Skip to content Skip to navigation

Aviation industry in India growing faster

Recent opening of the College of Aeronautical Engineering in Guwahati, has been welcomed by the people of the state, which has brought the hope to bring the country at par with others, providing better educational facilities and encouraging the youths to build up their career in aviation. For them the sky is not at distance. There is no dearth of meritorious young men in this part of the country. The lack of such facilities has so far been the main obstacle before them to decide a suitable career.


Earlier, air travel was a privilege only a few could afford, but with the commencement of operations by the low cost careers, now large number of people can afford air travel. At present Indian aviation industry is one of the fastest growing aviation industries in the world. With the liberalization of the Indian aviation sector, aviation industry has undergone a rapid transformation. From being primarily a government owned industry, the Indian aviation industry is now dominated by private owned airlines who now account for around 75 percent share of the domestic aviation market.


India has 454 airports and airstrips. Of these, 16 are designed international airports. Airport infrastructure is being developed at a fast pace to cope up with the growth of air transport operations. Mumbai and Delhi airports have already been privatized and are being upgraded at an estimated investment of 4 billion US dolors by 2016. A simultaneous operation from parallel runways having facilities for category 3B level operations has now become a reality. Chennai and Kolkata airports are undergoing major development and modernization work. Greenfield airports developed by private consortia at Bangalore and Hyderabad are now operational involving a total investment of over 800 million US dolors. Another Greenfield airport at Navi Mumbai is planned to be developed in the near future. 35 other airports are undergoing up gradation. Guwahati airport is also expanding. It will be developed to international standard in the near future. Some new airports are also designed in the North-east in the coming year.


A large number of airports can now handle all weather operations instead of fair weather operations earlier. Ground based communication, navigation and surveillance facilities are now being replaced by satellite based facilities. India is developing its new satellite based navigation system Gagan, which will enable precision approaches at all airports in India.


The growth of aviation has shrunk the world into a village. Now one can have breakfast in Delhi, lunch in London and dinner at New York. Air travel which was a luxury earlier has now become a necessity. Introduction of low cost carrier model has brought about a revolution in air travel. It has made air travel within the reach of a common man. Connectivity between smaller towns has increased significantly.


General aviation is also increasing its air transport activities fast. Helicopter operations have become very popular and are in great demand particularly in the election periods. Helicopters now find increasing role in tourism and security related activities also. Small jet aircraft are now being imported increasingly by corporates. General aviation is now becoming a major activity in the country. Aircraft Maintenance Engineers enjoy a very high proportion of full time jobs with good prospect and very strong employment growth. A licensed aircraft maintenance engineer is rewarded with the opportunity to examine and certify an aircraft as ready for takeoff. The present scenario reveals that demand of trained personal is constantly exuberant in the last ten years. Indian airport handled about ten million domestic passengers a year a decade ago that figure has now crossed 25 million. It is expected to reach 100 million in two years. This explosive growth in aviation sector along with planning in techniques is also opening new avenues for a trained aircraft engineer, who is amongst the most highly paid professional.

Author info

Daya Nath Singh's picture

Journalist; Guwahati Press Club office Secretary

Add new comment

Assamese Translator

Assam Times seeks English to Assamese translators!
Join our volunteer team.
Email editor@assamtimes.org.

Random Stories

Ashram team meets Rajkhowa

1 Oct 2015 - 9:46am | AT News Itanagar
A delegation of Parashuram Dham Seva Ashram met Arunachal Pradesh governor JP Rajkhowa at Raj Bhawan in Itanagar on Wednesday. Rajkhowa exhorted them to be part of Team Arunachal in promoting...

No let-up in Assam flood fury

25 Aug 2009 - 2:31pm | editor
Flood waters refuse to recede in Assam on Tuesday. The situation is taking a grim turn where half the area of the Karizanga National Park was submerged by the surging waters of the Brahmaputra,...

Violence mars Assam bandh

12 Sep 2015 - 10:12am | AT News
 Vandalism, arson, police-picketer clash have marred the 12 hours statewide Assam bandh on Saturday called in protest against the refugee status for on Muslim Hindu and Pakistani nationals in...

Bhupen Borah new APCC President

25 Jul 2021 - 11:32am | AT News
Bhupen Borah was appointed as the new president of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) replacing Ripun Bora on Saturday. The newly appointed Working Presidents are : Rana Goswami, Kamalakhya...

