India is targeting an expansion of its airport network from 166 to 350 by 2047, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said, as part of the government’s Viksit Bharat vision.

The government will spend Rs 28,840 crore over the next decade to build 100 new airports, with the UDAN regional connectivity scheme extended for another 10 years to support the plan.

Naidu also said a ‘Make in India’ aircraft could become a reality within two years, pointing to the C295 turboprop aircraft already being manufactured in Vadodara, Gujarat, with a civil version in development.

The minister flagged a growing pilot shortage as a key challenge, with India’s 63 existing Flying Training Organisations producing around 1,625 pilots annually against a requirement of roughly 2,500.

With more than 1,700 aircraft on order across Indian airlines, the government estimates the country will need close to 30,000 additional pilots over the next decade.

To address the gap, the government has approved 11 new Flying Training Organisations, with six more under review, alongside a new grading system aimed at improving training standards.

With more than 1,700 aircraft on order across Indian carriers, the government estimates the country will need close to 30,000 additional pilots over the next decade.

The government has approved 11 new Flying Training Organisations, with six more currently under review, alongside a new grading system intended to raise training standards across the sector.

India currently has 166 operational airports, up from 74 in 2014, and the government wants to more than double that number by 2047.

UDAN, the regional connectivity scheme aimed at making air travel affordable for smaller cities, has been extended for a further 10 years as part of this push.

On the manufacturing side, the minister said a ‘Make in India’ aircraft could become a reality within two years, pointing to the C295 turboprop already being manufactured in Vadodara, Gujarat.

Photo by Ashish Bhatnagar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Akasa Air founder and CEO Vinay Dube has backed a government proposal that would let airport operators own and run their own airlines.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation is considering the change, which would relax the current cap limiting airport operators to a 10 per cent stake in any airline.

Dube said he supported the move, framing the priority as giving consumers more choice in India’s aviation sector.

IndiGo co-founder Rahul Bhatia has pushed back against the proposal, calling it a ‘massive conflict of interest’ since airport operators control the allocation of slots, parking bays and other infrastructure to airlines.

Bhatia, speaking on an investor call, said there was no global precedent for the arrangement and argued it would ultimately work against, not for, consumers.

Adani Group, which runs Mumbai and seven other airports, and GMR Airports, which operates Delhi and four others, are viewed as the likeliest beneficiaries, although Adani has denied plans to enter the airline business.

Media reports of the proposal first emerged from discussions involving GMR and Adani groups seeking regulatory changes, prompting the current round of public debate among aviation industry executives.

The government has not yet indicated a timeline for finalising a decision on whether to relax the ownership cap for airport operators.

Any change to the current ownership cap would require legal clearance from the law ministry and approval from the Union Cabinet before it could take effect.

Under existing rules, operators of major airports such as Delhi and Mumbai are capped at holding no more than a 10 per cent stake in any airline.

Adani Group, which operates Mumbai and seven other airports, and GMR Airports, which manages Delhi and four others, are seen as the most likely beneficiaries if the ownership cap is relaxed.

The proposal comes at a time when IndiGo and Air India together control nearly 90 per cent of India’s domestic aviation capacity, following a wave of consolidation in recent years.

Photo by Krish Aarush, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Air India Express has become the first airline to connect Northeast India directly with West Asia, launching new flights linking Guwahati with Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The Guwahati-Dubai service began operating on August 4, while the Guwahati-Abu Dhabi route started on August 7, giving the region direct access to two major Gulf hubs for the first time.

The Guwahati-Dubai flight operates every Tuesday, departing Guwahati at 12:25 and arriving in Dubai at 16:10, with the return flight departing Dubai at 17:10 and landing back in Guwahati the following day.

The Guwahati-Abu Dhabi service runs every Friday, departing Guwahati at 11:30 and arriving in Abu Dhabi at 15:15.

With the addition of these two routes, Guwahati now has direct international connectivity to four countries: the UAE, Thailand, Singapore and Bhutan.

Air India Express said the new services mark its first overseas operations from Guwahati and are expected to boost tourism, trade and business links between Northeast India and the Gulf region.

The airline currently operates more than 290 weekly flights from its four stations in Northeast India, which include Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Guwahati and Imphal.

Previously, travellers from Assam and the wider Northeast had to connect through hubs such as Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata to reach Gulf destinations, adding significant time to journeys to and from the UAE.

The UAE is home to a sizeable population of Indian expatriates from Assam and neighbouring states, many of whom have relied on connecting itineraries to travel home for family visits or work.

The new routes also give Assam’s tea, handicraft and agricultural exporters a more direct air corridor to Gulf markets, alongside the existing connectivity to Thailand, Singapore and Bhutan from Guwahati.

Air India Express is the low-cost international arm of the Air India group, and the new Gulf routes add to its existing overseas connections from Guwahati to Bangkok, Singapore and Paro.

Photo by Md Shaifuzzaman Ayon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0