How Our Air Ways are Widening

Context: The Covid-19 pandemic has had a crippling impact on aviation across the world. In India, one of the biggest and one of the least known reforms has been the optimum use of national airspace.

An Overview of Aviation Sector

• Airspace: spread over 2.80 million sq. nautical miles, of which 1.74 million sq. nautical miles is oceanic airspace over the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean.
• Airports Authority of India (AAI) provides air navigation services over this space.

Reforms in Airways Sector

• Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA) will meet the requirement of users to the extent possible and The Indian Air Force (IAF) will release portions of airspace for civil use.
• Shorter travel distance: Instead of following circuitous routes, aircraft would now be able to save fuel as they fly along the direct route between two points. 
• Carbon Reduction: On the Mumbai-Srinagar sector, for instance, the corresponding reduction in carbon emission will be around 1.54 crore kg. 
• In Leasing, Repairing and Maintenance: As a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the tax regime for the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) ecosystem has been rationalised. 
• Decision to notify aircraft and helicopter engine leases as a ‘financial product’ for India’s international financial services centre in Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT)-City.

• Encouraging Privatisation: The government has proposed the privatisation of six airports this year, and an additional investment of about Rs 13,000 crore is expected under the public-private partnership model. 

Importance of Civil Aviation Industry:

• Driver of Economic Growth: As per International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) study, the output multiplier and employment multiplier for civil aviation sector are 3.25 and 6.10.
• Potential to become economies of scale: if converged with the defence sector, will reduce maintenance costs, since market for aircraft component repairs is expected to increase.
• Leasing, repair and maintenance of aircraft can be a formidable source of employment and provide business opportunities.
• Huge Earnings: Since 2006, AAI has earned Rs 29,000 crore from [privatised airports in Delhi and Mumbai, which was then deployed in building new airports in the hinterland.

Conclusion: The airspace rationalisation exercise will not only benefit the aviation ecosystem, but it would also provide a major boost to the Indian economy.