India Aviation on Growth Path as Waning Covid Pain Lures Fliers
- Nation will surpass pre-Covid traffic levels within 12 months
- The country may add as many as 120 new planes every year
An SE A350 aircraft at the Wings India 2022 Air Show held at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad, India, on March 24.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
India is expecting local air passenger traffic will surpass the pre-pandemic level within a year as fliers return, emboldened by a steep fall in new Covid-19 infections.
“I am very confident in the days to come, in the months to come, within the next year, we will surpass the pre-Covid level” of 415,000 daily passengers, India Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said at Wings India airshow in Hyderabad on Friday. India may need to add as many as 120 jets every year, he said, urging local carriers to expand their fleet of widebody aircraft needed for international operations.