Picture : Twitter/ ANI
India will have more than 200 airports, heliports and water aerodromes in the next five years and Indian carriers will order up to 1,400 additional planes during the period, Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said in a PTI report.
Addressing a press conference on the aviation sector’s performance during the nine years of the Narendra Modi government, Scindia said India had 74 airports (including heliports and waterports) till 2014 and the number has now doubled to 148.
“In 2013-14, India saw six crore domestic flyers. Now, this number is 14.5 crore, up by 135 per cent. Similarly, the number of international air travellers has grown by 50 per cent during the period, from 4.7 crore to 7 crore.
On the surge in pricing, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia quoted by ANI said , We must make sure that the maximum prices are within a certain limit and we have conveyed that message very clearly to the airlines. We cannot have prices that are way beyond what should rationally be done, specifically when we have certain instances take place such as the Go First situation or other calamities or extenuating circumstances.
Scindia further stated, Airlines must be proactive in terms of monitoring their prices as opposed to being reactive after the Ministry or DGCA steps in because that should also be a part of their social objective. And that message has been conveyed very clearly.
