New Delhi. 04 August 2017. The total number of civilian aircraft in the country at present is 1623 (1312 aeroplanes and 311 helicopters). There is a requirement of additional 170 parking bays at Airport Authority of India (AAI) airports. AAI is constructing 130 parking bays and has requested state governments for land acquisition for taking up construction of rest of the parking bays.
At $16 billion, India’s aviation market is currently the 9th largest in the world and is expected to be the 3rd largest by 2020, and by 2030, the largest. According to International Air Transport Association (IATA), India is the fastest growing domestic market globally, handling over 190 million passengers. Over the next decade, the market is expected to reach 337 million domestic and 84 million international passengers.
This growth will create demand for new aircraft, air navigation service technologies, airport security equipment, and increased infrastructure. And this makes the requirement for parking bays to shoot up. With about 880 aircraft on order, lack of appropriate number of parking bays should be a great problem Indian aviation is facing.
“Parking bays and runway slots will become increasingly scarce over the next few years, especially at metro airports. Signs of congestion are already emerging at Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi and the situation will become more acute unless airports are able to construct 400 parking bays and enhance air side capacity within five years. Otherwise airlines will face challenges in implementing their base and network plans,” stated a CAPA report recently.
