GENEVA: International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General Willie Walsh on Tuesday said air traffic management in India, which has around 1,500 airline planes on order, is a real concern. “We will see if the air traffic environment is compatible with the development,” he said.
While passengers are well aware of the congestion at the airports held in a holding pattern, Walsh highlighted the congestion en route to the Indian airspace.
“We’re looking at a lot of growth, and that growth needs to be facilitated by airports and air traffic control (ATC), and sometimes people forget the ATC part of it. There’s no reason for that. Why it can’t be done, Walsh said during an interaction with the Asia-Pacific media on the sidelines of IATA Global Media Day, but requires government and regulator attention.
He said that route congestion is of particular concern in the coming years and decades, for both domestic and international flights operating in Indian airspace.
Responding to a media query about the duopoly in the Indian airline market with IndiGo and the Air India Group, which dominated the market Share and the resulting stranglehold on infrastructure resources, Walsh said he wouldn’t call it a duopoly. “The market is open to all. The acquisition of Air India by Tata Group was indeed a positive development,” he said. IndiGo is “quietly building a very impressive network in India.” In terms of market cap, IndiGo is one of the top players in the world, he added. He said, “India should celebrate the success of a great airline, and customers in India will benefit greatly from IndiGo’s expansion.” has been.” “When I look at the Indian domestic market, there is a lot of scope for airlines, and for new airports,” he said. With infrastructure coming in, it’s going to be a very exciting market.”
Talking about the monopoly in Mumbai with the same company owning both the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport and the Mumbai airport, Walsh said ownership, as such, is not a major concern. “In some countries, each airport is owned by one company,” he said. “This is where you need regulation, a regulator capable of replicating a competitive environment where there is no competition. I see positive developments in terms of economic regulation at airports in India. My I think that’s something we can look forward to. It’s more about how these airports are managed from an economic perspective.”
Apart from airport regulatory issues, given the rapid growth, the only concern for India would be air traffic management and airport infrastructure, he said. “We have seen significant investment in airport infrastructure. There will be new airports in Delhi and Mumbai, so when I look at India, the only real concern I have about infrastructure is whether the air traffic The control environment can be compatible with development. We will see in both domestic and international environments,” he said.
Although India is currently the third largest domestic aviation market in the world, it lags well behind the first two rankers, the US and China.
According to the OAG, the US has 3 seats in terms of population, but India is far behind with only 0.13 seats in terms of population. It is also well behind China, which is approaching 0.5 seats in terms of population.