New Delhi: It is time for India to look at manufacturing aerospace products, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday, as he highlighted the growth potential of the country’s aviation sector.

Stressing the need to increase the ecosystem of India’s civil aviation sector, the Union minister said domestic airlines are together projected to have a fleet of around 2,000 aircraft in the next five to seven years. India currently has a fleet of around 700 planes.

“It is time to look at manufacturing aerospace products within India,” Scindia said while speaking at a summit organised by aviation consultancy CAPA India on Monday. “Time is ripe for manufacturing to take off in India.”

He added: “India’s civil aviation sector is seeing sustained robust demand, having seen an almost V-shaped recovery from an all-time low during the [Covid-19] pandemic.”

The minister emphasised that there is a need to improve human resources in the country. “Hence, the government has strengthened institutes like the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) and DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) by 10 personnel and 400 personnel, respectively,” Scindia said.

The minister said the government has increased air traffic controllers (ATCOs) to around 3,600 personnel, which is set to see an increase of 500 by August this year.

The domestic aviation sector is witnessing new highs on almost all parameters, particularly passenger traffic, with the latest record being around 4.56 lakh (456,000) passengers on a daily basis, he said.

Despite the end of the peak season, India continues to record a daily passenger traffic of 4.2 lakh to 4.4 lakh, Scindia said, adding that the next high season starting in October could break previous records.

According to CAPA India projections, the country’s domestic passenger traffic is likely to rise to 160 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year from an estimated 137.5 million for the current fiscal. By 2029-30, India’s domestic passenger traffic is likely to touch 350 million.

The Union minister also said that a total of 15 flying training organisations are expected to be set up by the end of this year, taking their total number to 50. Currently, there are 35 such organisations.

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