Air India’s historic aircraft order may turn it into aviation sector's growth agent: Scindia

Following the largest global order for aircraft by a privatised Air India, Tata-owned airline had acquired the capability to drive the growth of the country’s aviation sector, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said. “A company that under the government was bleeding Rs 7,200 crore of common taxpayer money today has become a potential of growth for our country with this historic order of 470 planes with Airbus and Boeing. That is the unlocking of value; that is the unlocking of potential,” declared Scindia.

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The minister was speaking at the curtain raiser of the aviation show Wings 2024 to be held in Hyderabad in January next year. He said with the freeing of India’s growth potential nothing could stop the country from becoming the world’s leading aviation hub by 2047.

“From the third largest domestic market, the eighteenth largest international market, and the seventh largest domestic and international market we are set to become to become the largest aviation market in this journey from the Amrit Kaal to Shatabdi Kaal by 2047,” declared Scindia.

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Reiterating the government’s commitment to creating an international aviation hub in the country, he said a large number of air services and open skies agreements inked between India and other countries would facilitate that.

Secretary of civil aviation Rajiv Bansal said with the country currently connected to less than 100 destinations globally there was a huge scope for ramping up international operations in the next seven years.

“The large order by Air India and the aircraft orders that IndiGo has in place indicates that this dream of creating international hubs in India will soon be converted into reality,” observed Bansal.

Also read: Air India announces world’s largest order for nearly 500 civilian aircraft

Also speaking on the occasion, president & managing director of Airbus India and South Asia, Remi Maillard felt in the aftermath of the recent developments at the Mumbai-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Go First the country’s legal system needed to be coordinated with the international framework.

“The industry hopes the government of India will expedite the alignment of domestic laws with international conventions and treaties to ensure that the [aircraft] lessors’ confidence in the market does not dip,” stated Maillard.

Go First, which was operating with an all-Airbus fleet, suspended operations on May 2 citing troubles with P&W’s next-generation engines, while also filing for voluntary insolvency resolution with the arbitrator, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The lessors are, therefore, keenly following how the Indian courts rule on the matter, how regulators such as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) handle the situation, and the time taken to repossess their aircraft.