Senior Telugu Desam Party (TDP) member P Ashok Gajapathi Raju feels the aviation industry is going to continue to make huge strides in the coming years and expresses confidence that India will face a major boom in this sector.
In an interview with Firstpost, he talks of the developments and investments in the sector.
Excerpts from the interview:
How is the Indian aviation sector doing?
The last three years have been very good for the Indian aviation industry. We are the fastest growing in terms of passengers in the world. We have grown from the ninth rank to the third rank domestically and are on the fourth place internationally. The aviation sector has seen a growth of 20 percent for the last two years. The Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) is also doing well. Under the Udan scheme we are looking at 80 destinations from which 18 destinations have already started by paying Rs 2,500 for one hour of flying. From April we will be adding 43 new destinations with the launch of the Regional Connectivity Service. Flying was a rich man’s prerogative but now it has also become a common man’s prerogative. We have 400 air strips that are owned by the government of India, state governments and the defense ministry. We have 73 airports which are active.
What kind of future investments are you looking at?
We need private players to come in because our airport infrastructure needs to be strengthened. Airports Authority of India is expected to invest a sum of Rs 150 billion for upgradation of existing airports and for new airports in the coming few years. However, the speed with which the civil aviation sector is growing, this will not be enough. We need larger investments, which makes it necessary to invite private groups and partners if we want to sustain the growth.
What has been decided about Air India?
Air India is a good airline, but its finances are bad. The government does not want Air India to shut down the way the Kingfisher Airlines did. All Indians are proud of it. But its management has to be run in a professionalised manner. Decision-making processes are cumbersome in the government. The government does not want anyone working in Air India to lose their job. The Air India-specific Alternative Mechanism is looking to guide the whole process. This is headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and they are looking into the modalities to divest Air India. But it is not possible to give any timelines for this. Air India has many assets. The airline is getting a rent of Rs 84 crore from its Mumbai office. It has housing colonies. It has aviation hangers -- some are junkyards and not being used. What is not appropriate should go. How to apportion this debt has to be decided.
22/02/18 Rashme Sehgal/First Post
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In an interview with Firstpost, he talks of the developments and investments in the sector.
Excerpts from the interview:
How is the Indian aviation sector doing?
The last three years have been very good for the Indian aviation industry. We are the fastest growing in terms of passengers in the world. We have grown from the ninth rank to the third rank domestically and are on the fourth place internationally. The aviation sector has seen a growth of 20 percent for the last two years. The Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) is also doing well. Under the Udan scheme we are looking at 80 destinations from which 18 destinations have already started by paying Rs 2,500 for one hour of flying. From April we will be adding 43 new destinations with the launch of the Regional Connectivity Service. Flying was a rich man’s prerogative but now it has also become a common man’s prerogative. We have 400 air strips that are owned by the government of India, state governments and the defense ministry. We have 73 airports which are active.
What kind of future investments are you looking at?
We need private players to come in because our airport infrastructure needs to be strengthened. Airports Authority of India is expected to invest a sum of Rs 150 billion for upgradation of existing airports and for new airports in the coming few years. However, the speed with which the civil aviation sector is growing, this will not be enough. We need larger investments, which makes it necessary to invite private groups and partners if we want to sustain the growth.
What has been decided about Air India?
Air India is a good airline, but its finances are bad. The government does not want Air India to shut down the way the Kingfisher Airlines did. All Indians are proud of it. But its management has to be run in a professionalised manner. Decision-making processes are cumbersome in the government. The government does not want anyone working in Air India to lose their job. The Air India-specific Alternative Mechanism is looking to guide the whole process. This is headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and they are looking into the modalities to divest Air India. But it is not possible to give any timelines for this. Air India has many assets. The airline is getting a rent of Rs 84 crore from its Mumbai office. It has housing colonies. It has aviation hangers -- some are junkyards and not being used. What is not appropriate should go. How to apportion this debt has to be decided.
22/02/18 Rashme Sehgal/First Post
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