The aviation business in India is still expanding at the quickest rate in the world, and the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak are now starting to show. Domestic air travel experienced a new high following Omicron when the total number of passengers reached 4,13,716.
In-Depth Details about Jyotiraditya Scindia said that Indian Government Plans to lease out another 11 airports for 50 years:
Jyotiraditya Scindia, India’s minister of civil aviation, is quite optimistic about the nation’s aviation industry and believes that during the next five years, the country’s annual air passenger count will reach about 40 crores. Scindia revealed that the government is trying to lease out 11 more airports in an effort to strengthen the nation’s aviation industry.
The minister provided information about the privatization plan for the airport. Our strategy, he explained, is to lease the assets for a while in order to generate cash flow that will be reinvested in the construction of other airports in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. We intend to rent out an additional 11 airports. Therefore, that procedure is ongoing, and you will soon learn more about it.
Private players will be given access to a number of airports, including those in Chennai, Kolkata, Jabalpur, Indore, Rajkot, Vijaywada, Raipur, and Amritsar. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has 11 airports that the Center will shortly put up for leasing to private parties.
The minister further stated that as of 2014, there were just 74 airports, including wardrobes. Our fleet, which formerly consisted of about 400 aircraft, has now grown to 700 aircraft. It is quite encouraging that wide bodies are also driving the expansion rather than only narrow bodies.
Scindia emphasized, “I believe we should be able to grow at a rate of about 200 planes every year.
The aviation ministry is putting together a cabinet note for leasing the airports for 50 years, and the AAI anticipates receiving an upfront payment of more than Rs 8,000 crore.
A total of six airports, including those in Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Jaipur, Guwahati, and Thiruvananthapuram, were leased by the government three years ago in 2019. Industrialist Gautam Adani’s Adani Group won the bidding process for all six airports.
Construction, operation, and management of the airports may be included in the bid specifications for the prospective leasing of airports. Scindia clarified that the highest fee per passenger will be used to determine the winning bid formula.
Through the asset monetization of these airports, the Centre hopes to collect Rs 20,000 crore. The minister also discussed SpiceJet’s several recent safety concerns and the airline’s response, which suggested that security and safety come first. He told ET that the DGCA has given this subject a lot of attention and that several measures have been taken to ensure safety.
We performed approximately 2,740 checks in 2021–2022 as part of the annual monitoring strategy (ASP). It was upgraded to 3,700 in 2022–2023. Therefore, the proposed ASP is about 50% higher than what was actually implemented in 2021–2022, the minister said.
