The next five-year plan will emphasise the provision of infrastructure at airports "at a much faster pace" to cope with the massive growth of the aviation sector, the Planning Commission has said.Observing that actual growth in air traffic had been at a rate of 24-28%, much beyond the expected 16%, the Commission said airlines are facing infrastructure constraints due to limited landing slots, inadequate parking bays and congestion during peak hours.In its draft Approach Paper for the 11th Plan that is being circulated for comments from different quarters, it recommended that the total investment in infrastructure has to increase from around 4.5 % of GDP in the 10th Plan to about 7.5% in the next.Maintaining that the tourism sector had the potential to generate 27 million additional jobs during the 11th Plan period, the panel said modernisation and expansion of airports, besides increasing accommodation facilities and road connectivity, would be taken up on priority.With increasing air traffic, the development of communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management (CNS-ATM) would be taken up on priority to improve productivity and efficiency of airlines and airport operators, it said.
