Booming Aviation Market Has Record Numbers Of Passengers Flying

Massive economic growth in India has spurred an explosion in the number of people flying in the country, and has led to the opening of 34 new airports in the country in the past 18 months.

The Washington Post reports that the civil aviation minister for India said in September that the government has budgeted $60 billion for another 100 airports by the year 2033.

One of the latest airports to open is in Pakyong in Sikkim state, which has been carved out of the Himalayan mountains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the ribbon cutting for that airport that for 70 years since India gained its independence, there were just 400 airplanes serving its residents. "In the past year alone, airline companies have ordered 1,000 new airplanes," he said.

The opening of the airport was the second to be held in September, according to the report.

Boeing sees a lot of potential in India. Dinesh Keskar, Boeing’s senior vice president of sales for Asia-Pacific and India for commercial airplanes, told the paper that the Indian market 20 years ago was barely worth reporting, but now the planemaker expects that one in 20 airplanes will be sold to Indian airlines "in the near future."

But other analysts, such as aviation journalist Neelam Matthews, are not so sure. He told the Post that the country's infrastructure may not be able to be brought up to modern standards to justify the talk of India being the world's third-largest aviation market.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report