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

SpiceJet’s on-time performance crashed to just 34.5 percent in July, according to fresh Directorate General of Civil Aviation data, trailing well behind the rest of the industry.

IndiGo posted the strongest on-time record at 91.2 percent, with Akasa Air close behind at 90.8 percent, while Air India recorded 86.5 percent for the month.

The gap comes even as overall domestic air passenger traffic dropped nearly 5 percent year-on-year in July, with Indian carriers flying around 1.2 crore passengers.

IndiGo remained the dominant domestic player with a 67.4 percent market share and 80.82 lakh passengers, while the Air India group held a 24 percent share with 28.75 lakh passengers.

SpiceJet’s market share has shrunk to just 1.6 percent, with only 1.87 lakh passengers carried in July, a steep fall from the airline’s earlier standing in the market.

The figures extend a difficult year for SpiceJet, which continues to face scrutiny over operational reliability while IndiGo and Akasa Air post consistently strong punctuality numbers.

Overall flight cancellation rates across Indian carriers stood at 0.62 percent in July, with technical issues accounting for nearly 40 percent of all cancellations.

Among airports, Chennai recorded the best on-time performance overall at 96.7 percent in July, followed by Bengaluru at 94 percent and Hyderabad at 92.4 percent.

IndiGo carried 80.82 lakh passengers in July, giving it a dominant 67.4 percent share of the domestic market, well ahead of the Air India group’s 24 percent share.

Akasa Air carried 6.65 lakh passengers for a 5.5 percent market share in July, while SpiceJet’s share slipped further to just 1.6 percent with 1.87 lakh passengers.

DGCA’s on-time performance data covers 10 major airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Guwahati and Lucknow.

Under DGCA’s criteria, a flight is classified as delayed if its departure is more than 15 minutes behind the scheduled time.

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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