The country's civil aviation sector has "great potential" due to increased demand from the middle class, higher disposable incomes, and favourable demographics. In contrast, air travel has rebounded with the lifting of coronavirus pandemic-related constraints, according to the Economic Survey.
The survey for 2022-23, which was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, identified several factors that are assisting the civil aviation sector, including the UDAN scheme, which has significantly improved regional connectivity by opening airports in the hinterland.
The total number of tourism routes has expanded to 59 under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, which aims to facilitate/stimulate regional air connectivity by making it inexpensive. Currently, 51 are active.
"The civil aviation sector in India has enormous potential due to rising middle-class demand, population and tourism growth, increasing disposable incomes, favourable demographics, and more penetration of aviation infrastructure," according to the survey.
According to the survey, aviation travel has recovered as a result of the containment of COVID-19 infections and the easing of global travel restrictions.
While air traffic fell by 54% in FY21 and passenger traffic dropped by 66% in FY21, there was a comeback in the previous fiscal year.
"The current financial year has further shown a comeback, with both passenger and freight flow close to the pre-COVID-19 levels. The total number of passengers carried in December 2022 was 150.1 lakh, an increase of 106.4 percent from the previous year.
"In November 2022, overall air freight tonnage stood at 2.5 lakh MT, representing 89% of pre-Covid levels," according to the report.
In addition, the government has earmarked Rs 4,500 crore for the resurrection of existing unserved/underserved airports/airstrips owned by state governments, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), public sector organisations, and civic enclaves.
In-principle approval has also been granted for the construction of 21 new airports.
Since its start, more than one crore air passengers have benefited from the UDAN scheme.
During FY21 and FY22, the Airport Authority of India was reimbursed Rs 104.19 core in the form of viability gap financing (VGF) for the UDAN.
While discussing bank credit, the poll mentioned a decrease in credit to shipping and aviation.
"Uncertain growth prospects in global markets and uneven loan allocation to the transport industry led to a 7.9 percent and 8.7 percent fall in credit to the shipping and aviation sectors, respectively, in November 2022," it stated.
According to the report, sectors like inland water transport and civil aviation, which have tremendous untapped potential, are also appropriately encouraged.
Simultaneously, the emphasis is on strengthening cooperation among many stakeholders and ministries. According to the report, this will aid in the resolution of compliance issues and the efficiency and efficacy of investments.
President Droupadi Murmu stated in her inaugural address to the joint session of Parliament on Tuesday that India has become the world's third-largest aviation market and is quickly expanding, with the number of airports increasing to 147 from 74 in 2014.