Skyward Takeoff: India's Aviation Growth Soars

India's government prioritizes regional air connectivity, projecting 40 crore air passengers by 2029. Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam highlights the potential growth in aviation, emphasizing the UDAN scheme, which enhances connectivity for underserved airports, and promotes helicopter and seaplane operations.

Regional air connectivity remains a government priority as air passenger traffic is predicted to reach 40 crore by 2029, according to Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam. Speaking at a conference in the national capital, Vualnam announced efforts to establish an ecosystem for seaplane operations.

Highlighting aviation sector growth, he noted that passenger traffic doubled from 11 crore to 22 crore in the past decade, with a target of 40 crore by 2029. The Regional Air Connectivity Scheme (RCS) or UDAN aims to enhance affordability and reach of air travel from unserved and underserved airports.

Vualnam reiterated government's commitment to the RCS, with plans to support operations of helicopters and seaplanes. Since its 2016 inception, UDAN has operationalized 613 routes, impacting 87 airports, 13 heliports, and 2 water aerodromes. To date, more than 146 lakh passengers have flown through 2.86 lakh RCS flights, as reported in Parliament.

(With inputs from agencies.)