Airline industry's turnover touched Rs 1.5 lakh cr in 2015-16: Jayant Sinha

The turnover of Indian airline industry was estimated to be around Rs 1.5 lakh crore in 2015 -16 period, union minister Jayant Sinha said on Thursday.

To a query in the Lok Sabha on whether the civil aviation sector has achieved parity with the Railways in terms of turnover and the number of passengers carried, he said no specific survey has been done in this regard.

"However, based on the available data, the turnover of Indian airlines industry during 2015-16 is estimated to be Rs 1.5 lakh crore (including foreign airlines serving in India), which is close to the revenue of Indian Railways (Rs 1.68 lakh crore) during the year 2015-16," the Minister of State for Civil Aviation said in a written reply.

During 2016, the total number of airline passengers in India was about 11 crore while the total number of passengers who travelled on Indian Railways' air-conditioned coaches was about 12 crore, he noted.

In another written reply, Sinha said suggestions have been received from air passengers to furnish a digital identification number like Aadhaar Card number at the time of purchasing air ticket.