India’s Civil Aviation is among the fastest-growing aviation markets globally and on the heels of it, Asia’s largest event on Civil Aviation, ‘Wings India 2022’ has got underway at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad on 24th March, 2022. The event has been organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India along with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). This year’s theme is ‘India@75: New Horizon for Aviation Industry’.
About the Event:
Commenced on 24th March, 2022, the event is organised for four days, with the first two days being the business days and the rest for the general public. The event is set to be inaugurated by Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia today, i.e. 25th March, 2022.
The essential components of the event include Exhibition, Conference, Chalets, CEOs Forum, Static Display, Media Conferences and Award ceremony. Conferences on the Civil Aviation sector with focus on policy issues and business aspects are being held concurrently. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the exhibitors taking part in the exhibition include Aircraft & Helicopter Manufacturers, Aircraft Interiors, Aircraft Machinery & Equipment Companies, Airport Infrastructure Companies, Drones, Skill Development, Space Industry, Airlines, Airline Services & Cargo. More than 125 international & domestic exhibitors are participating in the event, along with 11 hospitality chalets.
Importance of the event:
The event ‘Wings India’ is not just commenced on the backdrop of India’s emerging Civil Aviation market globally, but rather, the event is aimed at providing an opportunity to build a strong ecosystem of the civil aviation industry. Addressing an event in 2021, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scinidia stated, “The civil aviation industry is not only about airplanes and airports, but we must focus on building an airline ecosystem that has strong roots across the value chain. Manufacturing, he said, is the core of the sector and the country must move from products to services.”
”Both product and service will result in economic and employment multipliers. Every direct job generated by the civil aviation industry results in 6.1% indirect employment opportunities. This potential cannot be replicated by any other sector,” added the Minister.
Witnessing a growth in the sector:
It is no hidden fact that India’s Civil Aviation is among the fastest-evolving industry in the global markets and it is considered as a major growth engine to make India a $5 trillion economy. The data indicates that India is the 3rd largest aviation market in domestic air passenger traffic at 274.05 million in FY20. It grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.9% during FY16-FY20. The data provided by the Civil Aviation Ministry also indicates that 75 airports were opened in 75 years of Civil Aviation in India under UDAN scheme.
Apart from this, in a span of 3 years, work has been initiated to provide scheduled connectivity to 76 unserved/20 underserved airports, 31 helicopters and 10 water aerodromes. The scheduled Indian carriers have a fleet strength of 713 aircraft operating year around; private scheduled airlines plan to add over 900 aircrafts in the next 5 years.
