Aviation Policy takes off

Salient features of the National Civil Aviation Policy

It’s our vision to take the tourism share of our country, which is less than one per cent to at least one per cent by 2020, and to 2 per cent by 2025. International tourists cannot reach most of the places where the tourism sites are situated in Tier-II and Tier-III cities because of non availability of air services, as well as lack of proper roads. I think this policy will be a game changer for the tourism industry. Dr. Mahesh Sharma Minister of Tourism & Culture (Independent Charge) and Minister of State, Civil Aviation

have allowed domestic airlines to opt for self handling of their aircraft without of course breaching the security requirement, said Choubey.

Another strong point of the policy is to bring down the cost of Maintenance, Repair ,and Overhaul (MROs), for which the government will take measures. Choubey stated, “In our country, the size of the MRO business is about 5000 crores, and of this 90 per cent goes out of the country. It’s a pity that our aircraft have to go to neighbouring countries for maintenance work when the technological skills available within the country itself are remarkable.”

Choubey claimed, “With this policy, we expect the ticketing, which is today 80 million passengers, to at least grow to 300 million passengers in five years, which means there will be a growth of four times in passenger ticketing. Already the growth rate of domestic ticketing has been 22 per cent in 2015-16 as compared to 2014-15, while the growth rate in the world is just five per cent. And it will reach new heights if we reach the 300 million mark in five years.”