India would require $120-billion for aircraft acquisition and building aviation infrastructure to meet domestic passenger traffic, which is expected to touch 240-260 million per annum by 2020.
The airport sector alone would require a total of $20 billion investment over the next decade, in addition to the $10 billion already committed in the last five years, according to a White Paper on the aviation industry.
"By 2020, domestic traffic will reach 160-180-million passengers per annum and international traffic will exceed 80 million, which will require investment of up to $120 billion in aircraft, airport development and ancillary services," a White Paper on IT in Indian Aviation, presented jointly by the Centre for Asia Pacific and SITA, said.
According to the paper, this investment would be required for aircraft, airport development and ancillary services such as ground handling, ATC, MRO, catering and training.
Major aircraft manufacturers — Boeing and Airbus — have predicted that India's aircraft fleet-size is expected to reach over 1,000 by 2028 from the present 380 planes.
The document predicts that in addition to upgrades, greenfield second airports will likely be developed at various metro and non-metro cities.
The airports system may be handling over 400 million passengers per annum by 2020, it said.
On the role of information technology (IT) in aviation going forward, the White Paper predicts that in the coming years, five new technologies will be making the journey simpler and smoother for Indian travellers.
