The budgetary allocation for the civil aviation ministry has been cut by nearly 10 per cent to Rs 2,400.31 crore for the next financial year, with the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN set to get a lower amount of Rs 540 crore. The allocation in the Union Budget 2025-26, presented by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday, is less compared to Rs 2,658.68 crore in the revised 2024-25 Budget. Out of the total allocation for the next fiscal starting from April 1, 2025, UDAN will get Rs 540 crore, which is 32 per cent lower compared to Rs 800 crore in the year-ago period. Interestingly, Sitharaman has announced that UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme will be modified to connect 120 new destinations. As per the budget papers, the allocation for the DGCA and BCAS have increased marginally to Rs 330 crore and Rs 95 crore, respectively, for 2025-26. For the Customs Cost Recovery (CCR) charges to Airport Authority of India (AAI) and AAI Cargo Logistics and
The activity comes despite the financial struggles of two budget carriers GoFirst and SpiceJet, in the wake of the collapse of two other Indian airlines since 2011
Meanwhile, India's largest carrier, IndiGo, saw a marginal decline in its market share from 62.6 per cent in October to 61.8 per cent in November
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that airline revenues globally will rise in 2024 as the sector is witnessing continued growth in post-pandemic travel
Executives at Japan Airlines and Thai Airways see India as a transit hub to connect Asia Pacific with West Asia and Africa
If enacted, the policy will address challenges such as double security checks and immigration bottlenecks to better streamline travel
What was striking about Q3 2023 was that the number of airline seats between China and southeast Asia was 53 per cent of the 2019 levels, or 4.24 million seats
It also plans to meet a delivery target of at least 70 widebody 787 Dreamliners in 2023 and is transitioning from a production rate of four to five jets per month
With Indian aviation staring at a potential scramble for pilots, airlines such as Akasa can feel deflated
Given the growth in the aviation sector it is expected that India is likely to require over 1,000 pilots per annum over the next five years
The company is confident that it will return to operational profitability in Q3
During 2019, 2020 and 2021, at least 2,368, 400 and 296 pilots were recruited, the aviation ministry stated
Singapore's flag carrier will progressively operate 17 weekly flights to Chennai, up from the current 10 flights per week, it said on Tuesday
India's airport sector is expected to see investments worth Rs 1.65 lakh crore in the coming years, and the government also aims to have 200 airports, Jyotiraditya Scindia said
Despite phenomenal growth, Indian aviation has been a mixed bag with many lost opportunities
He said the move would bring down fares, help aviation sector see growth and thus compete globally
With 22.5% growth, Bengaluru airport was ranked first among airports handling 15 million-plus passengers annually
Demand in neighbouring country spurred by an increase in the number of domestic routes
On privatisation, IATA says it has been partly a good thing, partly a bad one