Despite Rosy Outlook, India's Bizav Growth Faces Hurdles

While a new 10-year business aircraft forecast from Research and Markets calls for the fleet in India to “grow three times and emerge as the third-largest aviation market by 2020,” in-country operators are dubious about this prediction coming to fruition.

“I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but this is not going to happen until changes are made to the yet-to-be-announced civil aviation policy,” one charter operator told AIN. The proposed policy has been under advanced stage of preparation, and India’s civil aviation minister, Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju, said on Monday that the draft would be placed in the public domain for feedback from the industry, though no timelines have been committed.

“While work has gone into the new policy, the process will take six months since it requires Cabinet approval,” Rohit Kapur, the former president of India’s Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA), told AIN. He added that legislators lack a sense of urgency and a “mindset change” is still required.

A focus on infrastructure, including low-cost airports, regulatory changes for smaller aircraft and standardization for import and customs duty is “the need of the hour,” said BAOA managing director R.K. Bali. He added that talks are under way with the Airports Authority of India to introduce procedures at airports for Gagan, the country’s recently launched Waas-like system, for general aviation users.