New Delhi, May 8 (IANS). India’s aviation sector is moving towards rapid expansion and there is scope for huge investment in the field of aircraft leasing and financing in the coming years. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Indian Airlines currently has 1,640 aircraft pending delivery, which will create aircraft leasing opportunities worth $50 billion for the country over the next decade. He said this during the India Aircraft Leasing and Financing Summit 2.0 organized at GIFT City, Gandhinagar.
The Union Minister said that India has become one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world and now the country is also moving rapidly towards establishing itself as a global aviation financing and aircraft leasing hub.
He said that currently Indian Airlines has pending delivery of 1,640 aircraft. This could translate into leasing opportunities worth around $50 billion in the coming 10 years. He said India’s commercial aircraft fleet could increase to 1,100 aircraft by 2027, while the number is estimated to exceed 2,250 by 2035.
The Minister further said that there is a need for a strong domestic financing and leasing ecosystem to support this major expansion of the aviation sector. The government is continuously working in this direction so that Indian airlines can get global level facilities and financial assistance.
He said that the government has fulfilled many of the big promises made in the previously organized India Aircraft Leasing and Financing Summit. In this sequence, ‘Protection of Interests in Aircraft Objects Act 2025’ has been implemented, which makes India’s legal framework in line with the Cape Town Convention.
The minister said earlier aircraft leasing companies had to wait long for matters like aircraft de-registration and export authorisation, which increased costs for airlines and ultimately resulted in passengers facing expensive airfares. Now the government has solved this problem.
He also informed that the government has limited the increase in the prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) to 25 percent to provide relief to the airlines. Also, landing and parking charges at the airport have been reduced by 25 percent and credit support for airlines has also been increased.
Naidu said that recently the Union Cabinet has approved the ‘Credit Line Guarantee Scheme’ of Rs 5,000 crore, which will provide relief to the airlines from the cash crunch. He claimed that hardly any government in the world has taken such an initiative for the aviation sector.
During this, the Union Minister also announced that seaplane services will soon be started in Lakshadweep. He said that India is no longer limited to only conventional air services, but emphasis is being laid on increasing connectivity to remote and geographically challenging areas through helicopters, small regional aircraft and seaplanes.
He said that the government is also promoting leasing framework for small aircraft with 40 to 100 seats, so that regional connectivity can be strengthened. Apart from this, to increase investment in the aviation sector, new policy options like fractional ownership model and considering aircraft as infrastructure asset are also being worked on.
–IANS
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