Aviation And Aeronautical Manufacturing Sector Employs 250,000 People Directly: Govt

NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Civil Aviation V. K. Singh said that the aviation and aeronautical manufacturing sector directly employs roughly 2,50,000 people.

In a written answer to a question in Lok Sabha, he said that the above number includes pilots, cabin crew, engineers, technicians, airport staff, ground handling, cargo, retail, security, administrative, and sales staff.

Singh said that the hospitality and aviation industries had been hurt the most by Covid-19, which had a negative effect on the revenue and profits of all parties involved.

Compared to 2018-19, the airline industry grew by about 23% in 2019-20, but it shrunk by 57% in 2020-21.

The minister said that the growth in the financial year 2021-22 compared to 2020-21 was about 47%.

During the same time period, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) made about Rs 12,837 crore in 2019-20, Rs 4,867 crore in 2020-21, and Rs 6,841 crore in 2021-22.

The government has taken a number of steps to help the aviation industry grow. AAI and other airport developers plan to invest about Rs. 98,000 crore in the airport sector over the next five years. This money will be used, among other things, to expand and change existing terminals, build new terminals, and strengthen runways.

The Indian government has given "In-Principle" approval for the building of 21 Greenfield Airports. These include Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi, and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan, and Shivamogga in Karnataka, Dabra (Gwalior) in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh, Dhol

Under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UdeDesh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN), 70 airports have been linked by 453 routes, including nine heliports and two water aerodromes