Other Contents by Author

Gamusas and Japis are two important items in Assam, which are in much demand throughout the year in the state especially during festival seasons and social functions. These items are demanded by the people to honor the guests and honorable persons during each and every event.  However, it has been found that throughout the festival seasons the supply of locally woven gamusas are not according to demand by the customers. The reason behind it is said to be heavy cost of the locally produced items. On the other hand the weavers and traders from other parts of the country take advantage of supplying gamusas at cheaper rates and make more profit despite spending heavy cost on...
Archaeological Survey of India, Guwahati circle, has been trying to take-up the work of repairing of a broken pillar in the Mandap of Hayagriva Madhav Temple at Hajo for a long time. ASI, Guwahati has informed the media through a press note that one of the pillars of ancient temple was broken in three parts due to rusting of the iron dowels holding each other and the other developed cracks due to the same reason and widened more after the earthquake of May 2015. Hayagriva Madhav Temple is a reconstructed temple during the Koch period. The architectural parts of the earlier temple have been used for reconstruction. Different parts of the temple have been used randomly for making the pillars...
There is a generation gap between the signing of Assam Accord on the Independence Day 1985 and the present generation has to face new challenges to compete with the world class people in all spheres of development. The young people are confused over the airing of old issues which have lasted for long 31 years in absence of any solution. The issues pertaining to the Accord have become irrelevant under the present circumstances. The Assam Accord issue is still haunting and confusing the present generation due to absence of a clear picture. The fate of the Accord is not known to the people in general. A few politicians and intellectuals are trying to raise the issues of the accord from time to...
It is an established fact that a person involved in political activities cannot remain in peace till his cherished dreams are fulfilled. This can be noticed through the recent statements of former Assam chief minister, Tarun Gogoi, who has been expressing his views frequently in media against the four months old BJP-led alliance government in the state under the chief minister ship of Sarwanand Sonowal.  He (Gogoi) dares to demand a ‘white paper’ from state government about the steps taken by it to clear the encroachments of forest and other government  lands in the state and also to let the people of the state know, what action it has taken to identify and deport the foreign...
Addressing a huge gathering of residents of Udaypur, Jonakpur and Birubari at Udaypur Kali Mandir complex on Sunday, July 3, 2016, East Guwahati Assembly Member, Siddharth Bhattacharjee, emphasized the need of implementing the vision document of development as envisaged by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at the function organized by Udaypur Yuva Sangha to felicitate him on his success in the recently concluded polls to the state Assembly, he conveyed his thanks to the people of the area for showing their confidence in him. He assured the people that he would not let their confidence go in vain. The meeting was presided over by Dr Phani Borah. Senior citizen of the locality Kartik...
Hardly a few days ago, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Alliance has taken the reign of Assam administration the results of efforts made by Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi to bring back black money to the state coffer, has started recently with the arrest of Dhemaji Divisional Forest Officer, Mahat Chandra Talukdar by anti-corruption department. For a long time the reports of wildlife crimes were in the air, but the previous state administration ruled by Congress Party under the three-terms  leadership of Tarun Gogoi did not try to take any action. The former Chief Minister Gogoi was under a wrong impression that the people who gave him a...
A study conducted by B Boruah Cancer Institute, Guwahati, has revealed that during a decade from 2001-02 to 2011-12, cancer cases in the north-eastern part of the country have gone up from 5,404 to 8,708. A campaign, namely, Cycle 4 ride can help control this dreaded disease. In order to raise awareness to fight cancer a lady, namely, Marcellna Sangma, is going to lead a Biker Mission to 600 kms long stretch from Guwahati to Bum La Pass, near Indo-China border in Arunachal Pradesh. The ride is scheduled to be flagged off by Dr Amar Chandra Kataki, Director, B Boruah Cancer Institute, on April 21, 2016.Expressing her traumatic experience with cancer, Sangma, who was a cancer patient a decade...
Being disturbed since the first phase of polling for Assam Assembly on April 4 last, the Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi is finding it difficult to remember the history of Assam agitation propelled by All Assam Students Union (AASU) since the year 1979 to the Independence Day of 1985, resulting in the Assam Accord which was signed between the Assam Government and the movement leaders in presence of erstwhile prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi. Heavy polling beyond 85 percent of the electorate in the second phase also made Gogoi to think over the majority of young and new voters were not the ‘beneficiaries of getting blankets, yarn and mosquito nets’. They are young, energetic, literate and...
Continuing campaigns for Assam Assembly elections have confused the Assam intellectuals to raise vital issues before the future state legislators and improve the quality of political atmosphere affecting the entire society for quite some time. Almost all political parties have started ‘derogatory’ comments against their rivals for attracting the electorates by their acts and objectives about which they are themselves ignorant. The main reason behind such interpretation is lack of knowledge about the real issues on which the political parties are campaigning. Assam as a state of multi-lingual and religious people continued to be disturbed since the year1979, when several organizations under...
Long awaited North East Graduate Congress, an initiative of Education Research Development Foundation (ERDF) is going to be held from February 26 to 28, 2016. This is the only graduate congress in India being organized by University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM) in association with RIST and supported by the State Bank of India (SBI). The venue of the congress is the USTM campus at 9th mile, Khanapara. Addressing the media persons in Guwahati on February 14, 2016, the USTM spokesperson informed that the three days congress is aimed to enhance all round development and bring out the capabilities of future graduates through various life skill processes to bring out  their...