a billion trips.
He was speaking at the International Aviation Summit held in New Delhi.
Sinha said that the airfare in the country was less than that of an auto-rickshaw.
"You'll ask how is that possible? When two people take an auto-rickshaw they pay fare of Rs 10 which means they're charged Rs 5/km but when you go by air you are charged Rs 4/km," he said.
Besides, Sinha also contradicted the claims of
Alexandre de Juniac, director general and CEO of IATA who claimed that India had a poor infrastructure for aviation and that it was challenging to do business in the country. In reply, Sinha said that the country was building new terminals at 12-15 airports.
Junaic said there is a contrast in India’s aviation industry. On one hand, there are infrastructural and economic issues, on the other, the industry is trying to up their game by airlines ordering over 1000 aircraft in the next eight years, he said.
Earlier on August 30,
in an interview with CNBC-TV 18, Sinha had said that the airline industry was going through a cyclical downturn due to various factors like yields, oil prices, interest rates and currency.
However, he assured that the ministry was working hard to be able to provide a supportive policy environment for the industry so that it can get through this downturn well and in a healthy fashion.
First Published: Sept 4, 2018 11:28 AM IST
