Budget 2018: Airports to enter high-flyers’ club

NEW DELHI: India, the world’s fastest growing aviation market, is expected to have a billion (100 crore) air travellers annually in the next 15 to 20 years. FM Jaitley said air travel would continue growing with the affordable regional connectivity scheme (RCS) that will see people wearing “hawai chappals in hawai jahaaz”.

The Budget says the airport capacity will be expanded by five times to cater to this requirement. At the moment, India is woefully short of airport infrastructure.

Aviation minister Jayant Sinha said air traffic in India (domestic and international combined) was expected to touch 100 crore over the next 15 to 20 years, up from an expected 20 crore in the fiscal 2017-18. “We want to be ahead of requirement and, for that plan, to increase airport capacity by five times under a new initiative — NABH (NextGen Airports for Bharat) Nirman. This will cost about Rs 4 lakh crore. The viable airports will be run by private players and the unviable ones by the

Airports Authority of India

(AAI). The balance sheet of the AAI shall be leveraged to raise more resources for funding this expansion,” Sinha said.

The push comes at a time when the lack of airport infra in major cities has rung alarm bells. Amitabh Khosla,

International Air Transport Association

(IATA) India head, said: “IATA anticipates India will become the third largest aviation market by 2024... To make this a reality, airport capacity in India needs to be augmented and expanded quickly...”

10 must-sees to get iconic status

The upgradation of amenities at 100 ‘model’ monuments and promotion of 10 prominent sites as ‘iconic destinations’ are expected to lift the tourism and hospitality industry. India currently has two lakh hotel rooms in the organised category, compared to China’s 25 lakh.

Rs 4,469cr for two new VVIP planes

The PM, President and VP will soon fly aboard gleaming new Boeing-777s that will be on apar with the US Air Force One and will replace the 25-year-old B-747 jumbo jets. The fuel-efficient VVIP planes, for Rs 4,469.5 crore, can fly nonstop to North America. They are likely to be ready for use in over a year.