ACI sees 'bright future' for India's aviation sector

Airports Council International (ACI) world director general Angela Gittens discussed (28-Aug-2014) the future of aviation in India with senior Indian aviation officials this week. ACI noted that with a population of over a billion people and a growing middle class now just beginning to discover air travel, India in 2013 enjoyed traffic growth of 6.2% year-on-year, noting: "This growth is expected to continue, and the Indian airport sector needs to be prepared to handle increased passenger numbers and more cargo in the coming years". Ms Gittens added: "India is full of potential with a large population in a large country with a growing middle class... However it still has a long way to go in view of the fact that other countries with similar or lower population bases handle relatively larger volumes of passenger traffic." One of the key challenges for Indian aviation is the development of airport infrastructure. In this regard ACI discussed with government officials the need for India to have the right economic regulatory framework in place to encourage the development of this much needed infrastructure. ACI discussed the upcoming privatisations of additional airports. Ms Gittens stressed that the process needed to be transparent and that all stakeholders needed to understand what the features of the new concession model will be. The current concessions have been successful in providing a steady source of subsidy to the smaller Indian airports and the much needed capital investments in the larger airports. However, the current regulatory model has yielded poor returns for the investors and could stifle development in India's airports in the long run. [more - original PR]